"A Time to Heal" by Judy Larsen
With seven regional horse bedding plants, we are able to serve most of North America at a reasonable price. The same high quality, closely monitored manufacturing process is used at every Guardian Horse Bedding plant. This provides the texture, low dust levels and longevity that our wood shavings and pellet products are known for.
Why Guardian Horse Bedding?
With new brands of bedding on the market today, why choose Guardian?
- Guardian Horse Bedding has emerged as the bedding of
choice throughout
North America. - The manufacturing process is exclusive to Guardian Horse Bedding™
- This process controls particle size and particle
durability under hoof.
This means a consistent, lower dust product than others on the market today.
Many products will perform reasonably well for the first week or two.
The quality of the bedding will show after this period. - The Guardian bedding will last longer under hoof with
greater absorbency
and lower dust levels. - The Equine respiratory system is very sensitive to
airborne particles in certain size ranges.
Our bedding is manufactured with the equine respiratory system in mind. - We use our products everyday in our own equine facilities and we control the quality of the product.
- Other brands would suggest that you "mix the urine
into the bedding" and only remove the manure. Common sense and Horse sense
tells us that these folks must not be horse people!
Remove your urine saturated bedding, remove the manure. The end result: a clean stall without odor. - It is important to know the species of wood used in a
bedding.
Many hardwoods are toxic to horses and the slightest content of those hardwoods can potentially cause irreversible health problems in the Equine athlete. The content of tannic acids and other toxins from hardwoods are too high a risk to take with our horses.
Additionally, the density of hardwoods compared to most softwoods will reduce the
absorption and coverage in the stall. This means you will use more hardwood bedding pound for pound over softwood.
When comparing price to other brands, remember, our bag is 40 pounds. Many other brands are 30, 33 and 35 pounds. Pound for pound, we consistently provide the best pricing for the best bedding product. What more could you ask?
At our own Guardian facilities we use our horse bedding products everyday. We are confident no matter what your bedding requirements, we have the perfect horse bedding for you.
It's Time to Take Control
Our Premium Pine Horse Bedding products can control your
- Bedding Consumption
- Disposal Levels
- Operating Expenses
- Barn Environment
- Horse Health
- Compost Quality
- Stall Cleaning Time
Did we miss anything?
Is Your Bedding Package a Good Value?
Learn more about volume labeling and what we think is important when choosing a horse bedding.
We have known for many years that pine bedding has offered the benefit of mosquito repellent, but to read a recent publication by the U.S. Department of Agriculture regarding a related study, click here.
Condensed Pine Wood Bedding Pellet 
A pelletized mini flake shaving. Packaged in our space saving forty-pound bag. The Guardian Horse Bedding pellet is manufactured to higher standards than most on the market. You owe it to you and your horse to know the difference.
The Next Generation of Horse Bedding - It's Amazing! And Easy!
Watch our pine pellets change from this ...
... to this ...in just minutes!
In its softened state, our pellet bedding is highly absorbent & easy to sift.
A healthy, long-lasting alternative to shavings or straw.
- Ready to use
- 100% soft wood fiber
- 40 pound bag - 3.5 cubic feet compressed
- Heated to extreme temperatures to remove tars, oils, hydro-carbons, and other potential allergens
- Highly absorbent (wet spot actually clumps)
- Reduced disposal volume by up to 50%
- Consistent
- Fine textured to sift easily
- Low dust is achieved through our extensive dust extraction process
- Composts quickly and efficiently
Consistent Texture
Guardian manufacturing specifications provide a softened fiber that will be larger, more consistent and longer lasting than other brands. You can count on the same high quality pellet every time.
High Heat Treated to Remove Allergens
In the pelletizing stage, the wood is high heat treated removing tars, oils, hydrocarbons and other potential allergens.
The Power of the Pellet
The Guardian pellet is compressed under high pressure. This pellet will expand up to 5 times its size when exposed to moisture. Pound for pound, the Guardian Pine Pellet will be the most absorbent bedding you can find.
Highly Absorbent
The wet spot will actually clump for fast and easy removal. We recommend 4—5 inches of depth in the stall. This will provide the bedding needed to trap the urine quickly, avoid spreading of the wet spot, which will reduce ammonia levels and waste less bedding.
Reduce Consumption and Disposal
Guardian Pine Pellet bedding will greatly reduce your bedding consumption and disposal over traditional flake shavings and straw. Some farms have recorded 70% consumption and disposal reductions with our bedding. While the pellets may be slightly more expensive per bag, then traditional shavings (not in all areas), you should cut your consumption by 30—50%. If you do the math, ( or we’ll do it for you) we expect that you should save no less than 25% up to 50% on your bedding costs. If you pay to have your manure hauled away, or pay someone to spread it, you will save by reducing your disposal by 30, 40 up to 50% as well!
