# Do you bank your stable beds or not?



## Charlie31 (4 January 2019)

I saw a vet post on FB recently saying that you shouldnâ€™t use banks in your bedding as actually the horse is more likely to get cast if you do than if you donâ€™t. The way they explained it made sense to me and I liked the logic.

Iâ€™ve always banked my beds but am now considering stopping. I donâ€™t have anti-cast strips on the walls though and Iâ€™m not sure the YO would like me putting them up.

So I just wondered what other people did and why. My stable is fully matted on the floor by the way.


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## milliepops (4 January 2019)

Nope 
Haven't done since I stopped using straw as a child.  I do store clean bedding at one side of the bed but not actual banks.  I don't think you can make big enough banks to actually work with anything other than straw and tbh most stables are too small to accommodate them anyway.


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## SpringArising (4 January 2019)

Nope.


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## The Trooper (4 January 2019)

I don't tend to no. There may be accidental banks formed from when i'm mucking out and moving all the clean straw to the walls but i don't actually build banks.


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## Denbob (4 January 2019)

I have very small banks that are more like bedding stores so I can pull them down once I've taken the wet out and don't have to faff with half bags of bedding.


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## ElectricChampagne (4 January 2019)

I do and have always done as my mare has gotten cast in the past. I'm wondering about the anti cast strips now as only last night I noticed scrapes along the wall but mare was fine and up and moving.

I bed on shavings and might have a chat to my YO now.

heres the article in HHO incase anyone wants to read.

https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/new...2_XHH-X_NWL_EO&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ET


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## ester (4 January 2019)

Iâ€™ve read said post but donâ€™t intend to get rid of my banks as they do seem to mean that they keep F further away from the wall when heâ€™s rolling which means he isnâ€™t very difficult for one person to roll him back over when he gets stuck. Which has never been for long as itâ€™s usually as soon as he comes in ðŸ™„. I do wonder if there is an art to getting the anti cast strips the right height?


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## PapaverFollis (4 January 2019)

I've had one cast with and without banks (same horse). I'm not sure how much difference they make. He just used to get enthusiastic rolling and try to go all the way over when there wasn't room. Nugget. He knew the drill though and would lie there looking pathetic, waiting for assistance ("hooomin, hooomin! Could you assist plz, I appear to be in a bit of a pickle?" )  while I ran around grabbing my hard hat, gloves and lunge lines. And getting him up was ok cos he didn't panic, just let you drag him out until he could get his legs clear. Oh the joys. At least he only weighed about 450kg wet through.

But yes. Tried banks, tried without. No difference. Needed and anti-numpty injection or something.


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## ester (4 January 2019)

Lol because I had to point out to mum last time she could have at least used a lead rope rather than just her arms.


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## Denbob (4 January 2019)

PapaverFollis said:



			But yes. Tried banks, tried without. No difference. Needed and anti-numpty injection or something.
		
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I'd pay bloody good money for an anti-numpty injection ðŸ˜‚ðŸ™„


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## Fiona (4 January 2019)

I still do banks in my shavings beds, even for the big mare who has never in living memory laid down in her stable.

Mad aren't I.

At least they act as bedding stores, and my connie likes to use his as a pillow when he has a snooze 

Fiona


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## Pinkvboots (4 January 2019)

I always have banks with my shavings beds I always have so it's more of a habit I suppose.


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## The Fuzzy Furry (4 January 2019)

milliepops said:



			Nope
Haven't done since I stopped using straw as a child.  I do store clean bedding at one side of the bed but not actual banks.  I don't think you can make big enough banks to actually work with anything other than straw and tbh most stables are too small to accommodate them anyway.
		
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Exactly what I do.

The last time I did banks was when training for BHS eons ago in 1980


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## SEL (4 January 2019)

I have a stash of clean easibed in one corner of M's stable that is more of a hill than a bank, but I've never bothered with them.

Horses seem to get cast whether they're there or not. Plus my old horse used to pull clean banks into his bed and make a nest to sleep in - always distressing for the OCD yard manager


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## gina2201 (4 January 2019)

Nope. I don't bother.

I read a similar article ages ago that to be of any use the banks would have to so dense and thick to do any good - people tend to just 'fluff up' the edges which wouldn't stand a chance against a horses foot anyway so are pointless.


