Question about Run- Ins........

[Diane of Buck's Hollow]

All of you who have run-ins for your horses...Do you put shavings in them?

[FatSpottedAppy]

No, we(my Mom and I) just leave them be and clean the manure out.

[lovesfortune]

No shavings in ours either. Last year we put some wood chips in part of it, to help soak up some of the excess moisture that we had to deal with (improper draining).

But we just have dirt and clean it out.

[vicklynn]

Nope, no shavings.

If we enclose the sides and back for the winter, I may, but just during the coldest months. City loves to lay in them.

[alittleoffkey]

Nope, the hay they don't like winds up bedding the darned thing in the winter (when they spend the most time in them), and most of mine at least go a few feet out to go to the bathroom, so it's never been a big deal for us. :)

[offgridgirl]

Yup we get wood shaving every three months or so...makes it smell nice and keeps it drier during the winter/rainy months(here in NW)lol

[WashingtonBay]

I do. Clean and fresh shavings as needed, somewhat deep, as it's on top of a padded concrete floor. I provide the same bedding in the run in as I would if they were stalled. Someplace high and dry to stand and get out of the wet, and to lay down in.

[Diane of Buck's Hollow]

Oh ...good to hear the answers. We don't use the shavings, and was wondering if we should. Buck and Mira do a good job at doing their business around the perimeters and so far it looks like we have pretty good drainage.

I was thinking about it for the winter tho...Thanks for the info. I feel better now.

[oursarge]

We don't have shavings but the ground was so wet we put stall mattes in and they really help. The horses never lay in there, they like to lay out in the dirt or snow or what ever. I wish I had real stalls so I could keep them out of the ice as much as they enjoy it I don't like them getting all icy!

[Equine_Woman]

I tried when we first moved here and built it but we have sand and they disappeared. So now they just have sand and poo. Which I need to clean out with a tractor. . .

[WashingtonBay]

We don't have shavings but the ground was so wet we put stall mattes in and they really help. The horses never lay in there, they like to lay out in the dirt or snow or what ever. I wish I had real stalls so I could keep them out of the ice as much as they enjoy it I don't like them getting all icy!

I bet they would lay down in there if there was bedding. It's something of a chicken or the egg thing. They don't now because there is no bedding.

I don't provide bedding for mine all summer, because as long as it's dry, I'd prefer they stand, lay down and sleep outside. But once everything else is muddy, snowy or icy, I provide bedding inside, so there is a dry place to lay down.

My two cents.

[SedonaThunder]

Mine spend 16 hours a day in 15x40 gravel runs with a run in on one end - so I do keep shavings in the stall portion for the reasons WB said. I like them to have somewhere soft, high and dry to lay down and get those hooves dried out a bit. IF mine were on 24/7 turnout I'm not sure I still would do this or not... I suppose it would depend on the pattern I saw - if they spent all their time in the field I wouldn't bother but if they spent much time in their run in then I probably would. (My horses have another run in out in the pasture and in five years of living there I've only seen a horse in it twice for about five minutes.)

[JetLagaside]

None of ours have bedding but they are really only used to get away from the bugs or out of the wind durning the daytime turnout. Lil'Bit has access to her stall at night so she will go in and sleep and doesn't even go near the run in. During the day right now she's in a field with just the run in so she does go in to get out of the weather but that's just from early morning 5:30 am till about 5:00 pm. Her pasture mate had minor surgery and they didn't want the 2 of them running all over the place :) other wise the 2 of them will go in and out of her stall all day ;)

[Buckpoco]

We don't put shavings in the run-in sheds. They have rubber mats on dirt and I prefer that they go outside to poop and pee. When I stall them in the barn, they have lots of shavings.

[vicklynn]

We don't put shavings in the run-in sheds. They have rubber mats on dirt and I prefer that they go outside to poop and pee. When I stall them in the barn, they have lots of shavings.

Ya, I have rubber mats too. Thing is, they would rather go lay on gravel then lay on their mats, so with winter coming, we are putting a plastic back on, tarping the sides, and Im sure Ill put shavings in there. They can lay down and stay warmer in the winter.
Tarps will roll up in the summer months.

[WashingtonBay]

We don't put shavings in the run-in sheds. They have rubber mats on dirt and I prefer that they go outside to poop and pee. When I stall them in the barn, they have lots of shavings.