Save Time Cleaning Stalls
Guardian Horse Bedding Pine Pellet Shavings as well as Swift Pick Shavings will pick so fast and easy you will clean stalls in a fraction of the time.
More Room For Hay
The Guardian Pine Pellet is packaged in a 40 pound bag that will require about 1/3rd the space of a traditional flake shaving bale. Since you will use less too, your storage requirements will be reduced by 2/3 to 3/4. Additionally, our pallets are wrapped and capped for safe outside storage. Complete instructions are on the bag. Your horse will bed on the soft fiber that makes the pellet. It is comfortable, shock absorbing, and aesthetically pleasing.
Step-by-Step Instructions (based on a 12' X 12' stall)
We recommend 5 - 6 bags of our premium pine pellet bedding to start a 12 x 12 stall. This will provide about 4 inches of bedding after the pellet softens completely. This depth will provide quick absorbency and trapping of the wet spot reducing ammonia levels and spreading of the wet spot in the stall. You will ultimately use less bedding if you start the stall with this amount of bedding and maintain the average of 4 inches of fiber.
Click an image below for a larger view
|
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
||||||||
Cleaning the Stall
- Locate and remove the wet spot at each cleaning.
- Sift any manure.
- Rake bedding spreading any unused pellets over stall area.
- Add fresh pellets to stall as needed to maintain 4-5 inches of softened fiber depth.
- Proper use of our condensed wood pellet bedding will provide substantial reduction in disposal and labor time required to clean as well as storage space requirements.
FAQs
What are wood pellets for horse bedding?
The Guardian Horse Bedding pellets are made of clean, high heat treated pine shavings. We have developed our unique manufacturing process to create condensed wood shavings suitable for horse bedding use. The material used for Guardian Horse Bedding pellets is screened, vacuumed, dried and compressed into small condensed wood pellets, resulting in highly absorbent (5 times more absorbent than traditional shavings), easy to sift, softwood bedding. All wood pellets are not created equally. Most brands on the market today are simply fuel grade wood pellets packaged in horse bedding bags. We manufacture our pellet to much higher standards to address dust concerns, absorbency and durability. We actually use our "waste" screenings to produce those other pellets for use in other industries. We hope you'll get a chance to experience the difference. We are confident you will choose Guardian Horse Bedding Premium Pine Pellets.
How do the horse bedding pellets work?
Think of the pellets as a super-condensed form of fine shavings. Upon bedding the stall, the pellets will require fresh water to open or develop the pellet into the fine shaving particle the horse beds on. This fine shavings bed is free of allergens, easy to clean, and incredibly absorbent. Because of the high density of the bedding, it is extremely comfortable and shock- absorbing.
Do I bed the horse on the hard pellet?
By adding fresh water to our pellets, they are softened into a highly absorbent, comfortable, dry bedding for your horse. Most other pellet bedding will instruct you to bed your horse directly on the pellets. This provides an uncomfortable, unstable footing for you and your horse. Our soft, dense bedding provides a shock absorbent footing that is extremely comfortable for the horse.
What makes the pine pellet a better horse bedding?
- It is safe. No risk of contamination from inappropriate woods or foreign materials from outside sources. Other producers buy wood waste from a variety of sources. This results in the possibility of contaminants from hardwoods and other toxins as well as inconsistent quality. The beautiful white pine used to make Guardian Horse Bedding is closely controlled from the start to the finished product.
- Cleaner, drier Stalls. The drying process as well as our stronger wood fiber makes the bedding 3 times more absorbent than traditional shavings. The urine spot will not spread. It will remain clumped or contained for easy removal. You will be able to effectively clean even the wettest stalls without stripping. Fine bedding allows for easier manure removal. You will not dispose of good bedding with the manure.
- More Cost Effective. One 40 pound bag of Guardian Horse Bedding is equal to 1½ to 2 traditional shavings bales. You will see a 30 to 50% reduction in consumption and disposal volume. You will not dispose of good shavings with your manure because it sifts easily. Your stall cleaning time will be greatly reduced as well. Compared to shavings, only half the amount of time is required to clean the stall.
- Easier to use. 40-pound bags allow easier storage and handling. One bag is the average volume required per stall per week for a horse in at night and out during the day. Average use is 60 - 70 bags per horse per year.
How are the Guardian Horse Bedding pine pellets different from other wood pellets used for horse bedding?
Guardian Horse Bedding pellets are better for a number of reasons. Our manufacturing process is exclusive to Guardian Horse Bedding. Improved methods of dust screening and particle texture control provide for the most advanced bedding pellet on the market today. Most of the bedding pellets available today are standard grade wood pellets. These pellets are simply packaged as bedding pellets. Through the advancements in our manufacturing process, we have produced a wood pellet specifically for animal bedding use. This provides a much cleaner, lower dust bedding than other pellets. The best wood fiber for horse bedding is white organic pine. The quality of Guardian Horse Bedding raw material and our abundant supply ensure horse owners of a consistent, reliable, quality horse bedding. Additionally, other wood pellet beddings would have you mix in the wet spot during cleaning. We do not recommend this practice. Leaving the urine in the stall provides a breeding ground for bacteria and can be harmful to your horse.
