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Member
Posts: 38
Location: waverly, tn 37185 | Hi everyone! I am wondering what are some opinions on using sawdust when hauling. I always use plenty of sawdust if there are no floormats, but what is the norm for when there is floormats? I saw a picture of a horsetrailer and there was no sawdust...... Thanks, Morgan |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 455
Location: Texas | Some people use it, some don't. I prefer to use sawdust/bedding thinking that most of the urine and poop will be absorbed versus getting between the floorboards and frame and sitting there causing corrosion. I use the pelleted type, as it seems it is less dusty. Be sure that the pellets are broken up or expanded so the horse doesn't have the effect of standing on marbles while being trailered. |
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Regular
Posts: 51
Location: Grundy Center, IA | I personally use sawdust on top of mats when hauling for three reasons. The first is that it provides some extra cushioning, but more importantly, I think sawdust or shavings encourages the horses to urinate in the trailer. Some horses won't urinate without the sawdust because it splatters on their legs too much, and can then get kidney problems from holding it in. The third reason is that if the horses do urinate in the trailer, mats can become slick from urine without any sawdust to help absorb it. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 238
Location: West Coast | We don't use shavings for short (local trips), but do use shavings for longer trips. My trailer dealer told me that when you use shavings in your trailer, it is very important you clean out under the mats very frequently, because shavings get under the mats and hold the urine against the floor. I have found this to be true, my horses will urinate with or without shavings in the trailer. If there have been no shavings, the floor will dry out under the mats. If there are shavings that have found their way under the mats, a month later the floor is still wet. |
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Regular
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Location: Delta Junction, Alaska | I agree with everyone so far. Also I myself use a spray bottle with Veggie Oil in it to spray over the sawdust to keep it from flying if you have windows or vents open. It takes far longer to evaporate than water that some ppl use and its cheap! Hope this helps a little |
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Expert
Posts: 2689
 
| Originally written by AkTomboysAppys on 2006-05-01 3:36 PM
I agree with everyone so far. Also I myself use a spray bottle with Veggie Oil in it to spray over the sawdust to keep it from flying if you have windows or vents open. It takes far longer to evaporate than water that some ppl use and its cheap! Hope this helps a little
Errr, "veggie oil" ? On sawdust, over rubber mats, under hooves ?
I wouldn't.
I use shavings, though have "topped up" with sawdust at overnight stables on occasion. One thing I didn't like was the amount of bark that was included - straight from the sawmill I guess. BIG chunks of bark, not just bark mulch size.
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 524
Location: Lone Oak, Tx | We use shaving but only on the back half of the trailer stalls (we have 2 mares) and that keeps the mess down and pee from running all over the place. One thing we do is buy the big bag of baking soda from Sams and when we take the mats and spray the trailer out once a year we spread the baking soda under the mats. It helps neutralize the urine.
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Member
Posts: 38
Location: waverly, tn 37185 | Thanks everyone. I always had used sawdust except once and had a horse slip on urine/poop and fall down. Morgan  |
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Regular
Posts: 50
Location: Delta Junction, Alaska | I have been spraying the shavings with the oil for about 15 years so far no problems. You dont drench them or anything just a light spray. But to each there own dont use the idea if you dont like it. |
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Expert
Posts: 1723
Location: michigan | I have been using straw because I have it. It works just fine. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 479
Location: central sierra nevada foothills | I personall don't use anything. I have rubber mats, nice thick ones in the horse trailer, and well,........when we are hauling horses with cattle, they all go in the cattle gooseneck, and it's just solid wood floor. I think if they saw us come down to the yard with sawdust in there with the cattle, the stock yard would  . But our horses are also used to rough rides, rocky dirt logging roads, and a trailer packed full of cattle. They are typical ranch horses. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 385
Location: washington | I use shavings, but have one fear about them. What if while you're driving down the freeway, someone threw out a lit cigarette and it came in a window opening in the trailer - would it start a fire in there? I know the odds are slim that a cigarette would come in through an opening in the trailer, but it "could" and then what? * |
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 Expert
Posts: 1283
Location: Home of Wild Turkey Whiskey | I used to use shavings, but not anymore. Have you noticed that the shavings/dust ends up on the horses back after a long trip? I got back there and let my buddie pull me down the Interstate at 70 mph. With windows and roof vents open you would have thought we were in a dust storm. I kind of like the veggie oil deal, am concerned about the slipping. I you see Sallee or any other Big rig horses haulers they all use straw, probley due to the dust issue. |
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Expert
Posts: 1719
Location: PA | I always use shavings, never saw dust, for 3 reasons;mats get slippery when wet, shavings provide a nice stall-like atmosphere with plenty of cushioning, and shavings absorb urine so it doesn't tend to get under the mats and destroy your floor. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 274
Location: Memphis, TN | I use shavings only in small quanity and place it on one side. The horses spread it around a bit and it sure makes clean-up easier. |
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Member
Posts: 38
Location: waverly, tn 37185 | Thanks everyone for your input.  Morgan |
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 Regular
Posts: 62
Location: Western Wisconsin | We had a horse that was allergic to shavings (actually the dust from the shavings) but found that peat moss made a great subsitute. Sarah
Edited by sskinner 2006-05-10 10:05 AM
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 309
Location: MO | I put down one bag of "woody pet" and 1/2 bag of shavings for two horses in a slant load trailer. The Woody Pet is highly absorbant. It is wood pellets and could be slippery. Therefore, the shavings are there to stabilize the pellets. Works like a charm and will last for a couple of long trips. Easy to clean up and less dust. I'd never use saw dust because of the blowing dust. On a long trip, I store a bag of shavings with the hay to use for fill ins. |
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Expert
Posts: 2689
| Originally written by cowgirl98034 on 2006-05-08 10:35 PM
I use shavings, but have one fear about them. What if while you're driving down the freeway, someone threw out a lit cigarette and it came in a window opening in the trailer - would it start a fire in there? I know the odds are slim that a cigarette would come in through an opening in the trailer, but it "could" and then what? *
It wouldn't start a fire.
