I was brought up old school (my grandpa was in the calvary!), where mares and foals were always kept on Straw.
I hate straw. I’ll do it if it really is the best.
But what is the general view now a days?
Straw is best to foal out on. You can switch shortly afterwards.
I wrote a blog post on my conversion to straw! 
Snowfox, I think you mean Cavalry.
There are different kinds of straw. I like short chopped wheat straw best. Rice straw is also sold as straw in my area and I quite dislike it as a bedding.
Straw is best. Pellet bedding is second best after straw.
[QUOTE=RunningwaterWBs;7378227]
Snowfox, I think you mean Cavalry. :-)[/QUOTE]
Sorry typo, I’m famous for them. It’s what happens when you type with one hand!
[QUOTE=Snowfox;7378115]
I was brought up old school (my grandpa was in the calvary!), where mares and foals were always kept on Straw.
I hate straw. I’ll do it if it really is the best.
But what is the general view now a days?[/QUOTE]
I prefer to foal out on straw… but I have noticed if the mare is foaling out in a stall with mats, the straw does not always offer great traction for the wet foal to stand up on the first time… no matter how thickly bedded with straw. While I prefer not to foal out on shavings, for the purpose of adding traction, I add a very thin layer of shavings under my straw. I try to add only enough where it will serve it’s purpose and not end up on the foal’s damp body or be inhaled. So far it has worked well for me.
As far as composting, I don’t find that much of a difference, but if I had to give a slight edge to either, I’d give it to straw…
What are you guys finding cost wise (Straw vs. Shavings).
For us, straw is the only way to go. We get big round bales of wheat straw - 1000 pounds $20.
It is also the best environmental solution. It breaks down within weeks in the manure pile, and it is a readily renewable resource, since wheat is sown and harvested every single year. Straw also has greater insulation effect. Horses bedded on straw are much warmer when laying down.
Using shavings requires trees which takes many years to regrow. Trees considered too small for producing wood products are put through choppers to make your shavings. Shavings also take much longer to break down than straw.
Anyone just let their mares foal outside (late spring/early summer) grass seems to be the cleanest!
[QUOTE=Snowfox;7378506]
Anyone just let their mares foal outside (late spring/early summer) grass seems to be the cleanest![/QUOTE]
I do not because my foals are early and I have never had them somewhere that it was an option due to the way the farm was set up. I would consider it if the situation were right however.
I also only foal out on straw, but switch over the next day (unless i have a ton of excess straw that I cant use for anything else… But after the foal is born I strip the stall and then put down shavings. I’ve heard foaling out in grass is fine… but then you come into the issue if it rains, gets muddy, less of a controlled clean environment… but then again… they used to do it in the wild all the time ;_)
I only use straw until the umbilicus is dried. I do have pellets under for foaling to absorb all of the moisture and it is stripped out after foaling. We want to watch all the foalings and our mares like night, so they are foaled inside.
My foal last year was foaled out in the pasture… It wasnt planned, but everything went beautiful. We were expected at the pasture by mom and foal. IMO the best way to foal for a mare if the weather is ok. (our foal was born in June)
Our straw prices were ridiculously high last year. It turned our to be much cheaper for us to bed with coastal hay. We do switch to shavings 24-48 hrs after foaling though.
we use straw also, last year we were getting huge bales for $7, and they lasted about three days’ worth for bedding the stall. I also leave a thin layer of shavings or sawdust under to provide a bit of traction for the foal.
I keep them on straw for just about two weeks, then go back to shavings or sawdust.
[QUOTE=Snowfox;7378506]
Anyone just let their mares foal outside (late spring/early summer) grass seems to be the cleanest![/QUOTE]
I much prefer to foal outside in a small paddock. We have lights on the side of our barn that I can flip on to check mare. We have done all mares this way except one due to a unique situation. That was the one mare we lost as she cast herself four times had to be flipped and foal was all contorted. We lost both sadly. I think much of that was to do with the fact there wasn’t enough room and stalls were 16x14 so plenty large enough to foal in. I shoot for april and may foals so the weather is nice when born, occasionally have a late march, but I can’t stand to see the babies in chilly weather. If I’m cold I know they have to be. Of course, I know I don’t follow the normal course of things either. We are a bit “different” in how things work here.
If I am bedding though, if I have the option, straw or bluegrass (cheap here) to bed on. Like bluegrass the best for a few reasons. One better them to eat that than straw. They have a constant source of hay if they want it in addition to what I feed, it doesn’t freeze in really cold weather no matter how soaked it gets (hate shavings or pellets for that reason). Plus nice and clean and takes up less space and isn’t as bulky as straw. Breaks down just as well.
We foal out a fair number of TBs and only use straw. Have never seen any TB operation that didn’t. Though some farms in KY use baled field grass as Firemedic uses. Foals, especially new borns do a lot of laying down and sleeping and there is the fear of them aspirating some shavings from time to time. Which could lead to complications. There may be nothing to this line of thinking but why take chances. We and our clients have way too much money, time and effort involved.
Our foaling stalls are 14X14. Though I have foaled/seen in 10X10 stalls with no worries IMO. The foaling stalls have stone dust floors. Yes, the straw does make it a bit problematic for the little buggers to gain purchase when getting up for the first time. But we just thin out the straw after foaling and they are able to get down to the stone dust.
To be clear, stone dust is not “dusty”. It has several names depending on location and make up.
We only bed on straw. It is abundant in this area. I buy a years worth out of the field from a neighbor at a pretty good discount. If I bale it about, $60 a ton. And because he does not use a rotary combine it is nice and fluffy long stemmed. Not the “mulch” looking stuff that rotary combines put out.
We also have the luxury of being in the mushroom growing capital of the country and they need the muck out. So they pick it up once a month and send us a nice size check. Cuts about a 1/3 off of our bedding costs. If we used shavings we would have to rent a dumpster and pay to have it disposed of.
Personally I find shavings a PIA to work with in some ways. I have also found that help can a bit lazy with doing a really good job. IMO straw if pretty straight forward and easy to see if a proper job as been done. And I will admit that I like the look of it. Just wish the horse would wait until after I am gone before taking a dump as soon as brought in from the paddock they have been in all day.
In the TB breeding world, the earlier the better. In my neck of the woods it is not practical to early foal outside due to our winter weather. We do have a small “foaling” paddock set up out side the barn for April, May foalings if we want to use it. Our foaling cams are infrared so no need for a spot light until foaling. Not so sure the mare would like the light going off and on from time to time. They are “programmed” to foal under the stealth of night IMO. Maybe nothing to this line of thinking. Just my way of looking at it.
All mares and foals go out in a small paddock as soon as possible. Depending on the foal and weather conditions the same day and brought back in at night. If everything is good they go out with their band within days. They stay out 24-7 unless the weather dictates other wise.
As always to each their own.
I also prefer to foal out on wheat straw. Like another poster said, with mats though it can be slick, so I also put down a layer of sawdust for traction, but not enough for it to get all over baby. After the first few days I switch back to sawdust. Straw can be hard to find around here, so I have used my costal hay one time too and it was fine.
Have also had a couple surprise me in the field, no problems.
Also had 2 foal in their little “runs” attached to the stalls which are just sand. These both were maidens who surprised me, I normally close off the runs when they get close. Babies were covered in sand, not the best situation, but it ended up being fine.
I think my mares plot to trick me, but I’m on to them!! My powers of observation are sooooo much better than they were a few years ago!
