Keeping Down the Cost of Bedding this Winter
Keeping Down the Cost of Bedding
Horse owners are facing a sharp rise in the cost of bedding for the second winter running due to widespread shortages of both straw and shavings.
That’s according to Becky Ball Managing Director of eazitools Equestrian, a manufacturer of innovative stable and field tools, which have been specially designed to minimise wastage and make caring for horses as easy as possible.
“The last two summers have been very dry, resulting in poor straw yields plus more farmers have now taken to ploughing straw back into their land to reduce the need for fertilisers, the price of which has also rocketed,” says Becky, adding: “On top of this the 2007 construction industry crash has resulted in a shortage of shavings and therefore steep price rises, which only looks likely to worsen until activity in the industry returns to the levels seen prior to the recession.”
A spokesperson for the British Hay & Straw Merchants Association said: “Straw prices are currently up to 20% higher than they were last year. One reason for this is that more straw is now being exported to Europe to cope with extra demand there. Last year’s cold winter also meant animals were kept inside for longer than normal and therefore used up more supplies.”
According to The British Horse Society a 12ft x 12ft stable requires approximately five bales of straw or eight bales of shavings to initially bed down, then three bales of straw a week or eight bales of shavings each week to top up.*
“Adequate, suitable bedding material is necessary in order to provide warmth for your horse, enable him to lie down in comfort, prevent injury and also to help reduce the risk of him becoming cast,” says Becky, adding: “We’re not suggesting that horse-owners reduce the amount of bedding they’re using as this could be detrimental to the health of their animals, but there are changes they can make and habits they put in place in order to keep their costs down this winter.
For example simply changing their mucking out technique, reviewing their tools or bulk buying bedding with other horse-owners on the same yard could make a big difference to their bills.”
Eazitool’s Tips for Keeping Down the Cost of Bedding:
1. Consider buying your straw by weight rather than per bale. It can often work out cheaper this way.
2. Clubbing together with other owners in your yard could help you take advantage of discount rates on bulk or wholesale orders.
3. Consider investing in rubber matting. The initial cost is high but the amount of bedding used from then on is reduced. Rubber matting can also help prevent stable injuries.
4. Review the tools you are currently using for mucking-out. Many tools now on the market have been specifically designed to sift debris and minimise wastage.
5. It sounds obvious, but try to use bedding as sparingly as possible. In terms of the amount of layering you need, consider the hardness of the floor surface and the time of year; as a general rule if the stable seems cold it’s best to add more bedding; if warmer you may be able to get away with less than you are currently using. Remember however that horses should avoid standing on bare concrete floors for long periods of time and, as such, the whole stable floor should always be covered.
6. Review your current mucking out habits. Rather than doing a full muck out of your stable daily consider ‘deep littering’ instead where any droppings and obvious wet bedding are removed and shavings or straw sprinkled on top of bedding every few days. Not only does this save time and money but it also provides a warm, compact bed for your horse. Remember however that mucking-out is an essential job and it can have serious ramifications for your horse’s health if they are left on a wet, dirty bed.
7. Check your storage facilities. Keep bedding as dry as possible and ideally indoors to reduce any waste.
8. Site water buckets or troughs at the front of the stable to prevent leaks.
9. Make sure you are providing good quality hay in plentiful supply for your horse in order to prevent him eating straw.
10. Consider keeping your horse outdoors for longer periods. This could save on both feed and bedding and many horses enjoy being turned out and will develop a thicker coat accordingly. However, there will always be times when your horse will need a stable, i.e. in severe weather or if he is ill.
Stay clean at the yard
Winter mornings at the yard can be messy, which is not ideal if you’re planning on going straight to work afterwards. Try these top tips to keep yourself clean and free of ‘eau de cheval’.
Keep you hands clean with a pair of gloves
1. Keep a pair of overalls or waterproof trousers at your yard or stable so you can pull on over your clothes
2. Leave your horse’s outdoor rug on overnight (unless it’s soaked). This will help it keep dry ready for the next day
3. Fill haynets for the week at the weekend and invest in a hay bag to move them each day, so that you don’t go to work covered in hay
4. Keep a bucket of water by your stable for easy bucket refilling
5. Invest in a pair of latex gloves to keep fingernails clean
6. Use a dry shampoo to freshen up your hair
How Safe is Your Hay this Winter?
HOW SAFE IS YOUR HAY THIS WINTER?
