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Discussion on Straw bedding , colic ? | |
Author | Message |
Member: npo33901 |
Posted on Monday, Nov 9, 2009 - 3:29 pm: I have two horses, out during the day and open stables at night. Violino is a constant eater while Trubador is a "meditator" . He is standing looking around, while his friend is eating .I'd like to change the bedding from shawings ( which I am having difficulties to get ) to straw . I am worried that Violino will stuff himself overnight and get a colic. Would it be possible not to give them any hay at the evening feed , just rations and that would balance Violinos greed ? I am thinking of installing "slow feeder" hay rack . It is getting very cold here at night and I have concrete in the open stall . What must I do ? |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Monday, Nov 9, 2009 - 4:18 pm: Hello Anna Marie,I think withholding hay is more likely to stimulate feeding on the straw. It is the desire to chew that horses like to satisfy. DrO |
Member: rtrotter |
Posted on Monday, Nov 9, 2009 - 5:24 pm: Anne-Marie,If you do change your bedding situation to straw ( rather than shavings, peat moss, or other suitable bedding), I know for me there is a big difference in the type of straw my horses will or won't eat. My horses will eat wheat straw, but will not touch rye straw, but also will not eat any straw if given hay. Also, I have noticed whenever I try and switch to straw, they spend a certain amount of time attempting to eat it, but eventually give up and go back to their hay. Rachelle |
Member: cheryl |
Posted on Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009 - 8:12 am: Anna-Marie - can you get wood pellets in Portugal?They make great bedding - I prefer them over shavings hands down - I lay the bag on the stall floor - cut an X across the top of it - fill it with water - wait about an hour - when the pellets are re-hydrated I dump the bag - probably takes around 6-8 bags to properly bed a stall - then adding one occasionally keeps the stall in good shape - Much easier to clean than shavings or straw - way less waste. Also much easier to store than shavings or straw and they decompose much faster. Cheryl K |
Member: mrose |
Posted on Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009 - 11:24 am: I wouldn't be concerned about the straw. We've kept many horses on straw bedding without any problems. When I was young that was all anyone used for bedding. I think it's been used for hundreds of years, actually. The main thing is to make sure it's clean, not moldy and is dust free as possible. If a horse nibbles on it, it's not going to hurt the horse; and, if there is hay, the horse will eat the hay over the straw, except for maybe an exploratory mouthful or two.Straw is a lot warmer than other types of bedding. I like it. Where we live now we are unable to get it easily, and it's more difficult to dispose of here in Utah. |
Member: ekaufman |
Posted on Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009 - 3:57 pm: I've had two imported mares that would only eat straw when they came, and neither got sick from it. Took them a while to figure out that hay wasn't bedding, so I just gave them straw in the meantime. I'd just make sure your guys have good quality straw (just in case) and some hay available for the munchies. |
Member: npo33901 |
Posted on Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009 - 5:59 pm: Thank you all for the info. It is just fantastic to heat all your opinions and experiences !! And in such a short time !!I will go into search for good straw . My hay is not very good. It is a constant battle here to get anything of a good quality . But we do love living here......... Sara, I thought to get straw in the US was easy . I heard, farmers aren't allowed to burn it and it is difficult to dispose of it . If you use straw, why don't you compost it and put it back on land ? I'll let you know into what "covers" I'll wrap my two bunnies. |
Member: mrose |
Posted on Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009 - 6:22 pm: When we lived in Northern California, straw was readily available, and it was good, clean straw. It used to be available on the N.E. coast also. Here in the SW part of the country (Utah) things are different. First of all, feed stores, sell just that, feed of various types, no hay. Some have limited bedding available for about 4 times what it's worth. Farmers here use straw for bedding when they are lambing, but I've never seen any that was clean, not moldy or overly dusty. I now use shavings, which I have to get from a mill that is 3 hrs. away.Where we live, if we could find straw, we could burn it during certain times of the year when the weather isn't too dry and windy. We could also put it back into the land, but with the dirt we have here (adobe) it doesn't add the right nutrients without additives put in at the same time. We can also haul it off to the dump for a fee per truckload. The biggest problem is finding it. If you can't get good hay, you can supplement with mixed feeds, vitamins, etc. You probably have it down, but if you don't, there are some good articles on feeding on this site. When we moved from northern Calif. to sw Utah it was a big adjustment to how we cared for the horses, and took us a while to figure out. Sometimes I'm not sure I have it down yet, after 16+ years! |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009 - 8:38 am: In our area, Piedmont North Carolina US, straw is a hot commodity for placing over freshly seeded lawns and mulch for landscaping. I generally expect to pay 1.50 a bale or more.DrO |
Member: npo33901 |
Posted on Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009 - 9:59 am: Dr. O, I have a misleading info about straw .Our acquaintances in California built a straw bale house ( he is a prof. builder ) and there probably is straw freely available . I have some decomposed straw bales and it becameis excellent soil .! These days we are spreading all "horsemanure/compost all over the "pastures" . US is a big country ....Different climates. |
Member: stek |
