[3WishesDun]

Wondering if anyone has used a bedding product called "Woody Pet"--
It's a pelleted bedding for all critters from rabbits to dogs to horses. Sold in 30 pound bags. Decided to try it in one of my stalls- Not what I expected from the description on the bag's label.... It didn't look very comfortable or fluff up with a sprinkling of water. Back to the shavings pile for me.... Anyone using it with better results?

[Dawn]

I have used it and loved it. It's not going to completely break down with a sprinkling. I let it break down naturally with no problems at all. It might not be extra cushy the first few days, but after that, it'll be probably at least 75% broken down. Then it's just like sawdust only not dusty.

[3WishesDun]

Perhaps I didn't give it enough of a try...I did like how dust free it was and it looked like a breeze to pick out. I usually bed down my horses pretty deeply--With six bags in a 12 x 12 stall on mats it just didn't look comfortable. But then again I'm not a horse, so what the hay do I know? I read from the instructions that one should actually leave the urine when cleaning and only remove it when it becomes wet enough to dampen your jeans if you were to kneel down. Being one to dutifully hunt down the wet spot daily I thought YOwwsaaa-- that would cut down my time slinging a rake by half.... Any problems with ammonia odor? And how often do you find yourself adding another bag?

[Dawn]

It cut my mucking time from 30+ minutes (very, very messy horse) to 5 or less! That in itself was well worth it. When it breaks down, it will expand. That many bags for that size stall is just about perfect once it breaks down. I never removed the pee spots. You just have to make sure that you mix it all out evenly once you muck out. Otherwise, it'll get oversaturated. The mixing is the most important step. With one horse, it was 2 weeks before I had to add. And the other, it was over 3. They were both stalled 24/7. Never had any ammonia issues, and you don't have to use lime, which isn't exactly a horse safe product to begin with.

Oh, I didn't remove it when it got damp. We just added in. The only time we removed the wet portions were if they were saturated enough to turn the bedding red. Otherwise, we would throw a handful of pellets onto the wet spot and mix. Eventually, yes, you do need to strip and start over again, but that can be months at a time.

[3WishesDun]

I think I will have to give it another try. I am tired of gagging on shavings dust every day--and it sounds ideal for my mare who thinks peeing in every corner of the stall is an olympic event. Do you know if you can purchase it in bulk, perhaps a pallet at a time? Tractor supply sells it here--but I don't think I could push their shopping cart to the register for bedding to fill 4 stalls. The other thing I was really looking forward to was having it break down quicker than wood shavings--less time for my manure pile to become compost. Thanks for your help!

April

[Dawn]

You should be able to buy it from TSC by the pallet. Ours will do that. Just call ahead and make sure they have it first.