Equine Fresh Shortage Reported
Posted by Bill on Jan 21 2007 at 12:06 am | Tagged as: Horse News
If you use wood pellets for horse bedding, you may have heard of the brand Equine Fresh. There are many brands of wood pellets out there and I suspect there will be many more since wood pellets are quickly becoming the preferred bedding for horse owners around the U.S. But the reason I’m writing this note about Equine Fresh is because it’s the brand carried by Tractor Supply stores. Until recently Tractor Supply also carried Woody Pet, perhaps the most well-known wood pellet bedding brand. But we have it on good authority that Tractor Supply decided to stop carrying Woody Pet in favor of the less expensive and larger-portioned Equine Fresh bags. As I recall, Woody Pet was in the neighborhood of $7 a bag for 35 lbs. while Equine Fresh is around $6 a bag for 40 lbs. We’ve tried both and haven’t noticed any difference in the two, so we’ve been buying Equine Fresh exclusively…until today. It seems all of our local east Tennessee Tractor Supply stores are completely out of Equine Fresh and, of course, Woody Pet. Turns out the Equine Fresh people lost their sawdust supplier and are frantically looking for another one. In the meantime, their inventory is almost depleted, which means no more shipments to Tractor Supply (or anyone else, for that matter). Of course, Tractor Supply sort of burned the bridge with Woody Pet, so they simply don’t have any wood pellets in stock at all now. Rumor has it there is a small shipment of Equine Fresh coming in to one of our local Tractor Supply stores (and I’m not telling which!) that is expected to be sold out practically before the pallets hit the pavement. Drama in the wood-pellet industry! Who knew it could be this exciting?
So why all the fuss over wood pellets? Well, I’m not sure I’d go stand in line for some, but I will say we’re converts. Without rehashing all the benefits, allow me to refer you to our post about using wood pellets for horse bedding from last year, entitled “Serta or Tempurpedic?“, referring to the relative luxury of the soft pellets versus some of the alternative bedding choices. You can see pictures of the wood pellets in detail in that post.
We managed to find an alternative supply of wood pellets locally at Co-op but they were more expensive. We paid around $6 per 35 lb. bag. Hopefully Equine Fresh gets their raw material supply problem worked out soon. The source of information for this article sounded ominous, though: “If they don’t find a supplier soon, they’ll probably go out of business.” He did assure us, however, that if Equine Fresh goes under, they’ll find another company to fill the need. I’m rooting for Equine Fresh, though, they have a good deal going.
So if you use Equine Fresh and your local Tractor Supply or other farm supply store still has some, you might consider heading down there asap to buy all you can. We’re seriously thinking of stocking up on wood pellets by buying a pallet or two next time. We could probably get a price break, too.
One more thing…Equine Fresh is made in Canada. So is Woody Pet. And all the other wood pellet horse bedding manufacturers we’ve ever seen in these parts. I wonder why wood pellets only seem to come from Canada. Do any of you know? Just curious.
Most of the timber cutting happens in Canada. Sawdust is a byproduct of construction and since the market is flooded with houses, construction is down which means no sawdust for the pellets. I work for ABC news and we have been doing lots of stories on this because many people converted to pellet stoves to heat their homes and are completely out of luck getting the pellets. I enjoy your blog and good luck in your search for pellets.
Thanks for the info! We wondered what the Canadian connection was. And I didn’t even think about the wood stove thing. Those darn people are using up all the pellets! Down with wood pellet stoves!
Just kidding. Kind of.
Sleep Tight…
A useful report on horse bedding and supplies…….
everyone is in short supply in wash state of pellets and shavings.. 2 mills locally burnt down and one has moved to a new facility and has not started back producing yet.
Shortages of shavings and sawdust for animal bedding are a result of: 1. a slowdown in housing construction, 2. reassignment of waste wood (wood flour, fuel for ethanol effluent dyers, pressed materials, etc.), 3. fuel pellets for heat. There are several other minor reasons for the lack of product but these are the primary three.