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## ShowJumperL95 (4 January 2019)

Fiona said:



			I still do banks in my shavings beds, even for the big mare who has never in living memory laid down in her stable.

Mad aren't I.

At least they act as bedding stores, and my connie likes to use his as a pillow when he has a snooze 

Fiona
		
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Same I do banks in my stable, they are there so when I need more bedding after taking wet out its right there rather then having to always go get a bale. Plus my horse loves to rest his head on them.


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## splashgirl45 (4 January 2019)

i have always done banks with shavings beds so my horses have had a pillow to lay their head on...never did them to stop them being cast...however i took my old mare to a different yard who had rubber mats and they said they didnt want banks.....she got cast !!!!!!  the only time in the 15 years i had owned her....so i put banks  in again as i preferred them anyway....


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## Roasted Chestnuts (4 January 2019)

I used to years ago, havenâ€™t bothered for years as I didnâ€™t find it mad a difference, plus all my old gelding used to do was stand on the banks so not having them just mad mucking our easier.


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## pinkypug1 (4 January 2019)

I donâ€™t really bank to avoid casting as my horse doesnt roll in her bed I do it as it makes the shavings bed look cozy and itâ€™s something Iâ€™ve always done. Plus itâ€™s a good way to store dry bedding. There seems
To be a trend now for very thin beds without banks whereas Iâ€™m
All for thick beds with substantial banks


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## chaps89 (4 January 2019)

I have the tiniest tiddly 'bank' at the back of Madams stable. It does nothing other than make the bed look a bit nicer to me.  Getting rid of it just feels weird though. I've no idea why!


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## Tiddlypom (4 January 2019)

I have banks. I think they are cosy and they help with draughtproofing when it's bleddy cold, like now.


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## Michen (4 January 2019)

Always. Big proper solid banks. Canâ€™t say I turn them often either but my horse has never coughed so seems to survive. Heâ€™s in a huge stable though and on straw.


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## ester (4 January 2019)

Realistically I mostly use them for chucking bedding up so the poo rolls down to the bottom for collection ðŸ˜‚


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## scats (4 January 2019)

Yes, although currently only the back wall in each stable is banked.  It encourages mine to lie away from the wall.  I do also use the bank as a bedding store so it shrinks and grows day by day.  They also make mucking out easier coz I throw the shavings at the bank and the poo rolls off, as ester said.
Iâ€™ve banked beds since I was a kid, canâ€™t seem to bring myself not to.


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## OrangeAndLemon (4 January 2019)

Yes, great big solid shavings banks you can stand on and quite high. 

Not to prevent him getting cast but to protect his head and legs if he did get cast and started thrashing. I like the idea of a bar and I'm sure the YM wouldn't mind, but I have no idea what height it would be most effective at.

I've read the reports and I know Leahurst don't bank and it's not standard in Germany to bank. And yet, I'd rather keep the banks. I have made them thinner but I can't seem to give them up.

I think I'm addicted to banks. Is there a support group?


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## alainax (4 January 2019)

ester said:



			Realistically I mostly use them for chucking bedding up so the poo rolls down to the bottom for collection ðŸ˜‚
		
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So glad itâ€™s not just me who does this. ðŸ˜‚


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## tankgirl1 (4 January 2019)

No, but I do chuck a bit extra straw round the edges


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## Starzaan (4 January 2019)

Always have and always will. 

Though if I remember correctly the article said banks need to be 3ft to stop a horse getting cast, and mine are always higher than 3ft in straw, shavings or paper. I refuse to use wood pellets - canâ€™t build big enough banks! ðŸ˜‚


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## ester (4 January 2019)

alainax said:



			So glad itâ€™s not just me who does this. ðŸ˜‚
		
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It doesn't really work on straw which is all we had at the RS I grew up on, I was shown the technique by the groom when on work experience at our equine vets and it's great for getting all the little biscuits out . Though as I have a very tidy beast usually only a weekend full muck out day job.


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## eggs (14 January 2019)

Haven't used bank for years but I do have larger than average - 12' wide, 18' deep - brick stables.  One of mine used to get cast as a young horse but he was happy to just lie there and wait for some-one to come and roll him back over.  Now that he is older - and hopefully wiser - he hasn't cast himself in years.


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## HEM (14 January 2019)

I have always used banks and probably always will, mainly as it's now routine.


