Housing and management of horses in Nordic and Baltic climate
NJF seminar nr. 437, 6.-7. June 2011, Iceland
18. Bedding choices for horses – an overview
Markku Saastamoinen
Agrifood Research Finland, Animal Production Research, Equines, Opistontie 10 a 1, FI32100 Ypäjä, Finland
Abstract
Choose of the bedding material is important especially in the Northern climate conditions, because
the horses are kept most part of the day and year indoors during their life. Especially, the effect of
the bedding material on the quality of the stable air is of great importance. Based on their
properties, it seems that peat and straw pellets are the most suitable beddings for horse stables. Also
pelleted newspaper seems to have a good potential as a bedding material.
Introduction
Stalls of the horses are bedded to absorb urine, moisture and gases and to increase the comfort,
health and wellbeing of the horses. Good bedding creates a layer of insulation between the horse
and cold floor, pads the hard surface, prevents bruised knees, elbows, hocks and hips, and keeps the
horse clean. It is also easy to handle and have good properties to be re-used e.g. in farming and
horticulture. There are also stall mats available, but they are usually used together with beddings
because of binding the urine. It has also been reported, that horses prefer bedding for lying down
(Hunter and Houpt, 1991).
Today there are several materials used for bedding of the boxes in horse stables. Factors to be
considered when selecting bedding are its availability, cost, cleanness (free from dust and foreign
material), its effect on stable air quality, and consequently, on the health of horses and people
working in the stables. An issue having an increasing importance is the influence of the manure on
environment, which means that the amount of manure is minimal and that it can be easily used as a
fertilizer or in soil improvement, or even source of energy. It is also important how easy the
bedding material can be handled in the stable, influenced e.g. by how it is packed.
Choose of the bedding material is important especially in the Northern climate conditions, which
forces us to keep the horses indoors during large part of the year. Especially, the quality of the
stable air is of great importance. Training and racing in cold conditions exposes vulnerable
respiratory system to health problems even more. Sever chronic respiratory disorders may occur,
when horses are kept indoors, and on the other hand, respiratory problems are rare, when horses are
outside all the year around (Derksen, 1991; Holcombe et al., 2001; Särkijärvi et al., 2004). The
decreased respiratory health results in poor athletic performance and some clinical signs, as chronic
couching and purulent nasal discharge. Causes of chronic airway disease and such symptoms
usually involve exposure to excessive concentrations of e.g. airborne dusts, moulds, bacteria and
endotoxins originating from beddings and feeds (e.g. Berndt et al., 2010). Also, the inhalation of
some gases of the stable air, such as ammonia may initiate the airway obstruction (Derksen, 1991).
The most common bedding materials in the Nordic countries are wood shavings, saw dust, straw
and peat. There are also many other materials, including processed (pelleted) wooden materials as
well as (pelleted, chopped) straw from different plants. In addition, shredded or cut paper and some
plant materials (by-products) are used – many of them are imported from other European countries.
Also woodchips are used as a bedding material. Each of them has their special properties, including
advantages and disadvantages, as well
Effect on stable air quality
According to several studies, the bedding material has considerable effect on stable dust, ammonia,
bacteria and endotoxin concentrations in the horse stalls (e.g. Woods et al., 1993; Tanner et al.,
1998a; Airaksinen et al., 2001; Särkijärvi et al., 2004; Fleming et al., 2008a and 2008b). Wooden
materials are reported to have inferior fluid and ammonia binding capacity compared to peat, but
those are considered to be less dusty (Särkijärvi et al., 2004). The ammonium levels in the boxes
where wood shavings were used were considerably higher (1,5-7 ppm) compared to those stalls
where peat was used. In the latter boxes, the ammonia concentrations were non-existent or very low
(<0,25 ppm). The authors concluded that peat is superior bedding to wooden materials. Fleming et
al. (2008a) observed that the gaseous ammonia concentration was lowest when straw pellets were
used. The order among the studied bedding materials in their study was straw pellets, linen, hemp,
wood shavings, paper cuttings and wheat straw.
Pelleting of the bedding material decreases the generation of airborne particles of the bedding
material (e.g. Ward et al., 2000). Fleming et al. (2008b) found the lowest particle generation with
straw pellets. Also the wood shavings had lower particle generation than straw. Concerning various
straws, it can be assumed that those plants (mainly oats) that are harvested later in the autumn have
lower concentrations of moulds compared to those harvested earlier (wheat, barley).
Felmming et al. (2008a, b) concluded that straw pellets may promote an improvement in the stable
climate in relation to airborne particle formation, ammonia binding and ammonia transformation.
