How to wet/water the pellets, form a new bed in a box or transport and refill bedding.
New bed
A suitable amount for a 10 m2 box is about 6-8 sacks, depending on how thick you want the bedding.
Alternative 1
Empty the sacks of Stallpellets into the clean and empty box/stall until the floor surface is covered.
Spread the Stallpellets in the box/stall using a fork or similar. It may seem to little, but will expand after watering. Water the pellets in the box.
Use hot water if possible as the pellets then dissolve faster, though cold water can also be used. About 10 liters of water per 14 kg bag of Stallpellets should be used. When the water is absorbed, the Stallpellets expand, crumble into sawdust and the volume increases substantially.
The surface can then be evened out as required. If some of the pellets have still not dissolved, you can add a little more water. It is then time to invite your horse into the box/stall!
Alternative 2
If you are creating a new bed in the winter, it may be a good alternative to first dissolve the pellets in a wheelbarrow, or something similar, and then place the expanded pellets into the box/stall.
Alternative 3
Spread out the sacks in the box. Make a lengthways slit and water 10 liters in each sack. When the pellets have finished expanding, simply remove the paper sacks and spread the sawdust in the box.
Use hot water if possible as the pellets then dissolve faster, though cold water can also be used. About 10 liters of water per 14 kg bag of Stallpellets should be used. When the water is absorbed, the Stallpellets expand, crumble into sawdust and the volume increases substantially.
If some of the pellets have still not dissolved, you can add a little more water.
Stallpellets will form a compact but soft and firm bed. A bed of shavings. When necessary, you can water a little extra if the weather is hot and dry. Or a little less of the stable is damp.
Daily maintenance
After mucking out – which is an easy task when using Stallpellets as so little of the material goes with the manure – add more Stallpellets as needed. You can add either wet or dry Stallpellets, and thereby control the moisture content of the bed. 1-2 bags per week is normally sufficient, depending on the size of the box, how clean the horse is and how much time it spends inside.
Why Stallpellets need watering
SCA's Stallpellets are finely ground sawdust with high absorbency. To minimize freight and storage costs the sawdust is compacted into dry pellets.
Moisture is then added on site in the form of water. This also means you can decide yourself how wet you want the bedding. You can decide to water a little extra for horses with a cough or with dry hooves. If it is a wet winter, with high humidity, you can decide to add less water so the bedding is not too wet.
Bedding that has been watered is not saturated. Normal sawdust has a moisture content of about 50%, the pellets have moisture content of 8% and when they have been watered the moisture content is about 30%, which is still lower than normal sawdust. A damp dishcloth is better at absorbing than a dry one...