The majority of pellet products are produced in Canada because of the large amounts of available sawdust material from sawmills. This material, because there is so much of it, is essentially free to anyone willing to haul it away. The US doesn’t have as many sawmills as Canada (due mostly to the Canadian government subsidizing their timber industry) so obviously there isn’t as much sawdust produced. What sawdust is produced in the US has a value of $30-50/ton in bulk plus freight. Right now (02/2007) the most any retailer is willing to pay for a 40lb bag of pellets is about $3.00 FOB. Doing a bit of math, there is no or very little profit for any manufacturer to consider producing pellets. Adding in the price of a bag, labor, pellet dies (very expensive and an expendable), preparation of product for shipment, etc. puts most manufacturer costs near the $3.00/bag FOB.
I wouldn’t expect to see a flood of pellets on the market any time soon………..if fact, I would expect to see them disappear for a short period before returning in smaller bags or similar size bags for way more money. Shavings are in short supply and mainly only available from shavings manufacturers (very few). This correction (shortage) will last about 2-3 years but once the mills are back running again, you can count on only a percentage of sawdust surfacing back into the bedding market. Many primary manufacturers are doing more value-added things with their sawdust; like veneer covered mouldings, etc.
Troy, that is great information, but really depressing! We have really come to depend on our pellet bedding, and I know we’re not the only ones. If you’re right, it looks like we’ll have to find another alternative.
You might look around locally for mills, construction sites, etc… in order to get sawdust. I actually prefer sawdust to the pellets for bedding. If a horse eats some sawdust I don’t have to worry nearly as much about it, compared to if he eats wood pellets, the bulk quantity between the two in ingestion would have me worrying a lot about the pellets. Not only where the horses are concerned but the other barn animals and visitors too. I have to shoo the dogs away from the wood pellets inside for the pellet stove because they like the taste of them.
I don’t remember where I read it but I came across a description for stall bedding using primarily sand with a layer of straw overtop. Still soft and it had layers to it so it drained. I think you wound up digging down a few inches and then layering gravel/stone, lime, sand, and whatever you wanted on top. It might have been in HI a few yrs ago, well mid to late 90’s.
We had shredded straw at one point that worked OK. Better than normal straw ’cause you don’t have a huge clump of straw sticks going everywhere and it’s less waste. Trick is getting it.
I do love shavings though. ;P Just need a grood drainage system underneath. But, to do that you have to start the barn all over again! LOL
Good luck in your bedding quest!
~Amanda
Take a look at Guardian Horse Bedding. We’ve been using it for 8 years. They have 6 or 7 plants in the U.S. They are reasonably priced at our dealer ( 40# bag for $5.79) and really good quality.
Forget about Guardian. They lost one of their manufacturing plants according to the info I had been given and the last 2 pallets of bedding have been horrible. I am using twice the amount of bedding and it is like walking on cobble stones for the 1st week. It is dustier and just does not have the quality that it did. I have been VERY disappointed as I was a HUGE fan.
Susan, that’s a shame. It sounds like it might be a regional issue, though, because Sylvia is pleased with the pellets she’s gotten. Your information is that it was “one” of the manufacturing plants, so if that’s the case, perhaps it was the quality in your area that was compromised. Such a shame for you, and others in your area. I hate when that happens, when you find a product you love and they go and change it for one reason or another.
I have been interseted in becoming a pelletized horse bedding dealer. Upon contacting the very nice Canadian rep., he informed me that Tractor Supply did NOT drop them. Woody Pet canceled the account with Tractor Supply for TS did not pay their bills to their suppliers and were not nice to deal with. I am currently evaluating Woddy Pet, having purchased a half pallet from a local Vet. Now, with the change in our dollar purchasing power against the Canadian dollar and the fuel costs, a US manufacturer would be preferable. I’m so sorry to hear that Guardian does not have a quality control assurance in place. Pelletized bedding is awesome to work with. My horses had a nasty cough when I used shavings that has disappeared with the pellets. What now?
Great info…thank you. Does anyone know if I can put pellets and shavings on top of my sand in my stalls?
I think Guardian must have gotten their problems with that plant worked out. I have been using their bedding for a while now and absolutely love it. I talked to someone in their office not too long ago and they had to shut down one of their plants because of raw material problems. but they just opened one in Virginia and another in Texas. I got the bedding out of Virginia and it is the best ever!
