Bedding for horses

Bedding for horses is an important part of caring for these animals. What should be the bedding in the stall for the horse to be comfortable?

In the photo: a thin layer of sawdust as bedding for a horse

Contents

What should be the bedding for horses

If you look at things from the point of view of the horse itself, then the bedding must meet the following requirements:

Comfortable for lying down.
Highly absorbent liquid so that the stall does not form puddles and does not smell of ammonia.
Allow horses to dig, forage in the litter, and exhibit other species-typical behavior that a concrete or wood floor will not allow.

In the photo: sawdust as bedding for a horse

Straw. Straw bedding should be deep to keep the horse warm and allow him to lie comfortably. A thick layer of straw in the stall reduces stress on the horse’s joints. In addition, straw bedding can serve as an additional source of food and entertainment for the horse if he runs out of hay. However, wet straw becomes quite heavy and cleaning can be difficult.
Sawdust. Sawdust bedding does not provide as much heat as straw, but this bedding is easy to clean and the depth of sawdust bedding may be less than straw.
Paper. In principle, paper absorbs liquid well. But it is very difficult to make such a bedding, since a lot of paper is required, and the cutter is hardly an indispensable element of the stable equipment.
Rubber mats. This type of bedding can be convenient from the point of view of a person (it is easy to remove excrement from it), but horses do not like rubber as a bedding, because urine, when it gets on such a floor, splashes the horse’s legs and then a puddle remains. However, rubber mats can be an excellent insulating layer between, for example, a concrete floor and sawdust or straw bedding.

In the photo: straw as bedding for horses