Is this dust free horse bedding?
It is a low dust level bedding. Dust levels are reduced because we have controlled the particle size and the small dust particles are extracted. The bedding “settles” when you pick the stall or the horse moves about, rather than floating or becoming airborne. This is a wood product. Wood will eventually pulverize over a period of time. But with proper stall cleaning and replacement, you will find this product to be one of the lowest dust pine bedding products available.
Will my horse eat the pellet?
Most horses will immediately recognize that it is wood and will not eat it. It is wood. It smells and tastes like wood. If you’re concerned about a “he’ll eat anything” horse be sure the pellets are completely processed before the horse enters the stall. (This is done by spraying more water and turning with the manure fork until the pellets are completely broken down).
How do I store the bags of bedding pellets?
Bear in mind that Guardian Horse Bedding requires less than ½ the storage space of traditional baled shavings. Additionally, it is packaged in 40 pound plastic bags. Each 40” x 48” skid is packed with 50 bags standing 4 feet tall and weighing 2000 pounds. They are covered in a heavy mil plastic tarp, which allows for outside storage. Skids may be double stacked for space conservation.
How will Guardian Horse Bedding pellets save me money?
It does not take long to realize savings to the horse or stable owner. When you take into consideration that each 40 pound bag of Guardian Horse Bedding is equal to 1.5 - 2 bales of traditional shavings, you can immediately calculate your savings in material costs. Additionally, you will reduce your labor costs (if applicable) by 30 – 50%. Bedding is only added every 5 – 7 days as opposed to shavings. Because the bedding sifts so easy you are only disposing of wet bedding and manure, your disposal volume will reduce by 30 – 50% as well. All of these benefits translate into a reduction in stable management expenses. Utilizing the new aeration compost systems, there is potential income from the high quality compost. Visit Peter Moon at o2compost.com for more compost information.
How many bags of Guardian Horse Bedding Pellets will I need for my stall size?
A 12 x 12 stall will require approximately 6 bags of bedding for conversion. Fresh water will be necessary to transform the pellets into the soft, dry, absorbent bedding your horse will bed on. Once the stall is converted to Guardian Horse Bedding you should not have to add additional bedding for about 2 weeks. Thereafter a typical horse will require 1 bag of bedding every 5-7 days. Additional bags of bedding may be added to adjust the bedding depth to your liking. However, since the bedding will continue to grow for the first few days after conversion, as it pulls moisture from the air and ground, it is recommended to wait to add additional bags until the stall is complete since deep bedding can be heavy and hard to move around. If your stall is smaller or larger than 12 x 12 adjust the number of bags used at start-up accordingly.
How often do I have to strip my stalls?
If you use Guardian Bedding properly you should not have to strip your stall as the bedding recycles itself through your daily mucking out.
How does the pine pellet bedding stand up during cold winters?
Our premium pine pellet bedding will work in most cold weather situations. We have sold our wood pellets in Northern Ontario, Minnesota and Maine for many winters to happy customers. We do recognize the difficulties some facilities have adding water during extreme winter temperatures. We recommend Guardian Swift Pick Shavings under these circumstances. Swift Pick offers the benefits of the pellet, but eliminates the need for water. It is ready to bed!
Can Guardian Horse Bedding wood pellets be used for other animal bedding or litter?
Yes, Guardian Horse Bedding will provide the same benefit to poultry, cattle, and dairy. It is a great cat litter too! Some small animal species can be sensitive to pine. Consult your veterinarian. Special note: There could be a risk involved with small animals, ie. puppies ingesting the hard pellet. Please be sure to soften the pellet prior to use if this is a concern in your application. The softened pellet fiber is actually more absorbent and will provide more protection from wetness in cages.
Pine: The Great Debate
There is a debate over whether pine
shavings are safe for use under large and small animals. Remember, not all
pine shavings are created equal. If opponents of using pine have tested pine
shavings from a treated lumber mill, or green lumber, there could be any number
of issues to be concerned about.
Quality Counts: Our Swift Pick Pine Shavings are planer shavings
from high heat kilns where potential allergens are "baked off" and only the
driest edge material is used.
The high heat process the Guardian Pine Pellet goes through in the
pelletizing stage will take this even further. There are many horses that have
reactions to some traditional pine shavings as they may still contain some of
the oils and terpenes that can cause allergic reactions. Those horses do quite
well on our products because of our high heat treatment.
Here are a couple of links that provide some additional information.
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/1155/Pine.html
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/1155/Pine1.html