anyone used pelleted bedding?

[Hacienda Del Sol]

I'd like to know any experiences, positive and negative, anyone has had using wood pellet bedding--woody pet, magnum, etc.

[appyday]

Yes I use woody pet and or equine fresh...love it...there are other posts we have done about it.

[Cam]

I use it. I like it ok. What I don't like is the odor after a few days. My mare doesn't urinate as much as the geldings and her stall tends to get a little dusty. Also in the winter when it gets below freezing consistently it tends to freeze and clump. I mix shavings with it in real cold weather. (I don't suppose that would be a problem in your area) What I like the best is that its easier to obtain/store/handle than the compressed shavings. Overall cost is equitable to shavings. I have used Woody Pet and a 'generic' brand with no name, just a white 40# bag with a horse head on it. Cheaper, but not as good quality. I use Woody Pet exclusively now.

[Bonnie M]

I use it and absoloutely love it!

My feed store carries Equine Pine. I actually only use it one stall, this stall has stall mats. I tried it in the past in a stall without stall mats and it didn't work too well.

It has reduced the time cleaning the stall and the amount I have to take out. I did buy a fork with tines that were closer together, because the manure tends to get dried up more and will break into small pieces. I think it is called the wonder fork.

[PasoJoy]

I have been using 'Equine Fresh' pine pellets, cheaper than 'Woody Pet' and they are the same quality...I like them better than shavings, easier to pick thru, and yes they do get dusty, you have to wet them down good.

[Cindy]

I use Woodypet and love it. Less time cleaning stalls, less waste and no big pile of shavings. I do have mats in all stalls and do not think it would work as well without mats.

[SandyMM]

We have used either Woody Pet (30# bag) or Equine Fresh (40# bag) for a couple of years now.
Pros:
•easier to store
•easier to clean
•horses stay cleaner - doesn't stick in manes/tails
•lasts longer than equivalent amt of shavings
•less waste to haul out, so smaller outside manure piles
•supposedly bio-degrades faster and more thoroughly
•can substitute for kitty litter when your get stuck in the mud and need some 'gravel' for traction!

Cons:
•can get dusty if damp spots aren't stirred in
•works better in matted stalls
•in driest weather should be sprayed lightly and allowed to break down some before putting horse in stall

[Pam M]

I just tried some for the first time and I'm going back to shavings BUT my stalls aren't matted and that probably makes all the difference in the world. For me, the big problem is the dust. I've got the pellets on top of sand and the dust has gotten pretty bad. But I hear mostly great stuff about it.

[motorgypsy]

We used equine Fresh when Brandy and Brilliant were restricted to a small area for their recovery for four months. We used it over stall mats but we always contour the mats so they drain because Brandy pees gallons. We kept it stirred and eally liked it.

[Abejita]

The fork is called a Fine Tines Fork isnt it? Woody pet people manufacture it I think..I just use plain pine sawdust ..But I LOVE those forks!!! I actually ordered one thru the mail before you could get them at TSC..They are worth the few extra bucks ,especially with the smaller manure some of the Pasos seem to extrude ;-) or for those that attempt to destroy their stalls..

[SandyMM]

For me, the big problem is the dust.

The key to the pelleted bedding is that it _requires_ moisture... which absolutely flies in the face of conventional stall management wisdom. If your stalls are too dusty, they are just way too dry... but mats help and if you don't have them, some of the advantages are less obvious...

[Dianne]

we have the pellets here too and back in Co on rubber mats the woody pet worked just great! now we are on a generic brand and the stalls are dirt floor (which will soon change back to mats) so they do "mix" in the dirt floor and make it dust...after we stripped out one stall down to hard dirt after it had shavings in it, I threw in a couple of bags of pellets and didnt wet them down but then walked in there to spread them out more only to slip and fall hard on my booty :cry: So I think these are ok ..just be careful to wet them down before you walk on them LOLOL
IF and when we get new mats down they make it SO easy to clean and no smell either..I like them overall

[CarolU]

Jamie, Judi switched to them exclusively in her barn. The pellets they sell for wood stoves are a lot cheaper then Woody pet or the brands for horses.

Mike Ecker also switched to them in his barn. Said it was a pain to switch and completely rebed all his stalls, but once he did, he cut his bedding costs to 1/3 and cleaning time about the same.

There are two people that you know well, who swear by them.

[Barbwire]

One note about using the wood pellets made for pellet stoves...It is important to make sure they are made from softwoods. The pellets made from hardwoods contain black walnut which isn't too good on horse's feet, also hardwoods aren't as absorbent. I had to call around to quite a few places until I found a source for pellets made from pine. As luck would have it, after the hurricanes a lot of people bought pellet stoves so the price of the pellets skyrocketed.

I now use straw pellets and they seem to be working as good as the pine pellets. I will not know about their odor absorption properties until the summer when things heat up. Right now there is no ammonia smell at all.

[Hacienda Del Sol]

Thank you for all your responses. It seems each year I have problems getting shavings--I purchase them in bulk, in a 40 yard container. So I'm now looking for alternatives. Between horses here for training and some borders I have around 30 horses here, all stalled in matted, box stalls. Right now I pay $350 for a 40 yard container of shavings, which lasts around two months. I think the pellets may cost more initially but I should be able to save in the ability to quickly compost my manure, since I won't have such a high carbon content. Can someone tell me what they pay for pellets?

[Barbwire]

Straw pellets are $220/ton.

[PasoJoy]

I just bought some yesterday, and the price has gone up....Equine Fresh is up to $5.63 for a 40# bag. :mad: at Tractor Supply..
Last time I bought them, about 6 or 7 weeks ago they were $4.58 per bag....Woody Pet was the same price, but for a 30# bag..

[Cindy]

My bedding cost has increased by $2,000 a year with the Woodypet instead of bulk shavings and I have only 13 stalls. But it is worth it to me because of the ease of cleaning, less manure pile and no big, ugly pile of shavings.