Ours is dirt with shavings. Our 4 stalls are 32x32' so mucking them out with a rake and then unloading a truck load of shavings is back breaking and expensive.
We're spending about $160 a month on shavings not to mention hours a month cleaning the stalls.
Is there a better solution?
We're thinking about concrete and stall mats but DS says we'll still have to buy some shavings, just not as much.
No wonder it is costing a fortune, but where do you get your shavings?
We were getting out pine sawdust shaving directly from a sawmill at a cost of 12.00 for a full size F-250 bed full, that may help in reducing costs if you get the shaving direct or maybe make the stall a little smaller
Try to find a direct supplier or check with a nearby race track. I buy shavings from the track at $275 for a 15 cu yard dump truck load. That will last me about 6 months. I have 8 12 X 12 stalls in the main barn and 2 24 X 36 foaling stalls in another. It also sounds like maybe you're bedding extra deep. I have dirt floors with mats, and I use about 1 bag of shavings per stall every couple of weeks. I only use enough shavings to keep the pee from splashing up on them.
Dirt flooring with some old hay and little sawdust in summer. In winter I will throw a couple wheelbarrows of sawdust in there. My horses are only stalled in bad weather (pouring rain) and they have pea gravel runs.
Where I board it is cement floor with rubber matts. I don't use anything in the stalls until late fall into winter as they barely use their stalls. The stalls are open and they can walk in and out freely into a fairly large field and they prefer to lay around in the sand and grass than be inside their stall. However, if I do put shavings in the stalls they will automatically just go in their and poop and pee, so none right now. In the fall I use shavings just from the bags. For each stall I put two bags of shavings and mix in 2 bags of pellets, it helps to soak up more and last longer. Usually will last a week and a half'ish, depeding on how much rain we get...as they wouldn't want to get wet to go outside and do their business...:shock:
Yup, find a mill and many will bag them for you. Much easier to work with.
I don't have actual stalls. It's an "open concept" barn. LOL The horse gets one half and I get the other for storage, etc. About 2/3rd of her side is concrete and 1/3 is wood. But, as I said, it's not a stall - she has free access so there is no need to put anything on the floors. If I could build my own barn, I'd put "A" gravel on the floor and pack it really well.
For a couple of months during the summer, they are in their stalls all day and out at night because of the horse flies. The rest of the year, they have free access to the pasture during the day. We've had to start locking them up at night because one of the horses is allergic to grass. He jumps the electric fence during the night to get to the grass and has coliced.
One horse is new but the other 2 roam around 3 stalls that are 16x16. Once the new horse is acclimated, he'll be turned loose, too.
I have a 14x14 slant roof (3 1/2 walled) run-in with a sand floor, 2 rubber mats, and thick pine shavings during winter months, (as those 6-7 months are really harsh!) - works perfect! Every winter morning when they trot up to the gate, I can always tell which side they were laying on in there
I use Stall Skins & deep easy pick shavings in all but one stall. That stall has mats because the horse in there is a pig so he only gets 1/2 a bag of shavings as that stall requires stripping after each use. Luckily he is seldom in there.
I tried bulk shavings but after finding hunks of metal, big dagger-like pieces of wood & other odd things I gave up. I suppose mills have different standards.
The BO where my child rides has dirt floor stalls that are heavily sanded with shavings (Bought by the truckload) on top and adds pine pellets. Those work great and make the shavings last. They are like the clumping litter. Makes clean up easy too. $5.99 for 40lbs
Mine have sand on the floor of theirs. It's easy to clean (not so easy to keep them clean because they LOVE to roll in it) and it's cheap
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
The Horse Forum
3.4M posts
92.6K members
Since 2006
A forum community dedicated to horse owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about breeding, grooming, reviews, health, behavior, housing, adopting, care, classifieds, and more!