haha wanda! If we were to put wood chips anywhere an animal goes to the bathroom it would be like that picture you posted with gillions of roaches everywhere! and not just roaches! .... wood chips. what a concept! If we use any kind of wood even in the shrub beds it has to be some kinda special treated redwood or cedar stuff. and even that attracts bugs. Speaking of, Tivar just got his first rubbed spot on the face. I just got in, its 8 PM, I went out at 5 PM and put bug stuff and fly masks on everyone. It took me that long to get them all squared away. My husbands horse ran from me and I had to catch him and he fought me trying to put bug stuff on his ears, Tivar and Nasi were so calm about it I didnt even have to hold them, just stood while i dosed them with that horrible smelling stuff. i think teev was secretly very glad. he has been rolling all day as a sort of living mosquito killing implement.
as for footing, i just use our dirt which is thick dry sand and my farrier says it is good for feet and thrush and all. in our drought dust was a bad problem, the horses would run around and then cough from it and i felt bad about that. we put lime in it to keep it "clean" from urine etc. for companionship, we have a donkey and he fits in, one of my horses is obsessed with him and grieves when I wont let him sleep in the same paddock with him at nite and the others torment him by picking on the donkey. Its their favorite game. Janice -- even good horses have bad days sometimes.