Posted on Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009 - 10:24 am: You're right Anna-Marie, in the US it depends on your location. There seem to be different regional preferences in addition to limits because of climate and what grows well. On the east coast where I grew up we always bedded stalls with straw, but here in the northwest everyone seems to use wood products, probably because it is so available due to the logging industry.We can get beautiful straw from the eastern part of our state but it runs about $5-6 per bale. |
Member: npo33901 |
Posted on Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009 - 4:54 pm: Sara, I still have to figure out the feeding , as my hay is not so good. Many times I have to throw out half of the bale (mold) .Shawings - I used imported Allpsan from Germany , they were dust free and from good trees . The importer is only willing to sell complete truck/lory of 500 bales and there is zero cooperation from the "reseller" 80 km away. Local shawings are dangerous - as there is a cathepillar "Professionario" here, highly poisonous and any contact with them brings allergies. They live in local pine forests. My horses and one dog are terribly allergic to them . I hope I'll get some good straw !!! |
Member: npo33901 |
Posted on Friday, Nov 13, 2009 - 11:21 am: Well, they slept first night on straw/wooden shavings and survived it . They managed to eat up most of the bedding , must have spent most of the night there as the stable was full of manure/mest .Unfortunately I got only WHEAT straw and it is dusty . I gave them both light lunging this morning and they were normal and happy . The temp is DrOpping and I have no other choice at the moment, but to bed them with this dusty straw . I am searching for better. |
Member: npo33901 |
Posted on Tuesday, Nov 17, 2009 - 4:21 pm: I can only get wheat straw .I am putting some shavings on the base and over put the wheat straw. By the morning there is nothing left from the straw. And do give them 9 pm hay . I'd like the whole bed from straw , but I am really afraid . At night the temperature is nearing the freezing point . Tomorrow I'll try to manufacture some slow feeder for the night - will that help ? Viiolino has a stomach like a pregnant cow . |
Member: kpaint |
Posted on Tuesday, Nov 17, 2009 - 8:37 pm: I have always bedded the horses in straw. Two of them eat a lot of the straw, and no one has ever been sick. It is wheat straw. |
Member: npo33901 |
Posted on Wednesday, Nov 18, 2009 - 3:35 am: I am sooo worried about this . Thanks Vicki for the incarrigement . They love to sleep laying down and straw is so warm...... |
Member: maggienm |
Posted on Wednesday, Nov 18, 2009 - 8:19 am: Straw doesn't have nutrients but otherwise is safe for horses to eat.I would just make sure they have access to water during the night. After they get used to the new food they will probable slow down on eating it as it isn't really very yummy. |
Member: frances |
Posted on Thursday, Dec 17, 2009 - 10:19 am: Hi Anne-Marie,How are your horses doing now on the straw bedding? Are they still eating it? Still ok? |
Member: npo33901 |
Posted on Thursday, Dec 17, 2009 - 5:22 pm: LL, thanks for the interest !!!!I am absolutely exhausted - will give you details tomorrow. Good night, AM. |
Member: frances |
Posted on Friday, Dec 18, 2009 - 5:34 am: Sleep well! |
Member: npo33901 |
Posted on Friday, Dec 18, 2009 - 5:43 pm: Yes , LL I did - have little problems to do that .Here is my saga, Frances .I went back to shavings, in spite that they are very expensive . First, I can only get very dusty wheat straw . I'll try to use it when I"ll have a Slow feeder . Than I am hoping, that my horses will nibble on the bad hay rather than eat the bad dusty straw . I've spoken to a farmer - next year he will supply me with rye straw. The winter is unusually cold, some days below zero and N/E winds coming from the Arctic . First time in winter I am not putting blankets on my horses . They can go into the stall , but they are free to go out . My husband is constructing large overhang in front of the stables , so they will be covered when raining . I am a chicken.....I'll let you know when I'll make the change . May I ask you what do you bed our horses on ? |
Member: frances |
Posted on Saturday, Dec 19, 2009 - 7:20 am: Hi Anna-Marie,We normally bed on shavings, but now there is a shortage due to the recession (less demand for furniture etc = less carpentry = fewer shavings) and the guy we get them from just hasn't had any - until yesterday when, ta da! he finally delivered some. He'd had to import it from Italy though (we live in Greece), and we don't know how long the supply is going to last. So we've been thinking of bedding on straw (it would be oat straw), or shredded newspaper or......? Like you, I worry about straw induced colic - I picture those long pieces getting tangled around their intestines - but of course it's true that straw is THE traditional bedding for horses. And my horse tends to eat shavings, so how bad is THAT? If your straw hadn't been so dusty, would you still have gone back to shavings? Were they eating lots of the straw? |
Member: npo33901 |
Posted on Saturday, Dec 19, 2009 - 5:41 pm: LL, my answer is no I would go to straw . Only one horse is eating everything in sight. He is lying down and eats The other is sensitive to dust (heaves) . But they have open stables and can go out night and day . Now in winter ( and we have now -8 C + NE winds ) they would be warmer ( me mother hen imagine so ) . I will get the rye straw when the season starts and hope that I'll get better hay and the slow hay feeder .The price of shavings is very high, but I am starting with deep litter bedding . We local shavings & import from Germany .The best is All Span, dust free , 16 Euro a bale of 30 KG . Did you watch tonight the dancing finals on the BBC ? Good night to you in Greece . I am taking all this advise from the HA. This afternoon I made "slow feeder" , first night for the horses to nibble from it - see tomorrow morning if it will be empty .? |
Member: npo33901 |
Posted on Sunday, Dec 20, 2009 - 6:12 am: LL/frances, is the barley straw less palatable than wheat straw ? |
Member: frances |
Posted on Sunday, Dec 20, 2009 - 10:28 am: Hi Anna-Marie, I don't really know but it seems from what I read on the internet that barley and oat straw are most likely to be eaten. Barley also has sharp "awns" which can be damaging if eaten. Wheat and rye are best, is the general opinion. |
Member: npo33901 |
Posted on Sunday, Dec 20, 2009 - 4:24 pm: frances, thank you . |