Selecting the Best Shavings for Your Horse’s Bedding

Choosing the right horse bedding is one of those yard decisions that sounds straightforward until you have a dust-reactive horse on box rest, a stall the size of a postage stamp, or a muck heap growing faster than you can empty it. The bedding you put down underneath your horse affects their respiratory health, their lying down time, their hoof care, the time you spend mucking out, the weight of your muck heap, and — in winter — the warmth of their stable. This guide breaks down the most common bedding types used on British and South African yards, their real-world strengths and weaknesses, and how to decide what actually suits your horse.

Why Bedding Choice Matters

Bedding is not just something to soak up urine. A good bed:

• Provides a clean, comfortable surface for the horse to lie down on — horses need genuine lying-down rest every day for REM sleep
• Insulates the stable floor in winter
• Minimises dust and respirable particles that trigger equine asthma
• Cushions the joints of older horses or those on box rest
• Controls ammonia fumes from urine, protecting the respiratory system and the hooves
• Fits the muck-heap, time, and budget realities of the individual yard

A poor bed — too thin, too dusty, too dirty — shows up in coughing, hoof abscesses, pressure sores, and reluctance to lie down. Bedding is where welfare starts.

Wood Shavings

Wood shavings are the default bedding on a large proportion of British and South African yards. They are made from softwood (typically pine or spruce) and come in either standard bags or bulk bales. Dust-extracted grades — sometimes called “low-dust” or “premium” — are processed to remove fine particles and are worth the extra cost for any horse with respiratory concerns.

Pros

• Absorbent and easy to keep clean
• Forgiving to muck out — wet patches and droppings lift away cleanly
• Widely available from feed merchants
• Comfortable for most horses
• Breaks down in the muck heap reasonably quickly

Cons

• Cheaper grades can be dusty, which aggravates equine asthma and COPD
• Some horses will eat shavings, which is bad for their digestion
• Bulkier to store than pelleted alternatives
• Softwood shavings may darken hooves slightly over time
• Variable quality between suppliers

Best for

General livery, competition yards, horses without severe respiratory issues (when using dust-extracted grades).

Straw

The traditional choice, and still common on breeding yards and rural livery in both the UK and South Africa. Wheat straw is the standard; oat and barley straw are also used, though barley straw can be scratchy and is less palatable for horses that eat their bed.

Pros

• Warm and comfortable — excellent insulation
• Encourages horses to lie down
• Low cost compared to specialist beddings
• Composts quickly and is in high demand from local farmers and gardeners
• Creates a “deep litter” bed that is easy to maintain over weeks

Cons

• Dustier than most modern beddings — poorly suited to horses with respiratory issues
• Horses will eat straw, which can interfere with weight management and prescribed diets
• Takes up more space on the muck heap
• Heavier to muck out than shavings
• Quality varies hugely — rain-damaged straw is dusty and mouldy

Best for

Horses without respiratory issues, breeding stock, foaling boxes, and yards where straw is cheap and the muck heap can be turned over regularly.

Wood Pellets

Softwood pellets — the same kilo-dry material used for pellet stoves — expand when wetted to form a dense sawdust-like bed. They are compact to store, low-dust, and increasingly popular on yards where storage space is tight.

Pros

• Extremely low dust — safe for horses with equine asthma
• Highly absorbent — a 15 kg bag absorbs around 30 litres of liquid
• Compact storage — one pallet of pellets bends into the bed capacity of several bales of shavings
• Minimal waste from the muck heap — compacts down quickly
• Excellent ammonia control

Cons

• More expensive per bag than shavings
• Requires water to activate the pellets — either sprayed down or added to buckets
• Initial bed-down is more labour-intensive
• Hard to spot-muck on the first day before full expansion

Best for

Horses with respiratory issues, small yards, anyone short on storage space, and livery owners who want minimum dust.

Shredded Paper and Cardboard

Shredded paper beds became popular in the 1990s and cardboard bedding has since overtaken them, but both still have a place. They are made from recycled waste paper or cardboard, shredded and, in the case of premium brands, dust-extracted.

Pros

• Very low dust — excellent for respiratory patients
• Soft and comfortable
• Horses rarely eat paper or cardboard bedding
• Absorbent (cardboard more so than paper)
• Good insulation

Cons

• Can look unsightly — paper in particular ends up outside the stable door
• Blows around in windy yards
• Inks and printing residues occasionally cause mild skin reactions
• Can be hard to source consistently
• Slower to compost than wood-based beddings

Best for

Horses with severe respiratory issues, foals and mares in quiet boxes, or yards with covered muck storage that can contain the lighter particles.

Hemp Bedding

Hemp bedding is made from the woody core of the hemp plant (the hurds or shivs), processed into short, absorbent fibres. Once a speciality product, it has become widely available across the UK and is increasingly stocked in South Africa by equestrian wholesalers.

