Cost of extra bedding?

[Tegan]

I just moved to a new barn, which just relocated to a new facility. So things are kind of hectic right now, and I'm hoping that's why I'm having this problem. But, my horse's stall isn't bedded enough.

I went and bought a few bags at TSC, but for $5/bag, it's going to be expensive to provide my own extra bedding.

I am going to talk to BM tomorrow and hopefully we can get it sorted out, but if this is a normal thing, how much would you expect to pay for extra bedding? It is some kind of sawdust mix that they get big loads of.

I don't think I'd need THAT much more, maybe just an extra 1/2 wheelbarrow/week.

How much do shavings normally cost? If I pay extra for more bedding, what is a reasonable amount? $10? $20? I know prices vary in different places, but I'm just looking to get an estimate on what I should offer and expect.

[mjmvet]

There seems to be a HUGE range in what people consider adequate bedding. I've seen some places that have literally a couple shovels full in the center of the stall, and others that have so much bedding the horses actually have to step up into the stall. I'm talking 2 1/2 feet at the top of the banked sides, and 1 1/2 feet in the middle. I would talk it over with the barn owner to see if you can reach an agreement. Shavings are a major expense in horse keeping.

I assume your barn has bulk shavings delivered? I think if you were to supplement with bags you might be talking between 20-40 dollars per month. (depending on how much they currently put in).

[CamdenLab]

I'm thinking that if your horse only needs a 1/2 wheelbarrow per week, is it really worth it to be bothered? I'd say either go without or purchase a bad of shavings once every two weeks. A bad of shavings equals about a level wheelbarrow full once it's out of the bag.

Our barn states in the contract, a minimum of 4 inches of bedding at all times. I've bedded with less and been happy with it, just as long as there are mats. The mare is a hog anyway.

[Cowgirl]

The problem with buying your own bedding and adding it is that then the barn will just put in less to maintain whatever standard they have. BTDT. You have to pay THEM to do it so that you can be sure you get what you want.

At my last place, I paid, on average, about $25 extra per month per horse, which was the cost of one extra large bag of shavings per week per stall. Fortunately, we had stalls with runs attached and doors open 24/7 and my horses tended to go potty outside, otherwise it might have been more expensive. I like a good four to six inches, and most places here just do one bag in the stalls, which is like a dusting.

At my current place, the board is so high I just asked them to bed deeper, as they advertise that they do, and they did that for me. Couldn't be happier about the depth of shavings where I am now.

I HATE the bulk shavings...almost as much as I hate the stove pellets that you water. LOL! But I imagine that people use the bulk shavings because they are cheaper than the fluffy bagged ones. I'd expect to pay less for that.

[deltawave]

for $5/bag, it's going to be expensive to provide my own extra bedding.

Your barn owner might be paying close to the same price, and he/she is there to make a profit. So I wouldn't expect miracles in the cost department if you want extra bedding. Extra bedding also means more time to clean the stall for many horses.

I would expect to pay not one cent less than the cost of the extra bedding, the cost of the labor needed to maintain a deeply-bedded stall, and the profit margin the BO adds on, provided the latter was in line with other services provided.

[Huntertwo]

The problem with buying your own bedding and adding it is that then the barn will just put in less to maintain whatever standard they have. BTDT. You have to pay THEM to do it so that you can be sure you get what you want.



This is a very good point. You don't want to purchase and add your own - barn staff sees that there is plenty of bedding and now doesn't add the barn shavings that you are paying for.

I just pay extra to my BO ($6.00) a bag and let her handle it from there.

[Lesley Feakins]

One of my boarders requested extra bedding. We had at that time shavings amounting to approx 4 inches on mats but she wanted much more. She was happy to pay $25 per month extra for the shavings and I was happy to supply them. It worked out fine.

[ThoroughbredFancy]

Just ask if your BO can supply more for an additional charge.

I can't stand those TSC bagged shavings anyway. They don't absorb and are a pain to sift through. I know when, instead of asking for extra bedding, boarders add that to their stalls here the barn staff hate it! It's no fun to clean.

[Tegan]

Thanks for the input.

My mare is a pig. She drinks a ton of water and then pees everywhere. So it's not really surprising I'm having this problem.

I'm not too picky about bedding, there are mats so the bedding doesn't have to be very deep, but it was at the point where there were almost bare spots.
They did bed a few stalls today but didn't do hers, so I can see where adding extra bedding can be a problem. That is one of the reasons I would rather pay extra to use the barn's shavings than have to buy all of my own.

I haven't talk to the BM about it yet, she's at a show for the weekend. But I'm sure we'll work something out. Sounds like $25 is a reasonable rate if it comes to that.

I wonder though, do most barns just manage with the messy horses and cover the extra bedding needed, or is it common to pay extra for the piggy ones?

[CamdenLab]

I wonder though, do most barns just manage with the messy horses and cover the extra bedding needed, or is it common to pay extra for the piggy ones?

