Bedding….

Last winter was wet, VERY WET! If you follow my blogs you may recall I had a few flooding issues with my stables, they are at the bottom of a hill and with last year’s amount of rainfall meant my stables were flooding for a pass time!

I was bedding them down with shavings, nothing special, just your average shavings, but building thick walls to try and prevent the water seeping in. Well that was a total failure, all that happened was the shavings turned to mush and floated away!

I went through bed after bed, costing me an absolute fortune each time.

Previously I had had some excellent results with five star pellet bedding, but due to the untimely demise of the companies owner, the business unfortunately was left dormant for a long time.

I loved the pellets, the fact that they were labour saving and money saving, plus amazing absorbency, they were excellent. After the loss of these pellets I tried others, but not one of them could match up to the standard of the five star, so I resorted back to shavings, however after losing so much money and time (and my temper!), I searched for an alternative.

After some research, and speaking to people, (word of mouth is a powerful thing!) I tried out a bedding called Aubiose.

Aubiose claimed to be as good, if not better, than other bedding, so I changed one stable to find out.

I chose the wettest horse, Rocky, and the wettest stable, well if you are going to try something, try it to the maximum eh?!

After a few days I had noticed two things, the first was that the banks I built to block the rain water from seeping in had worked (yey!) and secondly the Aubiose had indeed acted in very much the same way as the pellets had previously, absorbing all liquids, being soooo easy to muck out, reduced my time and muck heap and my stable now once again resembled a stable rather than a swimming pool! I then changed all my stables to Aubiose.

At last I felt I had found a bedding that actually did what it claimed to!

So what is Aubiose?

Aubiose is Hemp which is 100% naturally grown product, and composts down quickly and easily.

How does it work?

Aubiose works by soaking up liquids in a small area, at the base of the bed. The  layer that forms over this wetness reduces the chance of wet bedding being mixed in with the dry. The top layer of the bed remains warm, soft and dry for the horse.

How to make the bed…

To create the initial bed, starting with a clean stable, you will need approx. 8 bales for a 12 x 12 stable, although I only needed 7, (already saved money!!) lay the bed as you would any bed, banks etc as required, then like with pellets, the bedding needs watering to activate the sponge like properties of the hemp, I used a hosepipe but you could use buckets, approx. 1 gallon of water per bale used. Don’t be put off by this, it is  to create the baser of the bed and the top will dry out giving you a lovely soft dry layer. Again this is very similar to the pellets. The hemp then acts very much like a jay cloth, it soaks up liquid and it dries out again!

You can use the Aubiose as a normal bed i.e. muck out daily, or as I prefer to do, as do most people I spoke to, we deep litter it as it is so absorbent that you don’t need to remove the wet daily. In fact I only removed the wet on a monthly basis, and Rocky can wee for England!

Unlike pellets, the bedding does not turn dusty in dry weather, so you don’t need to keep watering it. In fact I have just returned Rocky to his stable (he has been out 24/7 since spring), and the only thing I needed to do was lightly rake the top over. This stable has not been touched for some  months and still the bedding was absolutely fine.

How do I manage the bed?

Simply remove droppings daily, the more frequent the better, but daily is fine, then rake over the top layer to smooth it. If the bed is beginning to look wet in the wee spots, simply rake the dry Aubiose away and dig out the wet. Add more bedding as and when required. I go through approx 1 bale a month to give you an idea.

How do I get rid of the muck?

The Aubiose creates a fabulous compost, so you should have no trouble getting your muck heaps removed, again, unlike other bedding, Aubiose is natural so farmers and allotment holders are keen to have it.

Rocky has now had to have his stable renovated, so the bedding had to be moved. I was interested to see how wet the floor would be, (when I do wet removal, I don’t disturb the whole bed) yes the floor was damp, but certainly not “wet” the Aubiose had taken care of that! Also the amount of waste bedding was an absolute minimal, we moved just under 1 large barrow of waste bedding out, the rest was kept for the banks. Not bad after 6 months use!

Rocky has now had his stable done and a whole fresh bed of Aubiose put down, (the older clean bedding is used under the banks to catch any escaped rain water!) and I shall be enjoying the benefits of it for a long time to come!

Here is Rocky's new bed:

Visit the website for Aubiose here: http://www.aubiose.co.uk/

 

Nettex Product Review – June 14

For my June products I was very kindly given Nettex Bit Wipes, Fly Repellent Advanced and No Rinse body wash.

As I always do, I gave each item a thorough trial in different situations and here are my thoughts…

Firstly, the “Bit Wipes”.

I was given both the apple and the peppermint, both of which smelt lovely!

