Tanja Salow, 2020.10.22
Who are you and what kind of space do you run, a free-form introduction about yourself and the animals:
Tanja Salow, Salon I live in Kiskö and run my own stable. Currently, there are 4 trotting horses in the stable. I have worked with horses since I was very young, I started riding lessons at the age of 5 and trotting horses came into the picture actively when I was 16. This winter I will be 40 years old, so there is a good 30 years of events in between. Three of my own horses, two of which are here at home. I don't have any helpers or hired staff, I take care of everything from start to finish by myself. The household also includes two dogs and a few chickens.
1. Question: Why did you decide to use hemp as bedding?
- Out of a desire to experiment, I was looking for bedding that would work for every horse and in every situation while also being easy to handle. I don't have the option of bringing loose bedding onto the property, and hemp is easy to store as it doesn't freeze, etc.
- Hemp offered all the good sides and was extremely easy to handle, even compared to straw pellets and peat. Even farriers have often said that they notice in their work how different bedding affects horses' hooves, and compared to our previous bedding, the quality of the horn on the horses' hooves improved. The mare, who was prone to sciatica, had no problems with hemp, and the horse, who seemed to eat all possible bedding, calmed down and has managed without any problems. The horses also lie down more with hemp bedding and are thus more content and relaxed.
- Drying is now done once a week instead of every other day, which saves my time and my back. I turn the pens daily, I don't keep a mattress. Our horses are not outside 24/7 even in the summer because of training. The horse being trained also needs to be able to rest and in the pasture they practically don't sleep soundly unlike in the stable. I have slept in the stable during foaling, and I feel that hemp is really soft and warm.
2. Question: What other bedding have you tried and how is using hemp different from them?
- Peat, straw pellets (also in the form of pellets), flax and sawdust. Compared to these, hemp has an advantage in many ways. In terms of further use (manure disposal, etc.), hemp is by far the best.
3. Question: Do you use hemp with any other bedding and why?
- For some horses, I mix peat into the pen in a ratio of 1:3 or 1:4 during the winter, especially when the weather is really damp or really cold, or the horses have to spend more time indoors for some reason. Peat binds ammonia better than hemp (the only good thing about peat), and hemp prevents the peat from “caking” by binding more air between the bedding. The clumps that are created with the combination bedding are extremely easy to clean. With the T/H combination, the pens become like clumping cat litter, the moisture-binding capacity of which is absolutely incredible, and cleaning is even faster. The T/H combination brings out the best of both beddings. No other bedding can store heat like the T/H combination.
4. Question: What are the advantages or benefits of using hemp as bedding and how do animals react to it?
The advantages of hemp for us and for my use are:
- The stable is bright and the bedding does not create any extra smells (e.g. peat has a sour smell)
- Flies practically zero
- Easy to store and transport
- Does not freeze like peat, for example
- Easily available
- It doesn't get caught in the horse's hair and won't mess up the horse when it's bucking around in the stall.
- Easy to dispose of, suitable for example as fertilizer for both farmers and private individuals (pH neutral)
- Saves time cleaning pens
- Horses don't eat it.
- Very low consumption, cost-effective in use
- Works with all animals (doghouse, chickens, rodents, birdhouses...)
- It rots very quickly.
- The best option for horse hooves (chew dries them out, peat softens them when acidic and moist, etc.)
And then the cons:
- Purchase price (evens out over the long term)
- Does not absorb ammonia odor like peat
- Sometimes it gets dusty, especially as a single piece of dry bedding and when setting up a pen (mattress).
5. Question: Hemp is more expensive to buy than many other bedding materials, how would you estimate the actual cost in use?
- Because it uses less, the costs are not much higher than with other types of bedding. It largely depends on whether or not you want to keep a mattress in the stable.
6. Question: Do you have any practical tips regarding the use of hemp?
- Requires proper cleaning, not a litter for the in a hurry. Learning the cleaning technique takes time, but in the process saves a lot of time and a lot of litter. Works best in combination with peat, even for horses that are “pigs” in the pen. If you want to save money in every possible way, it may not be worth using.
7. Question: How do you maintain hemp bedding daily/weekly/etc?
- Drying the stalls once or twice a week. I turn the stalls over daily. Our horses lie down in the stable a lot, so I want the stalls to be really clean. This saves time when cleaning the horses again when riding, etc.
8. Question: Would you recommend using hemp to others?
- Absolutely! Using hemp is the best option in a stable where you are willing to put the horse first. If you are cleaning the stalls, this may not be the right bedding. It also does not necessarily work as a mattress on its own, it requires quite careful cleaning and a thick mattress.