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## Alibear (14 January 2019)

Does anyone still take the bed up during the day to air and put it down again in the evening. I can't remember where  or when I learned that trick but if I'm DIY it saves a lot of shavings and makes having banks rather useful as you just throw the bed up against them in the morning and pull down again in the evening.


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## OrangeAndLemon (14 January 2019)

Alibear said:



			Does anyone still take the bed up during the day to air and put it down again in the evening. I can't remember where  or when I learned that trick but if I'm DIY it saves a lot of shavings and makes having banks rather useful as you just throw the bed up against them in the morning and pull down again in the evening.
		
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They do it on our yard if the bed is particularly wet all the way through. Normally they leave a thinner bed in daytime and a thicker bed at night, rather than a full throw up and pull down.


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## Hoof_Prints (14 January 2019)

I use banks with straw and shavings, I think they look cosy and I don't like to think of their legs or head against a wall when lying down! One I just sold used the bank as pillow, if there was no bank he would squash his head up against the brick wall instead, daft idiot  his new owner is fine with building banks! I'm in a rush with the other horses I don't make fancy ones, just chuck a little up higher near the sides.


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## Hexx (15 January 2019)

I generally do, although there are times when I just can't be bothered!  He always has a thick bed though.

One of the girls at a previous yard used to have HUGE banks - we used to run round the top of them to annoy her (childish - I know, but she did find it funny!) but they never budged!


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## Hallo2012 (15 January 2019)

i do bank really high in one stable, as the pony does tend to roll over and end up legs to the wall-having bedding there gives him something to push back against and then stand up.

for that reason i dont disturb the banks much, i let them be big and solid rather than loose and fluffy. im aware that harbours dust but feel being cast is a bigger risk to this one!

the other pony i just do moderate banks that i fluff and move daily. he never rolls all the way over in the stable  i just prefer how they look and like matching stables!


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## jj_87 (15 January 2019)

i have stopped since reading the article. Mare is using much more of her stable since- pooping up the wall included


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## Blazingsaddles (15 January 2019)

Alibear said:



			Does anyone still take the bed up during the day to air and put it down again in the evening. I can't remember where  or when I learned that trick but if I'm DIY it saves a lot of shavings and makes having banks rather useful as you just throw the bed up against them in the morning and pull down again in the evening.
		
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I have always used this method - thought it was the norm? I donâ€™t use banks though.


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## oldie48 (21 January 2019)

Michen said:



			Always. Big proper solid banks. Canâ€™t say I turn them often either but my horse has never coughed so seems to survive. Heâ€™s in a huge stable though and on straw. 
	View attachment 28682

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Blimey you could air B&B that stable!


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## Michen (21 January 2019)

oldie48 said:



			Blimey you could air B&B that stable!
		
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Proper straw bed!


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## Surbie (21 January 2019)

Alibear said:



			Does anyone still take the bed up during the day to air and put it down again in the evening. I can't remember where  or when I learned that trick but if I'm DIY it saves a lot of shavings and makes having banks rather useful as you just throw the bed up against them in the morning and pull down again in the evening.
		
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Yup, I do - also useful for a freshening disinfect of the mats before it all goes back down in the evening. I don't use banks, he just poos on them if they are along the back wall. I do store clean shavings in a heap in one corner.

Michen, I have stable envy! Would love a box that big.


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## Bernster (25 January 2019)

oldie48 said:



			Blimey you could air B&B that stable!
		
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I know!  That stable looks proper cosy.


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## AdeleSK (7 March 2019)

Michen said:



			Always. Big proper solid banks. Canâ€™t say I turn them often either but my horse has never coughed so seems to survive. Heâ€™s in a huge stable though and on straw. 
	View attachment 28682

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I would seriously consider having a nap in that bed.


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## ElectricChampagne (8 March 2019)

would anyone turn their banks regularly? I get quite annoyed when they haven't been turned!


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## Michen (8 March 2019)

ElectricChampagne said:



			would anyone turn their banks regularly? I get quite annoyed when they haven't been turned!
		
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Nope I don't. Terrible I know, but I like them really thick/compacted and solid to genuinely help with casting when he comes back from hunting and rolls a lot. Horse never had a cough...


