Setting a New Standard
The first equine bedding company to achieve NOPS accreditation
Helping You Avoid The NOPS Risk
Minimising contamination by Naturally Occurring Prohibited Substances…
Bedmax has become the first equine bedding company to achieve NOPS accreditation, under a new scheme launched by the British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) in January 2021.
The new BETA NOPS Bedding badge you will see on our bags certifies that the risk of contamination by naturally occurring prohibited substances has been proactively minimised in the production of all of our bedding products: Bedmax, Littlemax and Stockmax shavings, and our new Strawmax straw pellet bedding.
Why You Need To Know About NOPS
Every equestrian organisation today applies strict rules banning prohibited substances at almost every level of every kind of equestrian competition. So if you’re competing at Badminton or a British Riding Clubs competition, at the Pony Club Championships or the Horse of the Year Show, you are subject to these rules.
Even at lower levels of competition, these rules are enforced through spot tests on winners, and even microscopic traces of a prohibited substance detected in your horse’s or pony’s system will result in disqualification and often in significant penalties such as fines.
NOPS – naturally occurring prohibited substances – are present in plants but the most common culprits detected in tests are found in a variety of human foods including chocolate, and in coffee, tea, and many soft drinks, all of which can be sources of cross-contamination.
The most common NOPS test failures are caused by:
Stringent Quality Management
The NOPS Bedding logo signifies that every aspect of production at all four of our plants has been subjected to an independent Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point audit and complies fully with the NOPS code covering:
A NOPS Code was introduced for feeds and supplements in 2009, but NOPS could also be ingested by horses and ponies eating their bedding or eating hay off bedding, or when lying down.
The new NOPS Bedding code is not a guarantee, but it means that every measure has been taken to ensure our products have not been contaminated by any NOPS at any stage of production, from raw materals sourcing and manufacture to transport and distribution. And it means that, when you use our bedding, you are taking every precaution to minimise the risk that your horse or pony might inadvertently be contaminated with a substance that could cause them to fail a NOPS test.
What does the NOPS badge signify?
What are NOPS?
NOPS are Naturally Occurring Prohibited Substances that can affect a horse or pony. They’re banned in Racing and by the International FEI.
What’s the risk to me and my horse?
How did Bedmax achieve the badge?
What are the main NOPS risks?
Why is this important to me?
Where else can everyday NOPS occur?
What does a failed test mean?
Bedmax Bedding Products
Bedmax bedding products are purpose made to provide an ideal bedding for horses and ponies. They are made at three dedicated production plants in the UK, from fresh timber sourced from renewable UK forestry. Bedmax bedding has been developed to offer owners a natural bedding that would help address the issues that threaten the health and welfare of horses in stables.
Bedmax
Our large flake dust extracted pine shavings
Littlemax
All the benefits of Bedmax in a lighter form
Strawmax
A healthy, absorbent and economical bedding option
Stockmax
The ideal bedding for many other animals, large and small
Hotmax
The sustainable alternative to logs for winter and summer