What common horse bedding choices mean for equine care
Bottom line
Version 1
Equus Magazine on October 6, 2026, published a practical review of common horse stall bedding materials, laying out the tradeoffs among straw, wood products, paper products, peat moss, sand, and hulls, shells, or shives. The piece doesn’t announce a new product or rule change, but it does distill a familiar management decision into a clearer risk-benefit framework: straw is widely available but less absorbent and potentially moldy; wood products are more absorbent but can be dusty, and black walnut products should be avoided because they’re toxic to horses; paper and peat are more absorbent and less palatable, but can be harder to manage or source; and sand and agricultural byproducts may be economical in some settings, but come with important limitations. (equusmagazine.com)
Why it matters: For veterinarians and equine care teams, bedding isn’t just a housekeeping choice. It affects respiratory health, hoof and skin conditions, labor demands, disposal planning, and cost of care. AAEP materials on equine respiratory disease and preventive medicine note that lower-dust management matters in stabled horses, especially those with equine asthma, and recommend avoiding straw in many of those cases. Research summarized by AAEP also suggests bedding type can influence airway inflammation, although forage and overall barn environment may have an even larger effect on dust exposure than bedding alone. (aaep.org)
What to watch: Expect continued interest in low-dust, higher-absorbency bedding options, especially for horses with respiratory disease and for barns under pressure to balance welfare, labor, and manure-management costs. (mynewhorse.equusmagazine.com)
Version 2
A new Equus Magazine article is putting a routine barn decision back in focus: what’s actually the best bedding for a horse’s stall. Published October 6, 2026, the review walks through the pros and cons of straw, wood products, paper products, peat moss, sand, and hulls, shells, or shives, emphasizing that the “best” option depends on local availability, horse behavior, labor, and health priorities. (equusmagazine.com)
That may sound basic, but bedding has become a bigger welfare and management issue than it appears at first glance. Equus has covered stall bedding repeatedly in recent years, including a 2023 “stall bedding basics” package that tied bedding choice to dust exposure, manure handling, and daily barn efficiency. In other words, this latest article fits into a broader industry conversation about how husbandry details shape equine health outcomes and staff workload. (equusmagazine.com)
The Equus review highlights a familiar set of tradeoffs. Straw remains widely available and visually appealing, but it’s not very absorbent, may harbor mold if poorly stored, and some horses will eat it. Wood products are more absorbent and widely used, but dust and wood type matter; Equus specifically warns against black walnut shavings and wood products because of toxicity risk. Paper products are absorbent and generally unpalatable, but may need more frequent mucking and can be cumbersome to move. Peat moss scores well on absorbency and low palatability, but can be expensive and hard to source in volume. Sand is easy to clean but not absorbent, can make coats gritty, and raises management concerns around inadvertent ingestion if hay is fed off the ground. Hulls, shells, and shives may be economical where available, but are less absorbent and not consistently easy to find. (equusmagazine.com)
Outside commentary and professional guidance add an important layer: bedding choice is often a respiratory management decision as much as a comfort decision. AAEP proceedings on preventive medicine and respiratory disease recommend low-dust housing strategies for horses with airway disease and caution against straw bedding in many of those cases. One AAEP summary cites studies associating wood shavings with higher airway neutrophilia than peat shavings in healthy horses, while another notes that changing from straw bedding and hay to lower-dust management can sharply reduce respirable dust exposure in the horse’s breathing zone. At the same time, AAEP materials also stress that forage, ventilation, and barn cleaning practices may affect dust exposure even more than bedding alone. (aaep.org)
Industry-facing educational coverage points in the same direction. Equus and affiliated horse-care content have noted that pellets, peat moss, and shredded paper can offer lower-dust, higher-absorbency alternatives in some barns, while cardboard and other dust-controlled products may help horses with severe equine asthma remain comfortable indoors when paired with appropriate forage management. That doesn’t make any one bedding universally “best,” but it does reinforce that product selection should match the horse’s medical profile and the barn’s ability to keep the environment dry, clean, and well ventilated. (mynewhorse.equusmagazine.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, bedding is one of the most practical levers in preventive equine care. Advising a pet parent or barn manager on cough, recurrent airway inflammation, skin irritation, poor stall hygiene, or excessive labor often leads back to bedding quality, dust load, absorbency, and disposal logistics. The right recommendation may differ for a healthy horse, a horse with equine asthma, a horse prone to eating bedding, or a facility managing infectious disease cleanup on porous or sand-based surfaces. AAEP biosecurity guidance also underscores that soiled bedding removal and stall-surface characteristics can complicate cleaning and disinfection, which makes substrate choice relevant to outbreak readiness as well as day-to-day welfare. (aaep.org)
What to watch: The next phase of this conversation will likely center on practical comparisons, not headline breakthroughs, including dust control, labor efficiency, sourcing reliability, and disposal costs, as barns weigh traditional materials like straw and shavings against pellets, paper, peat, and other lower-dust options. (equusmagazine.com)