I am considering putting some wood/bark chip down in our field shelter which has no floor but my friend thinks they may eat it especially now the grass is so low.What do other people use? Have tried rubber mats but they dont stay put so thought maybe straw but I have nowhere to store it.Thanks for any advice.
I put field mats in mine. They are rubber with holes in so the grass can grow through. Then I made half a bed with bedmax. This is working OK at the moment but they have only been in this winter field for about 4 weeks and this is my first winter using field shelters. To be honest they haven't been in them much as there is loads of grass to eat.
They might try them but I can't imagine that they would eat them in any quantity. We have heavy dairy mats on quite heavy/ wet clay in ours with straw on top and it has worked well, even when we have shut them on during the snow ( I have a stable front on the field shelter and we divide it in 2 with bars). They don't eat the straw particularly, so I don't see why yours would eat the bark chips. Ours did have a big round of hay out in the field though when the grass disappeared.
Zahkira (GR Amaretto x Taffetta) Linda East Sussex
I've got hardcore in my shelters with rubber mats on top. The hardcore is well compressed and the mats never move. My horses happily lay down on the mats without any bedding.
Well I think I will try the wood chip then,seeing as several of you say they are fine, I thought they would be I think maybe my friend worries a tad too much , thanks all.
Make sure the woodchip is all from softwoods and not just shreddings from a guy who trims trees - the latter may be cheaper but you never know if you are getting any toxic material in there (we went through this with a non-horsey YO who just put any old tree shreddings down in the winter turnout to save money!)
I've used woodchips but make sure there is no yew in them as a few companies I contacted couldn't say for definite there wasn't. they ate a few bits but not much. Otherwise I have laid paving slabs in sand which works really and makes a base as solid as a concrete floor.
If my experience is anything to go by, you'd be as well sprinkling the horses, LOL! I tried Jeyes-ing some chopped straw bedding I used with my old mare - apparently Jeyes = highly delicious condiment as it didn't stop her one bit!
Field shelter surfaces
Posted - 21 Oct 2012 : 5:08:08 PM
Zahkira (GR Amaretto x Taffetta)
, thanks all.