I want to fill the wet spots with wood pellets to try and help dry things out. I already use stall refresher which helps but now we’re into summer it seems like the wet spots just don’t dry out properly. I am in South FL and the stalls are on dirt with shavings on top. Any ideas/advice appreciated!
I’ve done this before - mine had a huge stall but the base was a little uneven, and of course he always peed in the low spot. I put pellets (dry, not fluffed) in the low spot and then topped with sawdust/shavings. It was easy to then muck out the wet spot and add more pellets.
The other thing that worked well was peat moss.
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What do you mean “fill” the wet spots? Do you mean put some pelleted bedding down in the usual pee spots? That works pretty well in a lot of cases, doesn’t tend to work well if the horse really tramples the stall.
How many hours are they in and out of the stalls? When they are out, the bedding should be moved back from those pee spots since no matter what you do, it ends up seeping into the dirt floor some. Then put the Sweet PDZ on top of that, and pull the bedding back over it when the horse comes in.
But if the horse is pretty neat, and has a preferred pee spot, then the pelleted bedding in that area can do a great deal to soak up the urine before it gets into the dirt.
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Yes, I do this. I sweep and shovel the pee spots when I muck and then put down wood pellets. I top with regular pine bedding. This cuts down a LOT on bedding consumption and helps keep the stalls drier. I have one who pees a lot and it keeps the stall manageable. If a stall gets too wet and is still sopping when I muck, I will throw the bedding up the walls, sweep the pee spot, put down pellets, and leave overnight. In the morning I will sweep up expanded pellets and put down new ones in what is then a dry spot, then pull the stall down as normal. Helps a ton.
I also did this under straw bedding but for that I expanded the pellets with warm water in a muck tub so they fluffed up and then I spread them on the pee spots as a thick-ish layer. I really needed to be a layer under straw because the straw doesn’t absorb anything.
ETA: Just read that your stalls are dirt, so obviously you can’t sweep. If you can’t put mats down, I’m not sure how much pellets will help you but it’s worth a shot. The pee will seep into the dirt and shavings has a limited amount of absorbency so if they’re in for long periods, mats might be the best solution as you’ll then have more options.
I love pellets but they aren’t going to change the fact that you are bedding on dirt. Urine will always get into the dirt unless you bed very very deeply.
Can you put down mats? It would make a huge difference. And you could still benefit from pellets + shavings for extra absorbancy.
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Thanks for the suggestions, unfortunately I don’t think mats would work long term since the dirt is not 100% flat. The horses are in during the day from 7-4ish so a decent amount of time. I’ll get a bag of the pellets to experiment with!
Pellets win hands down over shavings for absorbing wet.
I switched to all pellets years ago.
Recently all my sources - TSC, local feedstores - were out of pellets for almost 2 weeks.
In desperation I went back to shavings & was not happy. Stalls needed more frequent picking & a lot of bedding got wasted, picked out w/manure.
And, yes, I can do the Fork Shake effectively.
My stalls are dirt-floored too, but have a 9" layer of stonedust over the dirt.
After 15yrs, stonedust has compacted so it feels like cement. If I strip a stall it can be swept, but still permeable so I have no ammonia smell in stalls.
My horses are out 24/7 with access to stalls, but still come in for grain & nearly always pee when they do :rolleyes:
Added benefit of pellets is when saturated they change color, darkening to a reddish shade.
Until that happens, I refluff the wet spots.
Pellets sift manure better too, less bedding stays in your fork.
They also compost faster & make awesome composted planting material.
My vegetable garden is exclusively composted stall cleanings.
I have never used the Mfr’s advice to bed a stall with 6 bags :eek:
I start a stripped 12X12 stall with 4 bags, then add a bag every other week or so, depending on weather. 1 bag in dry weather, 2 if it’s been very rainy or cold so they are in (by their choice) more.
I don’t prewet pellets in wet weather either. When it is very dry out I will sit a bag upright in a stall, slit open the top, dump in a bucket of water & let sit while I pick & do chores. Then dump & spread the fluffed pellets.
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That’s why anyone who puts done mats has to do the work to level and compact the floor 
But, assuming your “dirt” is pretty sandy (because you’re on southern FL) then that is an added layer of work to get a base that is compacted enough for mats. It IS doable though, if the issue was big enough and you wanted it badly enough
The horses are in during the day from 7-4ish so a decent amount of time. I’ll get a bag of the pellets to experiment with!
Then definitely pull all the bedding back off any wet spots, put down the PDZ, and leave it until they come in again. That’s on top of trying out the pellets. It may be that they’re only worth if for the “clean” horses who pee in one spot and don’t trash their stall. You could also switch to straight pelleted bedding. It’s typically cheaper than shavings, and you can just add whole pellets when you’re adding bedding, so that you regularly have a mix of broken down and full pellets which will also absorb more urine than even shavings on top of pellets.
@JB around here pellets cost more than shavings.
TSC generally sells (fine or coarse) shavings 2 bags for $9.
Their brand of pellets is $5.99 per bag.
On sale, 2 for $10.
Coverage is the same per bag of either.
My horse is in a 40x40 dirt paddock 24/7 and I use pellets plus shavings where he pees. He is very tidy and always pees in one spot. Each day I pull back the clean top layer, remove the heavily wet bedding and add a few scoops of dry pellets then cover with shavings. Some urine will still seep into the dirt, but not too much. Once in a while I will clean before I take him out and leave the pee spot open to dry while we ride.
Same here, but I find I end up using fewer pellets over the same duration since I’m not dragging shavings out with manure most of the time, so it’s either cheaper, or about the same. And I have the added bonus of a smaller manure pile and faster breakdown