Horse owners need to be extra vigilant when feeding their animals hay this winter as it may contain high amounts of the deadly weed ragwort, which remains poisonous even when dried.
That’s according to Becky Ball, Managing Director of eazitools Ltd which produces the Rag-Fork, a tool specifically designed to effectively remove ragwort and other common field weeds by their roots, preventing re-growth.
Fully grown ragwort plant
Says Becky: “Ragwort is a highly toxic common weed that grows throughout the British Isles and thrives on poorly managed pastures and wasteland. It is extremely difficult to eradicate and each plant can produce up to 200,000 seeds that can lay dormant in the soil for up to 16 years. All parts of the plant are poisonous. Stems contain from 25-50 percent of the alkaloid concentration found in leaves, flowers contain at least twice as much as leaves.”
Ragwort poses a lethal threat to all grazing animals, particularly horses, ponies and donkeys and is one of the most common causes of plant poisoning in the UK. The British Horse Society estimates that up to 6,500 horses die from ragwort poisoning in the UK each year.
“Horses rarely eat ragwort unless there is nothing else to eat, however it is most dangerous when mixed in hay, haylage or silage as it becomes extremely palatable when dried and is also much harder for horse owners to spot. Many more cases of ragwort poisoning are therefore reported in spring or early summer due to ingestion over the winter in hay”, adds Becky.
Beware ragwort in your hay this winter
The toxins in ragwort are cumulative and eating a small amount of ragwort over a long period of time can be just as damaging as eating one large amount. The effects of ragwort infestation are not pleasant. Symptoms include weight loss, poor coat, staggering gait, impaired vision followed by circling, colliding with obstacles, severe abdominal pain, inability to swallow and ultimately complete paralysis and death.
Clinical symptoms including blindness, loss of coordination and sensitivity to light do not appear until the liver is 76% damaged. Owners may only become aware of a problem once these clinical symptoms appear, by which time it is too late. The disease is often not discovered until post-mortem and many animals die undiagnosed.
The potential dangers of ragwort to human health are also starting to be recognised, and due to this, gloves, and facemasks when the plants are flowering, should always be worn when removing plants in order to protect skin from any contact with the plant.
Becky’s Tips for Preventing Ragwort Poisoning Through Hay Consumption:
• Reduce your reliance on bought in hay if possible and check your own fields regularly for presence of ragwort. See www.defra.gov.uk for Code of Practice on How to Prevent the Spread of Ragwort.
• Alternatively, only buy hay from a reliable source and ask the supplier for assurance that it contains no ragwort.
• If not convinced, find out which fields the hay is obtained from and check for ragwort before the hay is cut or ask to inspect a bale before you buy.
• If you are worried there may be ragwort in your hay ask your vet to test a blood sample of your animal for liver damage. If detected very early there is hope that your animal may return to normal.
• Ideally check bales before offering it to livestock. Learn to distinguish between grasses and harmful weeds and dispose of any stray weeds you do not recognise.
• If you detect ragwort in your hay and know the field where it came from you can report this to Natural England by calling 0300 060 1112.
Back-friendly Mucking Out is Eazi!
It is estimated that one in five people will visit their GP in any given year because of back problems. And 80% of adults will experience at least one episode of back pain at some point in their life. (Source: NHS choices)
Looking after horses can be particularly bad news for backs. For example lifting heavy objects such as tail ramps and jumps and leading a strong horse can all contribute to the cycle of ongoing back pain. Even something simple as putting a bridle or a saddle on can aggravate the lower back.
But it’s the necessary day-to-day tasks associated with general stable and yard-management which can really cause problems for many horse-owners.
Performing the mundane tasks such as lifting hay bales, carrying buckets of water and pushing a wheelbarrow can all force our bodies into really awkward postures, posing a threat to muscles and joints – particularly the back. Those of us who have suffered from back pain know how much misery it can cause and just how it can affect our everyday life. But you can’t just take a break from looking after horses. There’s still the feeding and mucking-out to do even though your back-pain might be unbearable.
However, what many horse-owners may not know is that as well as limiting our ability to take care of our animals, back-pain can also actually affect riding techniques and potentially harm the health of our horses. Not only does not being able to use certain muscles properly make controlling a horse more difficult in general, but poor posture and muscle imbalances in the rider can affect the horse’s way of moving and the soundness of his own back.
Back pain can affect adults of all ages, but it’s most common in people between the ages of 35-55 or over. In England, chronic back pain is the second most common cause of long-term, work-related absence after stress and each year the NHS spends £1.5bn on treating the condition.
