I haven't heard anything about shavings causing scratches, but I haven't done much research into shavings honestly. I do know that they need to be completely removed and replaced like once a week or so because of ph levels.

We use pine pellets, and they are awesome! They absorb everything and break down into a dust free dirt that makes living in CA bearable. We had rain the other day... our corrals are half open, half covered... they were stone dry the next day. They sift easily too... even when broken down... so all you muck out is the poop. I can't rave enough about these since starting to use them.

I've checked out other places around us for boarding and I've noticed at least one place that uses rice hulls for bedding. I've never used them, and as far as I can tell, you have to order a huge truckload of them. I would think they'd kind of work like pea gravel.