Picking stall with straw bedding: please instruct!

[JoZ]

I go through this each time I have a mare due to foal. If I had my way, I would magically spread the straw in the mare's stall about 2 minutes before the baby is born -- and whisk it all away 2 minutes afterwards! But of course that can't happen in real life. In fact I tend to think that activities like spreading straw and wrapping the mare's tail tend to PROLONG the waiting process. "Hmm, straw... must not give birth for another week..."

I have pelleted bedding under the straw, FWIW. I even pulled the straw in from the walls a bit in case the mare chose to make her deposits around the edge, but to no avail. Her natural walking and sleeping activities pushed the straw back out to the perimeter. So I have poops on top of straw, and wet straw with wet pellets underneath in the pee spots.

I know some of you use straw by choice. And others use it more successfully and willingly than I for foaling. So please, walk me through the picking process. What tool do you use? Do you try to pull the straw away from the manure and pee spots, and then pick up the waste? Do you just resign yourself to picking up a forkful of straw with each small bit of manure, so your wheelbarrow is at least 60% straw (some of it still in good condition)? Do you bank the straw during the day (this is more for pregnant mares) and fluff it out at night? Please help me make this less of a chore!

[Melyni]

I had to muck out endless boxes of straw bedding in my youth as a working student!
I HATE straw bedding. There is no way to make it easy, sorry you just have dig it all out.
yours
MW

[Flying Hill]

I agree, straw is a pain! When I just have it for one broodmare and am trying to keep it really clean I find it easiest to put on an OB disposable glove and hand pick the poop as often as possible! For the wet I use a metal pitchfork (4 or 5 tine) to fluff away the dry/clean stuff and then pick up the wet. If the stall is empty during the day, I bank the straw to let any semi-wet dry.

[BigHorseLittleHorse]

I think it depends on your straw. Sometimes our bales have very short-stemmed straw, and sometimes much longer. I find it's easiest to clean when it's medium length. Too long and the straw gets wrapped up in big rolls as they spin around. Too short and it packs down into a solid slab.

Our stalls are matted, and if a horse is particularly messy, we put down a very thin layer of shavings over the favorite pee spots, so there isn't a big puddle on the mat the next day.

Anyway, I usually use a metal pitchfork with medium tines - I think there are about 10? I pick up the obvious piles, sometimes tilting the fork to one side or the other to lessen the amount of clean straw I'm grabbing. If you wear gloves, you can grab some of the clean straw out of the wheelbarrow by hand and put it back :).

Then I flip the fork over and scrape the clean straw away from the dirty. Clear a corner of the stall, and then you can move the clean stuff over there. If you scrape lightly enough and the straw isn't too packed, any stray poops will actually fall down below the straw and you can pick them up after you move the straw away. I scrape off as much of the clean stuff as I can, and then the wet stuff is easier to get out. And yes, I bank the straw up during the day and pull it down at night right before the horses come in, so it's nice and fluffy for them :)

[Daydream Believer]

I love straw! I find it much faster and easier to muck than shavings. Much less dust also.

OK..how to muck it. First go in and pick up the piles that are easy and on top. Then rake the good straw towards the walls away from any soiled or wet straw. Leave the wet or soiled straw on the floor in the middle. Work around the stall in a circular pattern pulling the clean straw away with your fork to the wall. When you are done, you simply pick up the soiled straw in a couple of big forkfuls, rake up any straggler turds and then use some Stall Dry on the wet spot. I let it dry until shortly before evening chores. Then I pull the old straw down into the middle and bed the sides. Viola! A fresh clean stall.

[avezan]

I do that magical thing! haha. When I think the mare is getting ready, I will bank the stall with whole flakes of straw. I have shavings down as regular bedding. The flakes usually stay out of the way of the mare during the day/night. When I hear the mare's water break, I quickly spread another bale or 2 where the shavings are. Then over the next few days, I just pick out the dirty straw and dont' replace it. By the time the foal's umbilical stump is dry, there is just a day or 2 of straw left. I used to bed down with the straw when I thought the mare was getting ready. But I HATE cleaning a straw stall, and sometimes I would end up doing this for a week or more. It really fills up the wheelbarrow fast and doubles the size of your manure pile. Now for that week, I just have the banked flakes and clean the shavings as usual.

[Creaghgal]

I use thick rubber gloves and get every single little piece out every time.

[SmartAlex]

Pelleted bedding underneath will make it more difficult albeit, more absorbent.
My mare is bedded with hay because me mother over feeds, and I just cant train her not to.
Determine where the clean corner is. Get as much of the clean straw over to the clean corner. Remove the major manure and wet spots while continuing to put all the clean you find in the clean pile. Finish by shoveling (mats) and sweeping to bare floor. Redistribute the clean pile.

[sid]

Ah, the key to cleaning stalls bedded with straw is by using a big barley fork. Only 4, widely spaced tines. Simply skim the dry straw from the top and bank up against a wall. You'll feel the wet, heavy areas and you can take that out in big hunks. Any poop that falls through the tines, I pick up with a regular fork (future fork).

I always put a light layer of kiln-dried shaving underneath the straw because it will absorb most of the pee.

