I'm breeding my mare and have been told that I need to be careful about bedding. Does anyone have experience with bedding and foals?

Ive always been told that straw is the best bedding for broodmares/foals. At teh breeding farm where I worked, straw was used in the breeding sheds and it was felt that other beddings were too fine in particules and had too much dust that would irritate the foal's respiratory passages. Clean straw is comfortable, has little to no dust.

Straw is the best, it is great insulation for the foal since they can not maintain their body temps. that well. It also like stated above is better for the respiratory tract of the foal and, is safer on the eyes. Where I work we put a small layer of large shavings done to absorb the urine and then a thick layer of good clean straw.

Before the mares foal, we put down about 3" of fresh, clean sawdust/shavings (to use to absorb fluids) and then we put down a nice thick layer of straw. We make sure the straw layer is thick enough that there is plenty of fluff for the foal to stay warm and comfy on, and that it can't get to the sawdust too easily (for the respiratory reasons) For the first couple of days, we add more straw as we muck out the bad stuff. Then, after a couple of days, we start to add the sawdust/shavings instead of the straw. After about a week and half or so we again completely strip out the stall and just put the sawdust/shavings down.

In places where straw is really expensive or people can't find good straw, I have heard of using high quality grass hay...again you have to make sure it is clean and non dusty. Some use it with mares that tend to eat the straw, too...

Good luck!

Kristine

I agree the straw is the best. Shavings will stick to the little wet babies and you don't want them to cover their noses or anything.

Horses need extra cushion and dryness in their stalls to help promote healthy hooves and overall general health.here you have a few choices:
Straw, it´s the common bedding used by many, is not as absorbent as other available bedding, but is often relatively inexpensive and decomposes quickly in your compost, it also provides a nice soft bed for your horse.
Sawdust and Wood Shavings. Sawdust is high absorbing, but if your horse is prone to respiratory problems it should not be used. A better alternative is wood shavings. Wood shavings are easy to muck out and can be found easily. Processed wood shavings are more expensive, but are clean and dust free and do not contain any toxics that may be harmful to your horse, but sawdust and wood shavings do not decompose well in your compost pile.
Rubber Matting. Many advantages such as being completely dust free, drains well and is warm, you can add a little bedding, like straw, to make a bed more comfortable for you horse to lie in or if the drainage under the matting is not adequate.