Pros

• Very low dust
• Up to four times more absorbent than straw
• Excellent ammonia control — neutralises odours well
• Anti-bacterial properties from natural hemp chemistry
• Composts quickly and produces high-value garden compost
• Lighter to muck out than straw or shavings

Cons

• Among the most expensive bedding options
• Supply availability varies regionally
• Some horses find the texture unusual at first
• Small particles can stick to manes and tails

Best for

Competition horses, dust-sensitive horses, owners willing to pay for welfare-first bedding, and anyone producing garden compost from their muck heap.

Flax and Miscanthus

Flax (linseed) and miscanthus (elephant grass) beddings are newer arrivals to the UK market. Both are stalk-based beddings processed into short fibres and offered as low-dust alternatives to straw and shavings.

Pros

• Very low dust
• Highly absorbent
• Excellent insulation
• Sustainable — both crops are grown specifically for bedding and biomass
• Quick to compost

Cons

• Higher cost than straw or shavings
• Less widely available, particularly in South Africa
• Horses occasionally eat miscanthus, though less than straw
• Slight learning curve for bed maintenance

Best for

Dust-sensitive horses where hemp is unavailable or over budget; yards prioritising sustainable bedding.

Rubber Matting

Rubber matting is a base rather than a bedding, but no discussion of stabling is complete without it. A well-fitted set of interlocking rubber mats, topped with a thin layer of shavings or pellets, is the most common modern stable setup in Britain and South Africa.

Pros

• Cushions joints — particularly valuable for older horses or those on box rest
• Reduces the volume of bedding needed on top
• Easier to keep hygienic — mats can be lifted and jet-washed periodically
• Protects concrete floors from damage
• Saves significant bedding cost over a year

Cons

• High upfront cost (typically £200–£500 per stable depending on quality)
• Requires a bedding layer on top — mats alone are too cold and do not absorb urine
• Poorly fitted mats can move and create slipping hazards
• Some horses take a few days to settle on mats
• Heavy and awkward to install without a second pair of hands

Best for

Permanent stables, livery yards, older horses, horses on box rest, and anyone looking to reduce long-term bedding spend.

Comparison Table at a Glance

A practical comparison of the most common horse bedding options:

How to Choose the Right Bedding

Work through these questions before settling on a bedding:

1. Does your horse have respiratory issues? If yes, go low-dust: pellets, hemp, paper, or dust-extracted shavings. Avoid straw.
2. Does your horse eat the bedding? If yes, avoid straw. Paper, cardboard, and hemp are all less palatable.
3. How much storage space do you have? Pellets and hemp take the least space. Straw and shavings bales need more.
4. What is your muck heap set-up? Hemp, flax, and straw compost quickly. Cardboard and paper are slower.
5. What is your budget? Straw is cheapest, specialist beddings most expensive. Factor in how long a bag lasts, not just the price per bag.
6. How much time do you have? Mats with pellets or dust-extracted shavings on top minimise mucking-out time. Deep-litter straw can go a week between strip-outs.
7. Is your horse on box rest? Maximum comfort — mats plus a deep layer of hemp, pellets, or soft shavings.
8. Is the box for a foaling mare? Clean wheat straw is the traditional — and still sensible — choice.

Mucking Out and Muck Heap Management

Whatever bedding you choose, the muck heap is part of the decision. A few working principles:

• Site the muck heap away from stables, water sources, and boundary lines (many local authorities have minimum distances)
• Turn the heap every two to three weeks to accelerate composting
• Cover the heap in heavy rain to prevent it leaching
• Arrange regular removal — farmers, mushroom growers, and gardeners often collect for free or a nominal fee
• Separate bedding types if possible — mixed muck heaps are harder to compost and less appealing to collectors

For a working livery yard, choose the bedding that keeps the muck heap manageable alongside delivering welfare. It is a system, not just a product.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best bedding for horses with respiratory problems?

Low-dust beddings are essential for horses with equine asthma or COPD. Wood pellets, hemp, flax, and dust-extracted shavings are the best options. Straw should be avoided entirely. Pair the right bedding with good ventilation and soaked hay for the best respiratory outcomes.

How deep should a horse’s bed be?

A working bed should be 15–20 cm deep across the full stable floor, with deeper banks at the walls. Too thin and the horse will not lie down; too thick and mucking out becomes inefficient. Deep-litter straw beds are maintained deeper — 30 cm or more — but stripped less frequently.

How often should I muck out a horse?

A full muck-out daily is the standard, with droppings removed during skipping-out twice a day. Deep-litter systems are stripped every one to three weeks, with wet patches removed daily. Box-rested and foaling mares need more frequent attention.

Is rubber matting enough on its own?

No. Rubber mats do not absorb urine and are too cold to lie on through winter. They should always be topped with a bedding layer — pellets, shavings, or paper are the most common choices — to soak up urine and provide comfort.

How much bedding does one horse use per week?

On shavings, expect one to two bags per week for spot-mucked beds on rubber mats, or three to four bags per week for a deep shavings bed. Straw use is higher by volume but lower by weight — roughly half a small bale per day. Pellets and hemp are the most economical per week despite higher cost per bag, thanks to their absorbency.

For more practical yard management, browse our horse care archive, or read our guides on stabling horses, building stables, and horse rug temperature.