Especially when it comes to horses with a cough, many owners ask themselves which bedding is right for their horse. The most commonly used bedding is straw, but for many horses with a cough it is unsuitable due to the high dust content. Are straw pellets a suitable alternative? bitopEQUI® team member Anna from @_annakrone_ reports here on her experiences with straw pellets. She herself has a horse with a cough - her pony Damita Jo has been using straw pellets for 7 years now!
There is a huge range of alternatives to straw on the market that we can use. Today I would like to tell you a bit about straw pellets, how I got into them and what my experiences are as well as some little tips and tricks for using them.
Straw pellets are straw-based bedding that is cleaned and dusted using a special process. During the manufacturing process, the germs and pathogens in particular are killed by the heat and high thermal pressure. The straw is then pressed into small pellets so that they can be easily distributed in the box. For initial bedding, you need around ten sacks of straw pellets, each weighing 20 kg. These are distributed evenly in the box on the stable floor. Depending on the size of the box, more or less bedding can of course be used. After distributing them in the box, the straw pellets must be moistened with water. I have a little tip for you here: don't skimp on the water at the beginning! The pellets absorb everything well. Of course, the box should not be flooded either - a good middle ground is the solution here, but in my experience, people tend to use too little water. You should also make sure that the box is watered evenly. At first I gave my pony Damita plenty of roughage because I was a little unsure whether she would eat the pellets - but this was not the case. Another tip is to pour a bottle of vinegar over the moistened straw pellets when watering them, or switch to rye straw pellets. The horses don't like the bitter taste and therefore ignore the pellets.
In my opinion, the straw pellets are easy to use. Every day after putting the horse out, I take out the manure and add fresh, softened straw pellets as needed. I usually put these in a manure barrow or wheelbarrow and, after they have swelled, I spread them in the box. This creates a dry and well-ventilated mattress that Damita loves to lie on. The complete removal of the manure from the bedding usually takes place every 4-5 months. However, I usually vary this individually depending on the condition of the box bedding. To save costs, I use a big box (500 kg) of straw pellets, as another horse in my stable also suffers from allergy problems and I have therefore switched him to this bedding. With a big box, I can get by for about 4 months for two horses before I have to order a new box.
Overall, I have noticed that my pony is doing much better since using this bedding, the bitopEqui® products and feeding her steamed hay - her symptoms are almost gone! I am of the opinion that straw pellets are an ideal alternative to straw as bedding for my allergy-suffering pony. They also have another advantage: they don't smell and they bind the ammonia, which improves the stable climate and the air.
I hope I could give you a helpful
insight into this bedding alternative. Of course, these are only my
personal experience and you should find the best option for your horse in consultation with your veterinarian. I am convinced by the straw pellets and have noticed a clear improvement in my pony and also in the other horse in our stable - I can now put full weight on Damita again and have even been successful in competitive sport again!
Here you can find our Instagram post about straw pellets!
