The Chloe cough thread

Trewsers

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Oct 13, 2004
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Chloe has been having issues with a cough on and off. I rang for advice two weeks ago and as it didn't worsen thought it was seasonal due to being in more. Anyway, vet was here for madam's teeth - so OH asked him to listen to her chest just to check. She was wheezing a little he said and he thought her breathing was more laboured than should be. So we now have some medication for her and need to make changes to her lifestyle. Unfortunately she has to go back on Bedmax - eeek! Coupled with her Prascend at £40 a month - she is going to be following in Joe's expensive hoofsteps! lol If she needs an inhaler that will be more expense but we are hoping this medication will work and it won't come to that. I really need to sell some stuff on ebay! Today has just cost me £140!!!
Anyhoo - he also mentioned using paper bedding - what's it like?
 
I am sorry to hear about both of the old ladies T, and ouch at the costs.

I would not recommend paper for any bedding, it is so dusty even when it says its dust extracted. I also found it to be very wasteful.

I used to use a hard wood shaving, like a wood chip type which is less dusty and I found it very cheap. Countrywide sell it hear for £5.75 a bale and once you have your bed down, one a week is more than enough.

Do you have rubber mats in your stable?
 
Thanks for the tip about the bedding. Will see if our merchants have any wood stuff. Am thinking it might be a good idea for rubber mats too. Had bad experience with them in the past but might be worth a go again.
 
The reason I asked is I had rubber mats at the front of the stable, woodchip at the back. It saves money in the long run as you only need half a bed, but protects joints still having the mats at the front.

I picked up long pieces of rubber matting from a small business that makes belts for machinery rather than equestrian over priced ones.
 
Paper bedding is rubbish. It fly's all over the place then gets really packed down and soggy and horrible.

I think Bedmax is good, I am using that atm, when mine are in, perhaps not quite as absorbent as the normal shavings but it is less dusty.

We have rubber matting so I can make a pretty good bed up with two bales then generally use a bale a week per stable to top up.

I agree the hay on the floor is a good idea, it helps any mucus to run out down the nose.

I had to laugh at your £140.....I think I am possibly spending that every day atm lol. Horses, we must be mad:giggle:
 
Sorry to hear about Chloe,I worked with paper bedding once and tbh hated the stuff,like already said wasteful and dusty and never made a good bed imo.I use bedmax and love it,I get it from AFS and they do a pallet deal for me of 36 bales and it works out about 5.70 a bale,I semi deep litter and only need to add a bale every 7-10 days,on that day I lift the loose bedding off the firm base and skim out some of the wet.not dusty and nice fluffy clean bed.
 
Have you tried feeding loose on the floor trews? That really is the deal breaker for us

I asked the vet and he didn't seem to think it made a difference. I know it makes sense for them to feed naturally ie off the floor but he didn't really advise or push it. He seemed more concerned about not using straw.
 
I asked the vet and he didn't seem to think it made a difference. I know it makes sense for them to feed naturally ie off the floor but he didn't really advise or push it. He seemed more concerned about not using straw.


Straw causes us far less issues than hay - in fact they are bedded on straw it really is the constant shaking of dust over nose from tugging nets for us :)
 
Straw causes us far less issues than hay - in fact they are bedded on straw it really is the constant shaking of dust over nose from tugging nets for us :)

Well I must admit, our straw does not seem dusty at all - in fact when Joe was alive he was on shavings and sometimes Bedmax - which when I used to open to put a fresh bale down there was quite a bit of dust! To say it's meant to be dust extracted too - most odd.
I will give it a go tho feeding half and half - some from the floor and some from a net - see what happens. One thing that does bother me is in the past the poor girl has pooped in her hayledge pile - and in the morning the majority was still there, so I'd hate for that to happen again.
 
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