I would like to opinions on the pellet form shavings verses regular shavings in trailers. I love the pellet shaving for in stalls when we go places but have not really used them much in the trailer. We are looking at getting a new trailer and was just wanting opinions. 

I went to our local horse supply and got some pellets for my trailer and hate them.  They were good for a couple weeks then just disentegrated into  powder.  That crap is everywhere like dust.  wont do that again.  Im going back to shavings for my trailer. 

That is great to know. Thank you

I use the pellets in my trailer and love them.  they are a little more work than shavings (ie: have to water them etc).  I haul enough that I cycle through them before they get too powder like.  I water them a little before I take off, to keep them from getting dusty.  I love how easy they are to pick and clean.  

I use damp shavings in the trailer, BUT dump a bag of pellets under my gelding's belly and at my mare's rear to soak up urine. 

Do yall keep shavings in the trailer all the time? Do you just pick it out after each use or change it out? I'm debating on putting shavings in my new trailer. It's got really thick padded mats, it's really "squishy" feeling. If that makes sense. We dont haul far right now,  at all, everything is pretty close by where we are going. Less than 30 minutes I'd say. And also how many bags does it typically take to cover a 4 horse slant??? 

These are great questions! I would love to know to as I don't haul far either. The floor in the trailer we are looking at is a great floor as well and very padded so I would like to know input on this as well.

I usually put pellets down and then put shavings on top. Helps soak up urine. I usually put one bag of shavings and one bag of pellets per slant.... so 4 horse trailer. 4bags shavings 4 bags pellets. They last awhile in my trailer and i clean out every trip there and back.

Thank you.  I think I'm going to put shavings in to help with traction,  maybe the dark trailer floors wont be so scary looking when I'm trying to load. This will be my horses first time using a ramp so hopefully itll go smoothly than in the past! 

I clean out the manure and wet shavings/pellets after each haul and uncover any 'wet' floor spots to let those dry.

We only have 1 who didn’t care for the ramp when we got it - and he’s over it after a couple times.  All of ours load easier with it.  We have 1 gelding who literally JUMPS into the trailer - don’t stand in his way - walks right up the ramp no problem.  I think you’ll probably be ok.

on the shavings... a Polylast style floor was the best investment we made in our trailer.  No shavings, no dust, no flies, no ammonia smell, super easy and quick to clean.  Love it and won’t own another trailer without it.

I clean out the poop and wet spots/shavings and then pile/store the clean shavings in the center.  Then before i leave i wet them a little and spread them out.   If it looks like i'm getting low on shavings i'll soak a new bag of pellets and add them to the front half of the slants.  I haul 90% mares so the "dirty" shavings are always at the back.  So I clean the back half, push the clean shavings from front to the back, add new at the front.  Keeps things cycling.

I always haul with shavings in the trailer. 1- geldings don't prefer to pee if it could splash up onto their legs. 2-If anyone were to pee I don't want it making the floor slippery and possibly causing a fall, whether while moving, or while unloading when we arrive. 3-I don't care how thick/squishy the floor feels, I prefer to provide them all the padding I can to help make their ride more comfortable for them.

I put in 2 bags of fine shavings and it did the trick. First time loading 1 horse with the ramp.. he was a little hesitant but he eventually walked right up and once he was in he didnt do his usual pawing and moving around.. he was pretty good actually. He unloaded without an issue as well. Definitely keeping a good amount of shavings in there. Thanks for the suggestions!