Not in MY trailers, YMMV.
The temperature of a cinder might be high, but there just isn't enough heat to start a fire in a piece of smouldering tobacco that is small enough to pass through "bug screen" - about 1 mm square at a guess.
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Member
Posts: 45
Location: Midwest | we have a 3 horse slant and i put about 5 inches of sawdust in back of each stall (makes for less clean up) and we clean the trailer after every trip and yes they do urinate in the trailer with little sawdust. we never really used the sawdust in our other trailer because it would fly around (2 horse stock trailer) hope that helps! |
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Veteran
Posts: 116
Location: desert hills, az | We use grindings instead of sawdust. They seem to be heavier, have no dust, and blow around less. |
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Member
Posts: 5
Location: Springfield, OR | I used to use sawdust in the trailer over the mats. I have a basic two horse slant that I can't close off the air openings. Someone told me the sawdust will fly around and get in their nose and eyes, so I stopped using it. They don't slip on the mats if they load sanely like they are supposedly trained to do. My mare pees everywhere, sawdust or no sawdust (LOL). |
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Member
Posts: 9
| What about wet baled shavings? Or the "virtually dust free" shavings? The reason I mention this is that I recently saw our barn owner's trailer after he had hauled some horses without anything. It was a gross mess, with urine and manure running everywhere (this is a brand new, top of the line aluminium trailer)- just didn't look like something I would want for my trailer's floor OR for my horses to stand on (looked a lot more slippery). On the other hand, we have always used high quality, low dust shavings and never had anything that looked like that. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 671
Location: THE GREAT NORTHWET, OREGON(THE REAL GODS COUNTRY) | I USE A SMALL AMOUNT OF SHAVINGS ALON WITH SOME OIL ABSORBENT(LIKE KITTY LITTER) I PLAVE IT ALONG THE BUT SIDE OF THE TRAILER FOR MARES AND THE CENTER FOR THE BOYS. WORKS GOOD,ABSORBS THE WET AND DRIES OUT LATER.EASY TO CLEAN. ALL MY HORSES ARE BAREFOOT AND MAKES A DIFFERENCE WHEN IT COMES TO SLIPPAGE. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 385
Location: washington | That'd be true if I had screens...I don't have them. My 3 horse has open sides with sliding plexi windows that I remove in summer. The 2 horse has drop down windows with no screen, so I keep them up and open the slider window in those. Both trailers would allow a fully lit cigarette butt in with no problem, if someone tossed one out their window on the freeway and the wind caught it. That was my worry. I had one come in my car window once, and boy did I pull over in a hurry. That thing was like a pin-ball in a pin-ball machine, bouncing all around the inside of the car.. yeow. |
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Expert
Posts: 2689
| Originally written by cowgirl98034 on 2006-05-24 10:57 PM
That'd be true if I had screens...I don't have them. My 3 horse has open sides with sliding plexi windows that I remove in summer. The 2 horse has drop down windows with no screen, so I keep them up and open the slider window in those. Both trailers would allow a fully lit cigarette butt in with no problem, if someone tossed one out their window on the freeway and the wind caught it. That was my worry. I had one come in my car window once, and boy did I pull over in a hurry. That thing was like a pin-ball in a pin-ball machine, bouncing all around the inside of the car.. yeow.
I disagree with your logic; that you don't have bug screens THEREFORE you can't use shavings (because you also have a fear of fire caused by a very unlikely event). There are other good reasons to have bug screens, e.g. "to keep bugs out". I hope you at least have fly masks on your horses to keep bugs and bits of flying grit out of their eyes.
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sawdust when hauling?