Also some practical experiments (e.g. Magasinet Hest, 2009; MTT Equine Research, 2010) have
shown that the straw pellets are suitable beddings for horses. According to above studies, also
pelleted newspaper seems to have a good potential as a bedding material for horses. There is also
pelleted sawdust on the market, but it can be assumed that its characteristics are comparable with
other wooden materials. In practical conditions, it has been observed that chopping of straw
improves its water and ammonia binding capacity.
In one study (Garlipp et al., 2010) the researchers observed that the generation of airborne particles
in straw, wood shavings, flax and hemp can be reduced with a separation technology. They found
also that the generation of the particles increased during the storage of the beddings.
Effects on the health and welfare of the horse
Särkijärvi et al. (2004) reported increased symptoms of decreased respiratory health in horses with
wood shaving beddings compared to those stabled with peat bedding, evaluated by an endoscopic
examination and tracheobronchial aspirate samples. The results of Ferro et al. (2000) suggest that
straw bedding could represent an undesirable feature for horses predisposed to respiratory
problems, compared to wood shavings and husk. Tanner et al. (1997) found no difference in the
respiratory health of the horses when bedded either with sawdust or (shredded and milled)
phonebook paper.
In addition to respiratory health, also effects on hoof quality have been investigated. The moisture
content of the hoof horn was higher in the peat bedding compared to wood shaving bedding
(Särkijärvi et al., 2004). Tanner et al. (1998b) found that the hooves were dryer and more caked
when used phone book paper than in the horses bedded on sawdust. Hϋbinette (2010)
found no effects of bedding material on faecal microflora of horses.
There are some studies dealing with the effects of bedding materials on the behaviour and wellbeing
of the horse. McGreevy et al. (1995) reported that the use of any bedding material other than straw
was associated with a higher incidence of stereotypic activities. Eating the bedding straw is a
timeconsuming
activity, and may also help compensate the lack of bulk in the diet. In their study by
Mills et al. (2000) the horses preferred straw compared to wood shavings and paper, and shavings
before paper. In addition, straw bedding increased the bedding related activities.
Horses seem to have individual preferences for bedding material, and no significant overall
preference for either wood shavings or straw was observed (Hunter and Houpt, 1991). Werhan et al.
(2010) found also individual differences, but generally the horses prefer the straw. They concluded
that on the basis of the longest time to be occupied, straw seems to support the welfare of the horse
better than wood shavings or straw pellets. Ninomiya et al. (2008) found not large differences in the
lying behaviour when various bedding materials (straw, sawdust, husk, fiber) were used. Using used
beddings influenced negatively the lying behaviour of the horses in a Japan study (Aoyama et al.,
2004).
McClain et al. (1997) observed that wheat straw transferred less solid material than wood shavings
and pelleted newspaper keeping the hair coat cleaner.
Consumption and further use of the bedding materials
There are differences in the consumption of the bedding materials, and in one study (Särkijärvi et
al., 2004) the differences were considerable. The consumption of peat was 59 % of that of wood
shavings. This effects the cost of bedding as well as the need of storage for both bedding material
and manure, influencing thus on the construction costs of the facilities. In Japan, they have studied
the reuse of the bedding material after drying it in sunshine (Aoyama et al., 2004) to reduce the
consumption of the beddings. In addition to negative influence on the lying behaviour of the horses,
using used beddings, the ammonia could not be totally removed from the straw. Consequently, it
seems that there is no idea to reuse the straw. There are also some machines separating the
droppings from the beddings, which may reduce the consumption of the bedding material.
The further use of horse manure has also been studied when various bedding materials has been
used. Fast composting and good ability to bind and transfer nitrogen are important properties
requested by farmers and other users of manure. Airaksinen et al. (2000) compared several bedding
materials in their compostability and ability to bind ammonia. They found that peat and peat
mixtures had the best quality of ammonia, water holding, and manure fertilization value. Only peat
manure was ready for further plant production after one month’s composting period. In an other
study (Swinker et al., 1997) it was found that sawdust composed more readily compared to phone
book paper or straw. According to Karlsson et al. (1998) peat binds and transfers nitrogen and
composts fast.
Based on the most important characteristics – ammonium binding capacity, airborne particle
generation, compostability and further use – and effects on health and wellbeing of the horses, it
seems that peat and straw pellets are the most suitable bedding materials in horse stables. Also
pelleted newspaper seems to have a good potential as a bedding material for horses. However,
according to Ward et al. (2001), many of the properties vary with the type of the bedding material
and season. Thus, producers need to implement different management practices with different
bedding materials. It is also necessary to study new bedding materials and practices in purpose to
minimize the amount of manure, as well as their further use, e.g. in the energy production. An
important focus is also their effects on the wellbeing and health of the horse.
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