Benefits Of Using Wood Pellets For Horse/Animal Bedding

• A drier, cleaner stall improves hoof condition by reducing exposure to ammonia and moisture. The urine spot will not spread. It will remain clumped or contained for easy removal. Fine bedding allows for easier manure removal. You will not dispose of good bedding with the manure.
• More cost effective. The volume of waste material coming out of the stall is approximately 50 to 60 percent less than any other type of bedding.
• The C:N ratio and the moisture content of the waste material is ideal for composting, and results in an excellent, high quality compost product.
• Stalls are cleaned in less than half the time, thereby saving on the cost of labor.
• Less build up at the dock. Reduced occurrence of hock and heel sores. Cleaner coat.
• Superior absorbency will wick away moisture from manure. Horses will stain less and cleanup easier.
• Provides superior comfort.
• The bags of pellets are easily stored and handled and require significantly less space than bulk bedding materials.
• Wood pellets are easy to test in one or two stalls without making a major financial commitment.

The Changeover From Shavings/Straw To Wood Pellets Is Easy!

‘First, you will want to strip your stall of shavings/straw as the true benefit of the wood pellet is on its own.
‘To start, you will need 2 to 5 bags of wood pellets for an average 12x12 stall.

‘Next lightly moisten the pellets with water to initiate their opening to a "fluffy" consistency. The following are the two most common methods of wetting the wood pellets, however the first method seems to be favored by most!

Stand the bag up and cut open the top or lay the bag down and cut open an H shape. Fill the bag with water until it reaches the top of the wood pellets, but does not spill out over the bag. Let stand for 20 to 30 minutes. Spread evenly over stall floor. The bedding will expand to approximately 3 to 4 times its original depth and it will take on a much softer texture. It will continue to "grow" somewhat over the course of the first week.

Place the wood pellets in the center two-thirds of the stall, and spread the pellets out to an even depth of roughly 2 inches. Next lightly moisten the pellets with water. The amount of water used will depend on the humidity of your area and may vary at different times of the year. For deeper bedding, you may choose to add more pellets and again moisten with more water. Remember, deeper bedding is not always favorable, and therefore experimentation is appropriate to optimize product use. Because they are highly absorbent, it’s OK to be stingy with wood pellets. If the bedding becomes too dry or dusty, just sprinkle water as needed and mix thoroughly. The Optimum moisture content is reached when the bedding feels slightly damp to the touch.

‘Approximately once a week, up to one bag of new wood pellets, will need to be added, to compensate for the amount of saturated bedding taken out of the stall. Note. Many stables who use pellets, strip the stalls once every two or three months, instead of weekly, thereby saving a considerable amount of waste volume and significantly reducing the cost of bedding and labor.

Isn't it time to start saving time and money, and to begin a program of effective stall waste management. Contact us at Ferguson's Energy Systems now!

We'll help you get started.

Conduct The Following Experiment

The best way to determine whether wood pellets are suitable and a economic choice for your stable is to conduct the following experiment

1. Place one cup of your bedding material (tightly compacted) in a 4 litre size zip lock bag.
2. Place one cup of wood pellets (horse bedding pellet or fuel pellet) in a second 4 litre size zip lock bag.
3. Add one cup of water to each of the bags, seal and observe continuously for 5 minutes and then again at the end of 30 minutes.
    

We believe that you will be amazed at the difference in absorption.