Hemp Horse Bedding
Dominion Hemp provides sustainable, efficient, American-grown hemp bedding that helps equestrians take superior care of their animals.
Our hemp bedding:
- Is a cost-comparative alternative to other bedding materials.
- Contained an extremely low amount of dust.
- Absorbs four times its weight.
- Reduces odors and pests.
- Reduces labor and removal costs.
- Creates a healthier living environment for your horses!
Testimonial From Wolfe Pack Farm
Cheryl Wolfe discusses how Dominion Hemp has changed how Wolfe Pack Farm beds their horses.
The Benefits of Dominion Hemp Bedding for Your Horses
Dominion Hemp is hands down the best for your equine's health, comfort, and overall barn management. What makes Dominion Hemp the best hemp horse bedding?
Dominion Hemp Absorbs 4x Its Weight
A healthy horse can urinate up to seven or eight times a day, and that amount of liquid can quickly become a nuisance for your animal and a hassle for you. Our bedding is made from the soft core of the hemp plant stem, which produces a sponge-like material that soaks up liquids. This increased soaking capacity will keep your horses dry longer than horse bedding made from wood or straw.
Excess moisture can soften a horse's hooves, which may lead to hoof rot. Hemp traps excess moisture inside the many pockets and crevices natural to hemp, helping to ensure healthy feet for your horse.
Dominion Hemp is 99% Dust-Free
Since a horse's nasal passages are separate from its mouth, horses normally only breathe through their nose. Hemp is low in dust and other particulates, which is critical when limiting respiratory and other life-threatening health risks in nose-breathing animals.
Additionally, hemp has no phenols and isn’t palatable to horses, increasing its health benefits.
If your horse is sensitive to allergens, low-dust bedding is a must. And we also benefit from less dust, so horses and humans can breathe easier!
Dominion Hemp is Biodegradable and Sustainable
Hemp breaks down twice as fast as wood chips or sawdust, making it a great addition to your compost.
Hemp also produces four times as much pulp as wood per acre and doesn't require pesticides or herbicides to grow, so it's sustainable and friendly to delicate, native ecosystems.
Dominion Hemp Curtails Ammonia Odors
When hemp is used, urine goes straight to the bottom, keeping the surface clean and dry. Users note that the rapid absorption of urine reduces ammonia odors for a better-smelling stall. Reducing odor helps control flies and makes a more pleasing environment for you and your horses.
Dominion Hemp Bedding is a Natural Insect-Repellent
Horses pee and poo a lot which can attract flies into their stalls. Other pests like ticks can also attach to your horses, making them uncomfortable.
Fortunately, hemp is a natural insect repellant due to the organic pesticide characteristics of terpenoid compounds found in the plant's essential oil.
Compare Hemp Horse Bedding to Other Materials
Hemp isn't the only bedding option available on the market, but it's the best option when it comes to measurable benefits and cost-effectiveness.
Hemp Bedding is Very Cost-Effective
Since hemp horse bedding lasts longer, stalls won’t need to be mucked out as often, saving you on material and labor costs. In addition, hemp also reduces transportation and storage costs because there is simply less to haul and store.
On average, 10-12 Bags of Dominion Hemp will last as long as 24-26 bags of pine shavings.
Hemp Bedding Has The Most Benefits
Dominion Hemp outperforms all other types of bedding, making it an easy choice for any size horse operation.
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| Absorbency |
| Dust Content |
| Reduces Odors |
| Coverage |
| Compostable |
| Reduces Allergies |
| Sustainable |
| Maintenance |
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Hay | Shavings | Sawdust | Wood Pellets |
Peat Moss |
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LOW | MEDIUM | MEDIUM | MEDIUM | MEDIUM |
LOW |
MEDIUM | HIGH | HIGH | MEDIUM | LOW |
HIGH |
LOW | LOW | LOW | MEDIUM | MEDIUM |
HIGH |
LOW | MEDIUM | MEDIUM | MEDIUM | LOW |
HIGH |
LOW | LOW | MEDIUM | LOW | HIGH |
HIGH |
LOW | LOW | LOW | LOW | MEDIUM |
HIGH |
MEDIUM | LOW | MEDIUM | MEDIUM | MEDIUM |
LOW |
HIGH | HIGH | MEDIUM | MEDIUM | LOW |
Hemp vs. Recycled Paper Bedding
Recycled papers are ideal for animals with dust allergies as they produce minimal dust. However, when exposed to moisture, paper can quickly reach a saturation point, making it soggy and uncomfortable for horses.
