CAFRE Enniskillen Campus currently houses 55 horses in a range of yards and housing types. They have tried and tested a range of different bedding types and have kindly given their feedback.

MANY horses have to come in to be stabled for the winter, whether that may be in loose housing or individual stables.

At CAFRE Enniskillen Campus we currently house 55 horses in a range of yards and housing types.

We have found that different bedding types may be most suitable for individual environments.

In the Racing Unit there is a concern over dust content, whilst in the Breeding Unit there is a preference for straw for foaling and youngstock purposes.

As in most establishments, cost and efficiency are also a priority across the units.

At Enniskillen Campus we also endeavour to evaluate new bedding types which could be used by the industry. Please see our bedding review below.

In an effort to decrease the amount of bedding used in stables, and aid horse comfort, we use rubber mats in all stables.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall it was thought that neither dust-extracted wood shavings nor pellets on their own are suitable.

Together they complement each other but resulted in high usage and high labour, and therefore high cost.

Chopped barley straw, and to a lesser extent wheat straw, did not perform well, are not favoured by staff and students, and have a relatively high usage rate.

Mixed white wood shavings, oilseed rape and miscanthus straw have similar usage rates.

The mixed wood shavings performed well and, of the two straws, miscanthus performed better than oilseed rape.

Shelley Stuart, Equine Lecturer, CAFRE Enniskillen Campus

Web: cafre.ac.uk