Although bedding horse stalls is part of the daily routine for horse owners, the quality of the materials used, such as straw, bedding, sawdust, forest soil, etc., is often underestimated. Recent microbiological analyses of straw showed that one-third of the samples examined were questionable and another third were microbiologically contaminated.

In this episode of "Agricultural Science - Compact Knowledge," Dr. Andreas Steinwidder speaks with Reinhard Resch, engineer, from the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein. Mr. Resch has developed a new evaluation standard for horse bedding and provides valuable insights into the most important criteria, health risks, and practical tips for quality assurance.

New rating key for horse bedding

The available assessment methods have so far insufficiently addressed important characteristics such as the type of bedding, indoor/outdoor storage, particle length, absorbency, poisonous plants, stored product pests, straw/litter uptake, and others. Therefore, the new "ÖAG Key for Practical Assessment of Straw/Bedding for Horses" was developed for horse owners, taking into account the sensory evaluation of properties such as dustiness, odor, color/appearance, feel/texture, and impurities. In addition to sensory testing, microbiological and chemical laboratory analysis serves to clarify quality defects more precisely, for example, regarding storage mold growth (molds) and microbially produced toxins (mycotoxins).

Listen now and learn more about the optimal bedding for your horse!