Hemp is superior to paper because it’s highly absorbent.
Hemp vs. Hay
Hay has many factors that make it challenging to keep a clean stall. Hay can hold dust and does not have the absorbency benefits of hemp. Hemp is very low in dust, making it ideal for your horses. Hay can also be wet before spreading into a stall, causing issues with hoof rot. Hemp is always packaged dry and has superior absorption qualities compared to hay.
Hemp vs. Wood Shavings & Pellets
Wood materials aren’t very good at moisture absorption, which is critical for clean stalls. These wet pellets or shavings can lead to mold and mildew, potentially making your animals sick. Hemp absorbs liquid better than wood, so it doesn’t as readily attract mold or mildew.
Wood shavings such as pine, aspen, and cedar might be good at odor control but can be very dusty. The shavings may also have aromatic oils that can irritate your horses' respiratory and gastrointestinal systems.
Hemp vs. Peat Moss
Peat moss is the lower layers of living sphagnum moss that has decomposed underground in wet, boggy conditions. Harvesting this material for any purpose damages fragile wetland ecosystems. Hemp is much more sustainable, as it is rapidly renewable. Hemp's quick growth cycle makes it a more responsible, eco-friendly choice for horse bedding.
Peat moss has no inherent antibacterial properties. Hemp fibers, however, naturally inhibit bacterial growth, which helps prevent the spreading of contagious equine diseases in the stall environment. Hemp's antibacterial qualities make it a smart choice over peat moss bedding.
Hemp vs. Sawdust
Sawdust bedding is, well, dust. As horses move in their stalls, dust particles become airborne. Prolonged exposure to sawdust dust has been linked to chronic coughing and respiratory issues in horses. Dominion Hemp bedding is 99% dust-free. Our hemp doesn't release dust into the air even when pawed at. This dust-free environment is healthier for horses' lungs.
Hemp bedding has natural antibacterial properties that sawdust lacks. This helps hemp resist spreading contagious equine diseases that thrive on bacteria. Hemp's antibacterial qualities also prevent ammonia-producing bacteria growth. By limiting bacteria, hemp helps maintain clean, sanitary conditions in a horse's living space. This reduces horses' exposure to harmful germs and illnesses.
How To Use Dominion Hemp Horse Bedding
Setting Up The Stall
- To establish a good base layer, add 3-5 bags of Dominion Hemp bedding to an average 12' x 12' bed stall.
- Make sure the bedding depth is at least 3 inches for optimal coverage and absorbency.
- Replenishment requires one bag of Dominion Hemp every 4-7 days.
Stall Maintenance
- Use a muck rake specifically designed for horse stalls. A basket stable fork will make cleaning even easier.
- When cleaning hemp bedding, it is important to realize that darker material does not necessarily mean it is wet. Our product naturally turns a little darker as it is walked on and exposed to the elements, but the absorbency remains intact.
- When cleaning a stall, first start with piles of manure. Fill your muck rake about half full and sift the bedding into a clean stall area. Only filling a muck rake half-full will increase sifting efficiency.
- After manure is removed from the stall, look for clumps of urine. This will be easy to spot and will me much darker than the rest of the bedding in the stall. Rake away the clean bedding around the edges and remove the clump of urine. With hemp bedding, the urine may not reach the bottom of the stall, so remove the clump in layers to avoid removing too much material.
- Once all urine and manure is removed from the stall, use your muck rake to spread out and fluff up the remaining bedding.
- Add more bedding as necessary to maintain a minimum depth of 3 inches for maximum product performance.
- If more bedding is needed before three days of use, please schedule a consultation with your representative so that we can make sure your bedding program is optimized with our product.