Pellet Bedding for Livestock

When most people think of a horse or livestock stall, the last thing they think of are pellets like those to the left. After all, those don't look at all comfortable, do they?

I will admit that I was a skeptic when it came to pellet bedding for horse stalls over shavings. I had been to several barns, and the one thing they all had in common was shavings in the stalls for bedding.

For those persons who stumbled upon this blog and aren't horse savvy, when you have a horse in a barn in a stall, the majority of the time, people use what's known as "shavings." Originally, folks were using cedar shavings or a mix of cedar and pine, but most people use pine shavings due to the fact that cedar shavings are known to cause respiratory problems in small animals, and pine shavings are relatively less expensive. If you go to a farm, and you see a large pile of wood shavings, it's what they use for bedding. And there is nothing wrong with that...at all.

My introducing to pelleted bedding came two-fold:

* a regular visit to Tractor Farm Supply showed me 50 lbs bags of these pellets all stacked on a pallet. I thought, "phooey - what a waste of money and time!" I really did say phooey...or maybe it was just a scoff and an eyeroll that translates to "phooey." Either way, I thought people had more money than sense.

* then I saw them in action at a local horse rescue. The rescue wanted to save room and prevent a fire hazard by using the pine bedding. During a volunteer orientation, they wheeled out two wheelbarrows, each with a 50 lbs bag of pellets in them. They turned their water on warm inside the barn, and they taught people how to go about mixing the pellets:

1. Stand the bag on its end in the wheelbarrow.
2. Cut open the top of the bag and let it fall/guide it so it lays flat with the open end at the farthest end of the wheelbarrow.
3. Place two fingers halfway down the bag, and lift up. This will dump out 1/2 the bag of pellets into the wheelbarrow.
4. Remove the bag with the remainder of the pellets.
5. Add some warm water to the wheelbarrow, and use your hand to spread the pellets around. This is sort of done on an eyeballing basis. There's no set # of pints or quarts or however much. You just watch.
6. Wait and watch magic happen.

It's not REALLY magic, but you'll see the pellets start to expand and then crumble into fine wood "dust." The best part is it's not REALLY dust. It's actually FAR less dusty than your average shavings (see why I like it?)

When most of the pellets are expanding, you add the rest of the bag (if you need an entire bag for the stall.)

It is OKAY if not all of the pellets have expanded, but most of them should. Just be sure you don't over-saturate the bedding or you'll have a sloppy mess on your hands. When it has expanded and is ready, it is just finely textured bedding. The non-expanded pellets will be broken down by the horses' hooves so that's fine. Some people don't add water at all in with it if they are in a colder climate.

Benefits of using the pine pellets over shavings:

1. You can stack the bags on a pallet in a storage room. You don't have to have a designated area for shavings. You don't have to worry about the shavings getting wet.
2. Instead of shoveling several loads of shavings into a wheelbarrow and then taking it to a stall, you merely bring a bag, add water, and voila!
3. Low dust. This is a matter of contention. If you use the proper amount, use stall mats, and have a horse that uses its stall, it's great. If you put too much in, live in an arid climate, have dirt floors, and have a horse that does not use its stall often, it CAN get dusty. However, in my opinion, compared to overall dust, it's definitely much lower than regular shavings.
4. If I had a farm, I could throw a few bags in the trunk and back seat (and passenger seat) of my car to bring home whereas shavings I'd need a truck or would need to have it delivered.
5. Lower stinkiness. We've all been to the barn that has been mucked and cleaned, and it still stinks. I don't mean, "breathe in that horse smell!" I mean the "clearly someone did not clean out all of the wet spot!" smell. I've found most shavings, even stalls cleaned well, tend to retain stinkiness whereas the pellets don't. I can't stay this as a whole, but just what I've noticed.


Non-discounted price for A bag of pelleted bedding is around $5-$6. I don't know exactly how much, per cubic foot, that makes, but I've seen one bag work well for a 12 x 14 stall, and of course, when you clean the stall, you don't strip it every time. If you have one or two horses, and you're on a solid budget (that's funny when it comes to horses, isn't it?) I'd look into the pelletized bedding.