The rates of reported cases of back pain in England have doubled over the past 40 years – a trend that is seen in almost all Western nations. There are a number of theories to explain the rise in the number of cases. One theory is that the rates of obesity, depression and stress are now higher than they were in the past, conditions which are all risk factors for chronic back pain. (Source: NHS choices/website).
The standard advice for people who suffer problems with their back has not changed, it is to continue with their normal activities as far as possible and to try to avoid bed rest. If your back pain is mild, your GP may recommend you try various self-help measures such as increasing your levels of activity as well undertaking various relaxation techniques. If your pain is more severe, he or she may prescribe medicines or refer you for physical therapy.
It’s both easier and cheaper to try to prevent back pain than it is to cure it once you have it. There are a few simple rules all horse-owners can adopt both for around the yard and in their everyday lives. For example, always try to lift correctly and remember you don’t have to lift something heavy in order to hurt your back. Picking up something light incorrectly, for example a saddle can be far more likely to hurt your back than picking up heavy objects such as a bag of feed correctly. Also, lifting things away from your body can cause damage. When you pick up anything, no matter how heavy get it as close to your body as you can and keep your back straight and try not to twist with it.
Unfortunately, those of us who have office-based jobs are much more prone to problems with our backs than those who have more active occupations. Sitting badly in front of a computer for hours on end is asking for trouble, but you can avoid injury by simply sitting in the right position and arranging your desk correctly. It’s also important to take regular breaks and to get up and stretch. Rember, your employer has to protect your health and safety by law and it’s their duty to perform regular risk assessments and put in place reasonable measures to reduce the risk of you suffering back pain.
Regular exercise outside of work is also very important to help maintain mobility and strength. Movement keeps the joints in your back lubricated and loose and brisk walking, swimming and cycling are all excellent types of exercise for preventing back pain on top of your usual riding. Also, try to incorporate some stretching into your daily routine. Keeping your back flexible is a big part of staying injury-free, as when your back tightens up you are more likely to pull or strain a muscle.
Wherever possible, try to reduce your levels of stress. Stress and tight muscles go together hand-in-hand. If you are carrying a lot tension in your upper back and shoulders, you are far more likely to suffer from a back injury.
Finally, always remember that pain acts as a warning sign – it’s your body telling you that you have already or are about to cause damage. If what you are doing hurts then stop. Do not try to push through the pain. Even when you really need to get all those jobs done around the yard, it’s just not worth the risk.
Mucking-Out
Mucking-out can really take its toll on your back, especially if you have a number of stables to do each day. There’s definitely an art to it, but many horse-owners are unaware of this and may be using the kind of body mechanics that create pain. By following some simple rules and adopting the right posture, mucking-out can be made much easier and far less strenuous.
If back pain is getting in the way of you looking after your horse, it could be that you simply need to change your mucking-out technique. Here’s our ten top tips for back-friendly mucking-out:
1. Only use stable tools that suit you in terms of size and weight. If possible, try and get a feel for a tool before you buy it.
2. Make sure you prepare your body for the task you are about to do. Some simple stretching exercises or even walking for five to 10 minutes before mucking-out can help prevent aches and pains later on.
3. Use proper posture. Instead of using your back muscles to lift, take advantage of the stronger muscles in your thighs and buttocks. These muscles are much better designed for this type of work.
4. To lift the bedding from the floor, make sure you bend your knees, leaning over from the hips and keeping your back straight from the base of your neck all the way down to the end of your spine.
5. Instead of heaving straw and dirt over your shoulder, move your whole body to where you want the dirt to go then just turn the fork to let it fall there. Don’t throw it off or twist your body.
6. Use a wheelbarrow. If you don’t have one, it’s a good investment for your health to buy one. Try to divide up a large load into several more manageable smaller loadds.
7. Try to avoid mucking-out for too long. If you have a number of jobs to do, alternate them every 20 minutes to prevent over-use injuries.
8. After a few minutes of work, straighten up and with hands on the lumbar area and bend gently backwards. Repeat often. Remember, pain acts as a warning sign, if you feel any stop what you are doing.
9. Remember to drink lots of water. Hydrated muscles are healthy muscles.
10. Finally, always try to warm down with some gentle stretching exercises. After exercise, its normal to feel a little stiff the next day, but if pain persists see your doctor or physiotherapist as soon as possible.