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## Ellzbellz97 (8 March 2019)

Michen said:



			Always. Big proper solid banks. Canâ€™t say I turn them often either but my horse has never coughed so seems to survive. Heâ€™s in a huge stable though and on straw. 
	View attachment 28682

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My bed looks like this too on straw!! I find my boy is actually a lot cleaner with a bigger bed as well


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## ihatework (8 March 2019)

ElectricChampagne said:



			would anyone turn their banks regularly? I get quite annoyed when they haven't been turned!
		
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If I had banks then yes Iâ€™d turn them.
Generally, if doing a full muck out, Iâ€™d alternate turning banks - do each bank would get done every third day (unless there was one bank where the wet pooled, that would be daily).
If doing a weekly semi-deep litter system, which is my usual go to, then one day on the weekend the entire bed including all banks would be lifted & turned.


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## ElectricChampagne (8 March 2019)

Interesting. I found a nest of baby mice in my unturned banks - I'm on full livery and prefer that not to happen again so I make sure to turn them myself every weekend.

The mould and black stuff coming out made me wretch. not to mention the dried up pee.

I wouldn't dare not turn them.

I do the same Ihatework  - I'm glad I am not mad!


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## WandaMare (8 March 2019)

splashgirl45 said:



			i have always done banks with shavings beds so my horses have had a pillow to lay their head on...never did them to stop them being cast...however i took my old mare to a different yard who had rubber mats and they said they didnt want banks.....she got cast !!!!!!  the only time in the 15 years i had owned her....so i put banks  in again as i preferred them anyway....
		
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Same experience. I use shavings and have always banked the beds. I read somewhere that they store fungal spores etc so decided to stop banking and the very first night, my mare got cast. Have never had a horse cast in my stables before. Whether she just lay closer to the wall or in a different position because the banks weren't there I don't know, but I am back to beds with big banks now.


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## Michen (8 March 2019)

ElectricChampagne said:



			Interesting. I found a nest of baby mice in my unturned banks - I'm on full livery and prefer that not to happen again so I make sure to turn them myself every weekend.

The mould and black stuff coming out made me wretch. not to mention the dried up pee.

I wouldn't dare not turn them.

I do the same Ihatework  - I'm glad I am not mad!
		
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No you definitely aren't, I'm definitely the mad one as there are plenty of mice diving around in my banks and I don't want to disturb them....!! That said, I do my rubber matting a few times a year so the bed gets lifted then. Can't say I've ever noticed anything black, usually just compacted but dry straw? I have pellets under mine too.

I'm a terrible horse owner


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## Cortez (8 March 2019)

No, never made banks except when required to by employers. Anti cast strip (or groove in my stables) should be about 30" from the floor, but I suppose that would depend on the size of your horse (bigger horse - higher strip?): mine are all smallish (14.2 - 15.2).


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## ElectricChampagne (8 March 2019)

Michen said:



			No you definitely aren't, I'm definitely the mad one as there are plenty of mice diving around in my banks and I don't want to disturb them....!! That said, I do my rubber matting a few times a year so the bed gets lifted then. Can't say I've ever noticed anything black, usually just compacted but dry straw? I have pellets under mine too.

I'm a terrible horse owner 

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I'm on shavings and I think the issue is the beds aren't being done properly in the first place. The black stuff was mould and smelled vile.


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## ycbm (8 March 2019)

ElectricChampagne said:



			I do and have always done as my mare has gotten cast in the past. I'm wondering about the anti cast strips now as only last night I noticed scrapes along the wall but mare was fine and up and moving.

I bed on shavings and might have a chat to my YO now.

heres the article in HHO incase anyone wants to read.

https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/new...2_XHH-X_NWL_EO&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ET

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In the first picture in that article, there's a very good argument to say that if the banks hadn't been there, the horse would not have ended up with his head and neck bent at that angle, and would never have got cast in the first place.

I'm remember some research from at least twenty years ago which showed that horses with banks got cast more, not less, but I've never been able to find it since.

I don't bank except to store clean bedding.


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## ElectricChampagne (13 March 2019)

very true YCBM, they also don't look to be the cleanest either.

I think using them to store clean bedding is a good idea, its what I have started doing where I am currently.


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## ycbm (13 March 2019)

On the other hand, there are some horses who simply insist on banks. As you can see, the paint horse in these pictures used to dig a hole for his legs and push the surface against the wall for a bank. It drove me mad filling his flipping holes in every . single .  morning!


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## splashgirl45 (13 March 2019)

i love your barn, so nice for horses to be loose and more natural than a 12 x 12 stable....


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