According to a recent university study, researchers looking at horses on restricted calorie diets found that nearly half of them were ingesting wood shavings in their stalls.
Wood shavings aren’t a horse’s “go-to” snack, but when they are put on a diet, bedding can look pretty tasty. Although all the horses in the study remained healthy, ingesting wood shavings can cause potentially serious digestive problems, including colic, and should be discouraged.
If your horse is eating his bedding, one obvious solution is to reduce the amount of bedding in the stall. The SuperStall™ Memory Foam Mattress by IGK Equestrian features a waterproof woven top cover that fits wall-to wall within the box stall, creating a “moisture tray” that allows all liquids and manure to be captured on top and easily removed with the bedding. This not only reduces the amount of bedding needed to provide comfort (or a snack), but also reduced odor, labor to muck out stalls, and disposal costs.
The SuperStall™ Top Cover is constructed of tough fabric that can be custom fit for everything from a 12’ x 12’ box stall to a 12’ x 24’ foaling stall
Have you ever caught your horse snacking in bed? What did you do?
September 17, 2015 at 6:28 pm |
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September 17, 2015 at 6:30 pm |
[…] to consume wood shavings during wet, cold weather because they are both hungry and bored. Ingesting wood shavings can cause potential serious digestive problems, including colic, so be sure to keep wood shavings […]
March 26, 2018 at 1:41 pm |
[…] Is Your Horse Eating in Bed? This post revealed horses on restricted calorie diets were ingesting wood shavings in their stalls. […]
March 26, 2018 at 6:46 pm |
[…] materials not only produce dust, but can also create an uneven surface, which could cause slippage. Wood shavings should also be minimized in the stall due to the risk of ingestion, which can cause serious digestive problems, including […]