Hi,
We make the Equine Fresh and there is no shortage - also the product is not made in Canada, but Pine Bluff, AR.
Thank you!
Cindee
in reference to wood pelleted bedding….I was buying a “wood pellet HORSE bedding” by a company out of Canada, 35 lbs. bags. Country Max, where I buy my feed and bedding, recently had a 2-day sale on their pelleted bedding and baled shavings. I bought 100 bags of the pelleted bedding. I thought I was getting the 30 lb. bags that I normaly get. The guys loaded my horse trailer….I drove home and got ready to unload to 100 bags only to discover that they were 40 lb. bags and the bags stated that they were wood pellet fuel, for the pellet stoves. They are by the same company that makes the 30 lb. bags of pelleted horse bedding. The BEST part…there is ABSOLUTLEY NO DIFFERENCE!!!! Other than the weight of the bag. It turned out to be a good deal for me as I only paid $3.99 per bag. I love the pelleted bedding and now that getting “bulk” sawdust is impossible….because everyone around here is selling sawdust to the wood pellet makers, I use the pelleted bedding.
Just wanted to put in my 2 cents worth. I am on the East Coast, in central New York state.
Does anyone know if its feasible to use pellet bedding in barn for sheep?
I just started using Equine Fresh for the last 2-3 months I love them, But Tractor Supply is out and I have a 21 horse Boarding facility. I’am looking for other dealers of pelleted shavings. The fuel pellets are they okay for animals???? I thought there might be a fuel additive to start them on fire??? If not they are cheaper, I was told there made at the same place just different bags??? I hope everyone can get threw this bedding problem.
It’s not true that Equine Fresh comes from Canada. It’s manufactured in Arkansas and due to the slow down in housing the lumber business is not throwing off the need raw material. There is another company in the southeast that supplies Tractor Supply and their brand is called Equine Pine and is in good supply. You may want to ask you local store to order this product instead. Same pine pellets just a different plant.
We bought 50 bags of Equine Fresh from Tractor Supply recently and I would like to know how do you keep the dust down without misting/spraying it every day. We got it because one of our horse’s has COPD and we have found the dust to be incredibly high and much more than shavings/saw dust - even dust covers the edges of the water buckets and when we walk in the stalls it creates plumes of dust.
If anyone could share what we might be doing wrong, I would greatly appreciate it.
We are a distributor for Woody Pet. We have been having trouble getting Woody Pet from the supplier, who recently switched us to Magnum Horse Bedding. That too, is out of stock. We are trying to find another supplier and have looked into Guardian. The Magnum Bedding does produce a lot of dust. Much more than Woody Pet. Even though Magnum comes in 40# bags and appears to be the same product, it is made from a different type of wood by product. Hence, the high level of dust. I definitely prefer Woody Pet, but again, it is “out of stock”. I do know the story of TSC and Woody Pet and much of what has been written is true. TSC is difficult to deal with from a suppliers point of view. I would venture to guess that they are also giving the Equine Fresh people the same rap. If you live in northern Indiana to central Indiana, I suggest you try Rural King. They carry pelleted products. Woody Pet in particular, and most likely, Magnum Bedding. I absolute love pelleted horse bedding, and if possible, will never go back to shavings after using pellets for over 6 years. You should give yourself a break and try pellets. Make sure your stalls have mats, otherwise, you will go through much more bedding, no matter what type you use. The ground leaches moisture, and without a mat, you are just throwing your money away. Good luck out there horse lovers.
Vicki
We are in Florida and some local Tractor Supply stores are carrying Lone Star out of Texas. If you go to that website they don’t list many dealers outside Texas though…I would HATE to go back to shavings!
I just spoke with the Rural King store closest to me in North Central Indiana and they’ve started stocking Equine Fresh instead of Woody Pet. Woody Pet is the best, but I know that Rural King was having problems getting the product. We are farmers and everytime we go to TSC, they are either out of what we need or don’t carry it. I have complained to them by email and the attitude was they don’t care. Why carry colostrum replacement for calves if you don’t carry the bottles to feed it????? I, too, would hate to go back to shavings. Guess I’ll give the Equine Fresh another try. I didn’t care for it before, because it didn’t compare to Woody Pet.