I agree if we were speaking of a day-use or fair weather use shelter. I wouldn't bed that either, because they will tend to soil it more.

I think the question is whether to bed a run-in when it is the only dry shelter a horse has. My run in is their only barn.

[Toodlestoo]

Diane--our run-in has a dirt floor. We keep the gate open all the time and the horses usually just use it to keep out of the hot sun. Our guys don't sleep in it and we have stalls for the really bad weather that have bedding.

http://www.baywindfarm.com/forum/picture.php?pictureid=577&albumid=89&dl=1223553462&thumb=1 (http://www.baywindfarm.com/forum/album.php?albumid=89&pictureid=577) This is the side view--the big opening is out of camera range and has a gate. We can actually enter from here and close it off to make a big stall which is nice in the winter for the 3 donkeys since we can't separate them.

[Buckpoco]

I have a few friends who only have run-ins and don't use shavings. Probably,
I'd bed the run-ins if my horses only had them to use for shelter.. mine are out most of the time and do well, but I bring them in if it's really nasty weather. I also don't think our weather is as severe here in NY as it is in some other parts of the country.

[Dakota Sunrise]

In the summer time I just leave mine be, so it's just a dirt floor. But in the winter I put sawdust down for added warmth, an close the front off a little bit more.

[magayle]

i use shavings now in our run in's...years ago we started with stall matts but they never laid down on those...then we just filled 'em up with sand....that was more comfy but so dusty...now we use shavings over the sand and they're lots cleaner and comfy...don't have to have anything in there for their hay now either, i can just put it on the ground/shavings when i need to use the run in's for seperate stalls...i love the run in's with shavings:cowboy:

[valleyrider]

I do not put shavings in my stalls/ inclosed run in.It is 3 sided with a dirt floor & doors so we can close them in if needed. I do want to get mats, Maybe then I will put shavings down. They do like to lay down in the stalls. It will be drier for them..

[magayle]

forgot to mention that when i had matts in our run in's it was also very slippery in the winter...too risky with my guys and their horsein' around

[Diane of Buck's Hollow]

We have pretty soft dirt in the run in and it hasn't gotten wet in the rain ...yet. We plan on putting up some sides for the Winter..to help them keep warm.

I havn't really wanted to put the shavings in there..because they don't poop there , just around it and outside of it...I also don't want to have to start mixing the shavings in the poop pile...if they start pooping in it. Just thinking outloud. Not sure yet. I do want them to be cozy warm and a nice place to sleep in the cold months.

[jerseypacer]

I use my run-in like stalls, it has exterior and interior doors on it and a built on feed/tack room. I put mats down, made two big box stalls and use shavings year round. I close the outside doors during the day and leave them out, but at night or during inclimate weather, they have access to their stalls and can come and go as they please. I have feed and water buckets in there and they come in to eat and always lay down in there at night.

[magayle]

sure sounds like the perfect set up! isn't it great to know they're comfy:)

[Diane of Buck's Hollow]

I use my run-in like stalls, it has exterior and interior doors on it and a built on feed/tack room. I put mats down, made two big box stalls and use shavings year round. I close the outside doors during the day and leave them out, but at night or during inclimate weather, they have access to their stalls and can come and go as they please. I have feed and water buckets in there and they come in to eat and always lay down in there at night.

Yep we have their food bins and water buckets in the Run-In too. We bring them in every night. But what we call a paddock..is really bigger than most, and probably isn't really a paddock..We just call it that. We needed to have a way to keep them off grass when we first came over. So we put a fence in the area that walks into the pasture by the lake. Thank goodness is was the smallest unfenced area...because SM had to dig all the holes for the posts. lol

Here is a picture...The boards on the Left side (as you are looking at the pic) were just temperary boards...they are not there any longer. The boards you do see on the other side are in the back of the run in...the ground is higher on the back side next to the barn. It is actually attached to that side of the barn. The "paddock" is twice as big as you can see in the picture.

http://www.baywindfarm.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=30&pictureid=1557

[TacheteTreasures]

We use shavings, even though the horses are constantly tracking in mud and dirtying the shavings. We clean out manure, but the shavings are still nasty, but at least they are still soft.

[Diane of Buck's Hollow]

We use shavings, even though the horses are constantly tracking in mud and dirtying the shavings. We clean out manure, but the shavings are still nasty, but at least they are still soft.


Another question...What do you do with your shavings?