Skip,
Excellent post. While I have not been in the hobby as long as you (I only have about 8 years under my belt currently, in this run, I used to keep many years ago when I was younger, but don't really remember what substrate I was using, although I want to lean toward corn cob bedding), I have steered clear of pine due to the rumors out there. However, my beliefs are that the kiln drying process dehydrates the wood, and leaves any toxic compenents in a dry state. This does not allow them to get on the animal from rubbing on it.

With that said, I think if you were to use plain pine shavings, like we use for our rats, and have used the same shavings in our horse stalls and goat stall. These shavings are not kiln dried, nor are they processed in any way. They come fairly wet, and if not stored dry will mold and mildew rather quickly. I think if you were to use some form of pine shaving that has not been processed, the "wet sap" from the pine could potentially cause some skin issues. I think that the novice keeper is better suited to staying away from pine, unless they are very diligent about the quality of pine that they select for use.

Great post, and one for much discussion,