Bedmax is the only UK Manufacturer of horse and animal bedding to use Pine wood. While the majority of wood-based equine beddings are made of spruce, Bedmax founder and MD Tim Smalley has always preferred to make his shavings from Scots pine.
Over the past 20 years, science has proved that pine doesn’t just smell better, it offers hygienic advantages that other softwoods like Spruce don’t, giving horse owners who use Bedmax and Littlemax shavings a unique naturally antibacterial advantage.
“We use pure pine for the majority of our shavings. The local forestry species is Pinus sylvestris, which is the lovely Scots pine, and Pinus Nigra, the Corsican pine. If we are ever short of Pine, we mix a little spruce in.”
Tim has been fascinated by trees all his life, and has grown hundreds of different species from seeds brought back by friends from every corner of the world. When he took a closer look at pine, he discovered its extraordinary history in treating human infection and disease, and its benefits for horses.
“I realised that pine had remarkable antimicrobial properties that suited horse and animal bedding very well. Every civilisation and culture all over the world, from ancient China to the Native American peoples, have used pine to treat bacterial infections and as an antiseptic. Before disinfectants, grooms used pine sawdust as an antiseptic layer laid on stable floors under straw, and pine oil was used to scrub hospitals clean.
“They knew then that pine really does ‘kill 99.9% of all known germs’, and research scientists in Germany and Scandinavia have tested pine against other softwoods, and shown that it’s the only softwood that fully kills off common harmful bacteria such as E. Coli and E. Faecium, which can cause serious infections in the stable. Pine also inhibits the bacteria that transforms urine into ammonia, which is a major cause of both respiratory and hoof disease.
“By suppressing ammonia, pine creates a much healthier and cleaner smelling stable for horses and humans, people notice this straight away. I think horses tend to know what’s good for them, and if they could have their choice of bedding, every horse would choose to have pine shavings in their stables.”