[sanctuary]

This method really does work:

35 years and many mucking incarnations later, I have come to find that a TOTALLY clean stall just doesn't work. It is wasteful in time and bedding. I used to be maniacal. I have gotten over it. I had a breeding operation for a time too, so I am familiar with the needs of broodmares.
The fact is that clean fresh bedding is just not absorbent. Straw needs the horses walking around on it for a few days to break up the fibers before it can be fully absorbent. Shavings too. Even that does not beat the absorbency of manure. Straw over shavings or wood pellets is the biggest nightmare of all.
Tool of choice is a good hefty 5 time pitchfork, any more tines and they bind up in the straw. 4 tines let too much manure slip through.
The method I have developed over the years keeps the middle dry, i.e. no puddles, a nice deep bed, not just a layer of toilet paper and about 2 bales of straw per week per stall, pig horses not included.
Starting from bedding day, I start in the wet spot and dig it out, I only take out the straw that is yellow or orange colored, the semi soiled I put in a pile to the side, lime or stall dry if you wish but not necessary with this method, again pigs not included. FILL the wet spot with dry manure or the mashed manure and straw, cover the manure with the not so clean straw, and use the rest of straw in the stall around where the horse is dirtier, making sure that ALL of the straw is moved around at least once a week or ten days, rake the floor and corners out so moldy bedding does not build up. Bed with1 1/2 to 2 bales of straw.
For the next 2, 3 or 4 days depending on the horse's habits and the season, I only pick out manures and fluff and redistribute bedding. Then dig out the wet spot and refill with manure and recover and there should still be enough bedding in the stall for another day or two. When the bedding has worked down, I strip out the wet spot, fill it, move all of the bedding and bed the stall up again. Broodmares will probably only go 2 or 3 days, ponies can go 4 or 5. Standing in is another big factor.
With this method, picking days take five or ten minutes, dig out days take 20, plus bedding. Dig out days are heavy, so I try to only have a couple of stalls a day to do and keep it rotating through the week.
Remember that foals need to eat their dam's manure to provide their guts with the flora necessary to process solid foods.
When I think a mare is going to foal, I try to keep the poops picked out, but leave the bottom layer undisturbed, it will soak up more of the birth fluids that way. With a good bottom I find I do not need to bank the stall. As soon as the foal is on the ground I start cleaning the stall around the horses and bed 'em up high.

[rideagoldenpony]

All that advice above aside...... my "trick" is to not bed them in straw until I absolutely HAVE to.

How do I get away with this? I use the Chemetrics milk tests!!!!! This totally takes the guesswork out of how close you are and how soon you need to put out the straw.

I keep it outside of the stall, for just in case I am caught off guard, but that really isn't common. I did have one foal last year where I was bedding the stall while the mare was picking a place to lay down. She was completely unperterbed by the process! Not every mare will be like her though, she's a real pet.

I completely swear by the Chemetrics tests though. If you want to order yourself a kit (20 tests per kit), you can get them at: http://www.foalingwatch.com/ShoppingCart.asp Seriously, it has revolutionized foaling for me!

[Blinkers On]

I love straw! I find it much faster and easier to muck than shavings. Much less dust also.

OK..how to muck it. First go in and pick up the piles that are easy and on top. Then rake the good straw towards the walls away from any soiled or wet straw. Leave the wet or soiled straw on the floor in the middle. Work around the stall in a circular pattern pulling the clean straw away with your fork to the wall. When you are done, you simply pick up the soiled straw in a couple of big forkfuls, rake up any straggler turds and then use some Stall Dry on the wet spot. I let it dry until shortly before evening chores. Then I pull the old straw down into the middle and bed the sides. Viola! A fresh clean stall.


All of the above!
I LOVE straw! Clean, tidy, makes a great bed when done well! You can rake the broken down parts as well the wet spot, etc. So nice. I love to give a flying leap and belly flop into a deeply bedded straw stall! It's wonderful!

[goeslikestink]

i have straw beds when i luck out i empty all water bowls and clean them at the same time
take out any feed bowls and haynets
then i pick out the dirty on top then clean a space in a corner making sure nothing is there
then muck out with a baraged fork which is a light 4 proned fork can have them short or long handles
then i pick up the bedding schake the poohs out into the wheel barrow depending if wet
it goes in the wheelie if dry and can be re used then goes on a pile in the corner i have cleaned
then continue till all bedding has been sorted to clean in the corner eand dirty wet in the wheelie
then i get a yard broom which stiff and scrub the floor from any wet or dirty deposits left

then i got and do the rest of the stables that way leaving the ones clean to dry for a while
on the last stable when dont i return to the 1st
then put the cleanish bedding down from the corner as a bottom bed and bank the sides
i then go and get a bale of straw or sections of straw to replace what i took out as dirty
and then add the new cllean straw on top of the bottom bed so its clean deep and fluffy
then i fill the water buckets all up the haynets and replace them all in the boxes
ready for the horses to come into
i re do the feeds in the evening in the evening so its fresh to eat for the horses
the same as i would in the morning the only thing i do last at night when all done is to put my beat in soak for the next evening usesage and 1st morning feds and to fed the cats and put them away and clean them out as well and they also have straw beds

after each usage of tools and equipment i clean up all walkways ailes and outside the boxes
to include the feed room and hay /straw storage area all clean bits go into a large bucket which i use on cats and all dirty goes on the dump
i cant stand unsweeped yards and bits of string or hay everywhere i might be on mud floor but my yard is clean and so are my fields as i pooh pick every night when the horses are in eating there dinner

if the horses are in for any reason then the stables mucked out morning and evening and pooh picked during the day