Looking for a dust-free, absorbent, and eco-friendly horse bedding option? This blog post explores the benefits of using wood pellets for horse bedding, including improved horse health, easier cleaning, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability. Learn how to use wood pellets safely and effectively, and discover why they’re the ideal alternative to traditional bedding options.
Looking after horses can be hard, from grooming to clearing up their horse bedding, but it’s a labour of love! That doesn’t mean we can’t it can’t be made easier for you and help create a cleaner and more comfortable environment for your four-legged friend! We all want to provide the best care we can, which includes choosing the best horse bedding we have available. The most common and traditional choices people use are straw and shavings which have their place, in this blog, we will explore the benefits and challenges of using wood pellets and why they are gaining such popularity within the equine community.
What are Wood Pellets?
Before we look at the benefits it’s worth explaining what wood pellets are. Wood pellets are a type of horse bedding made from compressed sawdust. All our wood pellets are made to the highest industry standard, EN-plus A1. This means they will give off little, if any dust, they have high absorption levels and are used from UK-sourced wood – meaning they have low green miles. We package them in 15kg bags which are easy to move around and will keep them in perfect condition until you are ready to use them. When you add water to the pellets, they expand and fluff up, creating a soft and absorbent bedding material – simple!
Benefits of Wood Pellets for Horse Bedding:
Health & Wellbeing of Your Horse
- Many horses face respiratory and allergy issues, especially in the summer months when it’s a dry environment in their stables. The best thing to help alleviate these issues is to create a dust-free environment. Due to our wood pellets having stringent production and screening processes, only the highest grade of pellets are produced, which give off minimal dust. This is especially important when you compare them to more traditional bedding options such as straw or shavings. This makes them an excellent choice for horses that have sensitivities or allergies.
Cleaning Your Horse Bedding
- Let’s be honest for a second, none of us enjoys cleaning out horse bedding, but using wood pellets makes this a quick and simple task. As we said earlier, all you need to do to prepare the pellets is to add water as they are highly absorbent. When it comes to cleaning the wood pellets, they form a compact bed that is easy to sift through and remove any manure. The high absorbency of pellets allows for spot cleaning, as the wet bedding clumps together, making it easier to scoop out without wasting any unused bedding. The wood pellets can absorb up to three times their weight in moisture, making them an excellent choice for horses that tend to urinate frequently. Their high absorbency helps in keeping your stable clean, dry, odour-free and reduces the risk of bacterial growth and disease.
How Much Does This Horse Bedding Cost?
- From reading the other benefits you may be thinking this is going to be a much more expensive horse bedding alternative. However, they work out to be quite cost-effective. While they may appear more expensive initially compared to traditional bedding options, they can last longer and require less frequent replacement – not to mention the easier cleaning out again. This can save you money in the long run.
- When you are looking at ordering wood pellets you may find, when they are branded as horse bedding as opposed to heating pellets, they are often much more expensive. This is because they are taxed at a higher rate when used for this purpose, however, they are exactly the same as the pellets we are producing. We know what you are thinking, and no, not all pellets are made the same. If you order a lower-quality pellet, they will most definitely have a higher dust content and lower absorbency rate.When you take into account the lower tax rate, cleaning, and efficiency of dealing with the waste from your horse, this is definitely an option to consider. All of our equine horse bedding can be ordered by half pallet (32x 15kg bags) or full pallet (64x 15kg bags) with free shipping to England and Wales and just a £30 to reach Scotland mainland.When you take into account the lower tax rate, cleaning, and efficiency of dealing with the waste from your horse, this is definitely an option to consider. All of our equine horse bedding can be ordered by half pallet (32x 15kg bags) or full pallet (64x 15kg bags) with free shipping to England and Wales and just a £30 to reach Scotland mainland.
How Sustainable is This Horse Bedding?
Our wood pellets are environmentally friendly. They are made from sustainably grown UK timber, compared to many that import their wood, so ours have very low green miles. The equipment used to create them is run on renewable resources and all the spent wood pellets can be composted or used as a fertilizer after your horse is finished with them. This can reduce waste and be a real benefit to the environment.
Are Wood Pellets Safe For Horses?
While wood pellets have lots of benefits, it’s important to make sure you are happy they are safe to use with your horse. The main concern is the potential for dust. Wetting the pellets before use and allowing them to fluff up before laying them in your horse’s stable minimises the amount of dust given off, which is already low from the production process we follow.
Another concern is if your horse decided to eat the wood pellets. Horses may accidentally eat the pellets while enjoying a meal or snack, which may lead to digestive issues. However, this can be avoided by providing a separate feeding area or bowl and monitoring your horse while they are eating.
Again, not all wood pellets are created equal. Some companies may contain additives or chemicals that could be harmful to horses. We do not, all our wood pellets contain 100% wood, no nasties – guaranteed!
Tips for Using Wood Pellets for Your Horse Bedding
If you decide to use wood pellets for your horse’s bedding, here are a few tips for you:
- Wet the pellets before use to minimise any dust and allow them to fluff up (but not too much)
- Use a sufficient amount of pellets to create a soft and comfortable bed
- Provide a separate feeding area to avoid your horse from eating any pellets
- Monitor your horse’s behaviour and health to ensure they are not experiencing any negative effects from the horse bedding; it may take them a brief adjustment to get used to them if you haven’t used them before
Hopefully from reading about how wood pellets are easy to clean, offering high absorbency, reduced dust, cost-effectiveness, and environmental friendliness, you are now ready to give them a try as an alternative horse bedding. Head to our Facebook or Instagram to see our demo video! The most important thing is that they work for you AND your horse!
If we can help advise on horse bedding or if you have any questions, please contact us and we will be happy to help.