I've found that the messier horses at our barn have less bedding because they muck it up daily anyway. I think that if you have 20 horses, 5 are pigs, 5 just go in one corner and 10 are moderate, it sort-of cancels out the pigs. I've never heard of anyone paying for extra bedding/labor becuase their horse is a hog. Everyone just bitches about it.

[eks]

I don't think you should have to pay extra to have additional bedding. It would be one thing if the stall was bedding properly, but if there isn't enough to cover the floor then this is unacceptable. I would talk to the BM first to see if you can have more bedding before you offer to pay extra. I guess it would also depend on how much you are paying for board and if it is "full board"

[casper324]

The shavings debate will never be over because every horse owner has a different ideas of how horses should be kept. I do not bed deeply but the stalls are bedded to do the job shavings are intended to do, absorb pee and give a cushion to the horse.

If you want to add a bag of shavings a week, fine, thats 25.00 per month, don't add more as it will just go out in the pile, IMHO. I would also ask the BO if there would be an extra charge for labor due to the additional shavings. My boarder bedded her pony deeply. Sure it looked pretty but I don't think she realized how difficult it is to find small pony manure in a stall bedded 6 inches deep with cheap large shavings. The waste from that one week was more then I spread in a month normally simply because I could not shift through the stall to my standards with it bedded so deep. Not to mention the vet visit when the pony developed a cough! VERY COUNTER PRODUCTIVE

If your horses feet are healthy chances are he's bedded fine.

[spotmenow]

I don't think you should have to pay extra to have additional bedding. It would be one thing if the stall was bedding properly, but if there isn't enough to cover the floor then this is unacceptable. I would talk to the BM first to see if you can have more bedding before you offer to pay extra. I guess it would also depend on how much you are paying for board and if it is "full board"

Um, "bedded properly" means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. My question is: Did you look at how the stalls were bedded before you moved your horse there? You say they just moved to a new facility, but did you look at the amount of bedding at the old facility?

I once ran into this problem at a facility that I LOVED but they didn't even use enough bedding to cover the entire floor of the stall; their response was "there are rubber mats". Well, last I knew, rubber doesn't absorb urine. The compromise was that I paid a reduced rate for board but was responsible for cleaning and providing the bedding for my own stalls. I was happy there for five years with that arrangement.

[trubandloki]

I HATE the bulk shavings...almost as much as I hate the stove pellets that you water. LOL! But I imagine that people use the bulk shavings because they are cheaper than the fluffy bagged ones. I'd expect to pay less for that.

Or, some people actually like the bulk finer bedding more than the fluffy stuff that looks good but is not overly functional.

[ThoroughbredFancy]

Or, some people actually like the bulk finer bedding more than the fluffy stuff that looks good but is not overly functional.

Yes! Those fluffy shavings do nothing! They do not absorb or sift well at all, IMO.

Currently, at my barn, we used pelleted bedding (great for my wet guy) and the BO provides one 40lb a week to each boarder. So, about 4 bags a month. Most horses seem to be OK with that but my guy is wet, messy and I know he lays down every night so I try to maintain a dry bed for him. So I usually have to buy two extra bags a month. Either from the BO or TSC. Either way, it's just $12.00-14.00 extra. No big deal.

[Sansena]

$25 a month is nothing.
And no, the BM shouldn't incur an extra cost because a horse is an exceptional pig, in most cases. Usually board is priced at the bare minimum to attract clients into the facility, then the hope is that through supplemental services it becomes profitable. As another poster mentioned, there's no markup on products.

At my barn, I've been bringing 2 bags of bedding about every 10 days to add to my tidy gelding's stall. I just like him to be bed more deeply in winter. I've mentioned to the BM that I'd like to keep him at this deeper, so please continue to add *your* bedding. He does.

However, there's another horse there who is a complete & utter pig. The owner has never brought an additional bag of bedding. Her comment was "Good thing Sansena's horse is so tidy. It makes up for my guy's pigginess". Umm... WRONG. Board is at barebones pricing, and that's why she took the stall. She was told upon move-in that if porcine pony required anything additional, she would be charged. And doesn't she.. several different fancy grains, oral meds admin'd via syringe twice daily, every day, soaked lunch hay extender (her horse is the only lunch patron), several tack trunks, rediculous amount of blankets, and tack, etc.

There comes a point where the BM/ BO needs to charge for the extras. The shavings this horse uses are going to be charged to her board bill. If pig's owner feels it's unreasonable, she's welcome to find board elsewhere.

It's not the BM's responsibility to pay for the boarder's riding habit.

[gypsymare]

Um, "bedded properly" means a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

Amen to that. One barn I was at thought two large shovelfuls was enough bedding. I don't care if they have those fancy padded rubber floors, it's still a problem if there's a huge puddle of pee that my mare is standing in half the day. Some barns bedded in straw to their hocks, some with 4-6 inches of shavings or sawdust, everyone has a different opinion.