I have just been reading all of the comments about pelleted bedding. Yes there is a shortage out there with just about all of the manufacturers. Yes there is a difference in products. Where they are made , types of wood waste used, dust removal and how much is removed and so on. They all seem to have their own ideas on how to manufacture the product.
As horse owners we need to get the word out to the manufacturers what we want and need in a good bedding product for our horses. Pelleted bedding is the ideal type of bedding product. Very absorbent, easy to clean, less storage required, composts quickly and so on. I think everyone agrees that pellets are probably the best product for bedding at this time. If you listen to the manufacturers they each have the best one on the market its just their quality control that is lacking. Thats where we as the consumer need to put our foot down and demand a better product. We need tell these companies to make it better or we are not buying your product. It seems like everytime you turn around there is a new pellet on the market, and most times it is just crap. Also when a company tells you they are opening a mill here and one there its not them thats opening the mill. They are shipping there bags there to be filled by that mill. Thats why you get one person in one part of the country who loves the product and the other person in another part who says its junk. Two seperate mills trying to manufacture the same product with different equipment and different resorces for waste material.
I’m all for paying a little extra for a good quality product. If we stop buying the junk then we will narrow down the number of manufacturers who have the good quality product and make them competitive with each other to maintain the quality.
Thanks for reading my input.
I also had to switch from Woody Pet to Equine Fresh from TSC. Now my local store carries a pellet from Starlight Imdiana. Its ok but is not too great. It does not fluff up and takes twice as much. Please give me back my Equine Freash. I am willing to buy a pallet
if can only find some. Does anypme know about the Southern States pellets?
You’re not going to like this, but… I use the horse bedding pellets for my cats. You see, over ten years ago, a neighbor shared some Feline Pine with me, and my cats and I preferred it to clay litter. I’d go back to ripping up newspaper, before I’d buy clay litter, again. (Remember that? That was before there was store bought cat litter, or at least before anyone in my family bought any.) Feline Pine is very expensive, maybe 4x the cost of horse bedding pine pellets. Also, FP pellets are just a bit smaller, so they are harder to sift out of the dissolved pellets with the litter scoop. That means that in both ways, cost and utility, I save money buying horse bedding. Right now, between my own five adult cats and the foster brood of five in our home, I’m going through one to two 40 lb bags a month (depending on whether three of my five are going outside and how big the foster kittens are). It’s a wonderful thing. Turns out, I’m not the only one. So, while we don’t mean to compete with you — and I adore horses, too — we are using your product, and probably in growing numbers.
1. Pellet Discount
We manufacture wood pellets for the fuel in Colorado. I have a close out on a run that we pulled but which are ideal for horse bedding.
2. Price
I am discounting out this lot at $130 ton fbo Kremmling. I only have approximately 400 tons at this price.
3. Quantity
We sell by the semi truck, 24 Pallets (tons) per truck. The pellets are in bags of 40 lbs each. There are 50 bags per pallet(ton).
4. Quality
The pellets are soft lodgepole pine. There are no additives or adhesives. Ours is an all natural product. Our facility is state of the art and we use aspirator to pull the dust and fines.
5. Freight
We can arrange freight.You do not have to be a dealer or retail store front for this particular limited offer.
6. Contact
Please call me for further details. My private cell is 303-931-1918 (voice mail refers you to plant just leave message) or my private email is mcgarrytax@aol.com. If you are in Colorado or otherwise close, I would consider free stall trial to test fluffiness, cleanliness, absorbency, to be sure that you are satisfied.
Sugar Cane Bagasse is a soft fiber that makes a very high quality fiber pellet. Used as a heating pellet for years. The bagasse pellet is proving a quality stall bedding pellet.
I am seeking a source for our 6,000 tons per year of production.
Bagasse pellets are made similar to wood pellets and have the same low dust quality with a very low moisture content wiht high absorbtion rates.
I am seeking market $125us/ton FOB from the port of Kingston, Jamaica.
Shane Halpin
705-942-2532