Initially I was sceptical about having a wipe for the horses bit, after all, is it not easier to simply rinse under the tap after use? Well, quite frankly, no it is not!

The wipes come in a very easy to use tub which separates each wipe, just like a tub of baby wipes do, making them simple, easy, economical and convenient.

Why not use the tap as mentioned? Well, how often does the leather work end up wet? How often do you have water available (shows etc), In the winter when the water is freezing? Yes, I did question the sense in the wipes, but having used them, I can honestly say they are a fabulous invention!

The flavours can encourage a fussy horse take the bit, increase salivation, and tempt a young horse take the bit the first time.

Rocky being a young horse means it is important he has clean tack and is not rubbed by grubby bits, so the wipes mean that as soon as his work is done, the bit is quickly wiped clean and ready for the next use. After using the wipes for a few days, something I noticed was that on approach to his mouth with the bit, Rocky was actually opening his mouth in search of it, whereas previously I had been using the finger in the corner of the mouth option to get him to open. Well with the wipes the only thing to have been changed, I firmly believe Rocky is very happy with them!

The wipes are so simple to use keeping your horses bit hygienic and fresh.

Great job Nettex, excellent idea :D 

 

Secondly I had the Nettex Advanced Fly Repellent.

I chose this spray as Rocky has a tendency to attract flies and midges unfortunately, which means he then rubs himself.

The Advanced fly repellent is a DEET based repellent with moisturisers and conditioners for a controlled release, giving up to 72 hours protection.

What did I find?

Well, having used many repellents before, some based on the DEET, I was surprised to find a spray that actually works!

Initially I sprayed Rocky from head to toe, as always, but decided to really put the spray to the test and didn’t put Rocky’s fly rug on, this was the biggest test as within minutes usually Rocky is swishing flies away and rolling with the itching.

I did some yard jobs and watched Rocky to see what may happen….

After an hour I went to see him, and I was very pleased to report that there were flies in the vicinity but not directly on him, meaning he was happily grazing. Great result!

This was morning time, so I decided to leave Rocky rugless and return back in the evening when we are usually over run with midges.

On my return Rocky was waiting for his dinner as always, but quietly stood, not swishing tail, biting, kicking at belly etc, all looked good.

Again, there were flies around, and midges, but although the occasional one made a bid for him, the majority were indeed keeping their distance!

Another thing I noticed was the smell, it has a fairly strong aroma, but not over powering like some of the other DEET based repellents, and it was still noticeable even after 10 hours. Most other products were usually a distant memory after this time, but not this one.

I left Rocky for the night and didn’t reapply the spray, as it is meant to last 72hrs, so I wanted to know!

The following morning I was pleasantly surprised to find Rocky happily grazing again, still no rug, and he seemed happy. The odd fly, possibly more than the previous day, had arrived but still far less than would usually be buzzing around. In actual fact, while I cleared his field, I had more around me than Rocky did!!!

This continued for another day and by the 72hr period was up, I did have to reapply the spray, Rocky couldn’t go longer than about 50 hrs in reality un rugged, but this was a major step forward as usually he is fully rugged and still sprayed twice daily!

                                  

So would I recommend this spray? Absolutely, without hesitation. It is great value for money and comes in two very handy sizes, one a

small bottle ideal for travelling and a large one which has lasted and lasted. 

  

 

 

 

 

My third products were the No Rinse Washes.

I was very kindly given the Peppermint one and the Lavender one.

The washes are designed to be used diluted in water to wash off the horse following work without needing to bath the horse.

Firstly I would say these smell sensational!

The washes both work in the same way, removing grease, sweat, dirt etc but have properties within them to help the horse in different ways.

The peppermint wash is quite seriously amazing, I used this time and time again on Rocky, as it is a cooling and revitalising wash, which meant that after each work session, he was provided with not just the cool water but also the natural cooling effects of the peppermint too. If you have ever used the human mint washes or shampoo, you will know just how cooling these properties are!

I also used the peppermint wash on my schooling liveries who all work hard at boot camp, meaning they all get a rewarding cool down after work.

For a horse who may need a little calming, maybe has had a knock or bruising, then the Lavendar wash is the one! This wash leaves you, never mind the horse, feeling relaxed and soothed!

The natural healing effects of Lavender really come through in this wash, after doing pole work and some jumps it is a great way to help the horse recover from any knocks or bangs.

 

 

 

 

I am a great fan of always washing my horses down thoroughly after work, but have always had to use either plain water, leaving some grease in the coat, or gone for the full blown bath! These washes have been a god send, I can leave every horse worked, washed and comfortable with minimal fuss and less water consumption!

A superb product from Nettex. 100% Recommended.

 

 Yet again, more excellent products to come from Nettex!