Stall Mats would they work for this problem?

[Marty]

Sonny my old senior QH is in an over sized stall, 12 X 20 because he needs it. He is out all day but inside at night. He is the messiest horse in a stall you've ever seen. It takes me a good 30 to 45 minutes a day just to clean his stall. If he is in during the day for bad weather, then I am really screwed. I try to pick up his piles as he goes. He pees a lot and poops everywhere, not in just one spot, his piles are scattered all over the place. At night he loves to lay down, roll around, stretch out, and banks his bedding up against the walls, again scattering any nightly poops all over the place. I have to strip his stall constantly. On just a daily routine cleaning, I am hauling out tons of wet soiled bedding.

He is killing me on shavings too because I bed him deep in winter.

He goes through several bags a week. I put in 5 bags on Saturday, and it already has to be all replaced this morning.

My question is, would stall mats help a big pig of a horse like that? if I put stall mats in there, when he lays down and wants to get up, would he be able to shove those mats up out of place??? Would I also be stuck wrestling with them too? And how thick do they need to be for a big guy like this?

 

[ClickMini]

Marty, I use 3/4" rubber mats in my stalls and also use bedding pellets rather than shavings. They last so much longer. You might have to wet down the pellets a little at first just to activate them to break down.

I have some piggy big horses too, and this protocol works the best I have found.

 

[Just Us N Texas]

Marty, it would help keep the stall a little dryer! You wouldn't have to dig so deep to get all the wet spots out. As far as the poo goes, I think it would help there too. It won't keep Sonny from scattering it all over the place, but should be easier to pick up. We always kept stall mats in our big horse stalls, and we just use the same thickness and etc. for the minis. If possible, get a large enough mat to fill the stall, or he will walk it around and you'd have to tug and pull to get it back in place, and that ain't no easy task! Tractor Supply has some stall mats for sale, but I have not looked at them for quality, thickness and etc. Lots of people use them, so I am sure they are pretty okay.

 

[Marty]

If possible, get a large enough mat to fill the stall, or he will walk it around and you'd have to tug and pull to get it back in place, and that ain't no easy task!

This is what I was concerend about. I understand I would have to duck tape them together but he still might be able to move them all over the place. He's a really big guy like a bull in a china shop.

 

[Boinky]

marty,

Take a drill and drill down through the matts along the edges (2-3 holes) is usually enough but you could certainly do more. then use the zip ties/tie wraps down through them to connect them together. I've done this before and it works well. You can also use something heavier to hold them together ect but it will hold the individual matts together as one big one.

Hillary

 

[hhpminis]

The pellets that Amy mentioned might work for you too.

It is so fine once broken up that all the bedding sifts through the fork and just the manure is left in the tines. If they dont stir it up too bad the pellets almost work like kitty litter and the wet stays contained in a smaller spot. I have used pellets before and I love them but I just cannot justify the cost as I get very reasonable price on shavings in bulk.

Mats do make cleaning easier. The initial investment hurts a bit but it pays in the long run between time and wasted bedding. When I started out I would go get some whenever I had some extra $$$. Usually 3 at a time and I just kept adding to them. Now all of my stalls are matted and most of my aisle ways. For a big horse I would get the 3/4 inch 4x6. For minis I get 1/2 inch 5x7.

An Icelandic farm near me used belting material that was replaced at a rock/concrete company. He got it for really cheap and did his whole barn in it. Worked real well for him.

Boinky, thanks for the tip on keeping mats together!

 

[jleonard]

My TB is probably the messiest horse in the world. She paces and grinds everything togeather so you can't tell what is what. We have mats in her stall, and it helps in that you don't have to dig out wet dirt as well. We have never had a problem with mats coming up, we don't do anything to hold them togeather. We just cut them so they fit very tightly togeather and it works fine. I'd be wary of duck taping them as I can see the tape coming loose and getting caught in the horse's legs. I should think if they fit togeather well you should not have a problem. We buy ours at tractor supply, I think they are the 3/4 inch ones.

 

[Margo_C-T]

I was tipped to a really good deal on mats from Farmtek several years ago, so I 'bit the bullet' and spent the money, and have never regretted it--I truly LOVE the mats! Marty, I think the secret to having them work for your big, messy horse would be twofold--first, get the heavyweight ones-at least 3/4" thick, and probably 4'X 6'(you would not be able to move one yourself if any bigger; I have to use vise grips to lock on and drag one of mine if it needs moving!) Second--I think that you'd need to very judiciously prepare and LEVEL the base before laying them down, so that they would fit SNUGLY together and be completely level and flat. Any edge that 'stuck up' even a tiny bit above the edge of the mat next to it would be subject to being 'caught' and moved--and that WOULD be a problem. As I recall, you all prepared an excellent drainage base in your stalls anyway, as you built your barn, so you would probably already be 'ahead', and it wouldn't take all that much additional work to provide a good level base. I think most who sell mats could advise on the best way to prepare a base, too. I will say, though, that a fair amount of bedding is STILL needed, IMO--don't know if there is really a way around that!

Best of luck,

Margo

 

[eagles ring farm]

when we had all full size horses we got tired of tugging mats every now

and then to pull back in place as ours did move some.

at least 5-6 years ago

we drove Giant nails through the mats into the dirt(those kind you see in a store and say what would anyone use them for) in the outside corners and they have stayed totaly put and never shifted again .nor has a nail ever worked loose

worked for us great we also use wood pellet bedding I like it so much more than shavings or straw

 

[Casnos Minis]

Marty- I can relate. Drew is a big pig!!!!!! He has stall mats and if he didn't I'd be where you are. He has a 12'x12' stall and is out all day, but heaven for bid when he's in. I also use the pellets and love them. You would have to use 7-10 bage to start and wet 1/2 of them to start. With his weight he'll crush them easily enough, but they need to activate first. Once they have been established you would only have to put in a few bags of dry pellets a week. That should solve your dryness problem. If you have to put in a bag a day then that's what you do. As you know Drew has arthritis in his front legs, but this doesn't effect him at all. Plus once you get the pellets established his urine will break down the pellets. It's like cat litter, where he pees it will clump and you pick that out, if he's spreads his urine around too try to get the wettest parts and mix in the rest. Any questions let me know.

Christy

 

[Robin1]

My only complaint with the mats is that it holds the urine and doesn't dry out. If I do another barn I will use the stall skins so the urine goes through and the shavings stay dryer. Something you might look into.

Robin

 

[whitney]

I have a solution to a couple of your problems. Is there anyway you could modify his stall so he could come and go as he pleases, maybe a small pen? This would cut down on the "mess" issue, and sure would help his stiff joints. I have a 16 hand Q.H. mare that I tried to use mats with and unless you keep 12" of bedding in their stalls they will rub the hair off their hocks. She does the same thing Sunny does she banks her sides which I don't mind at all it keeps her from getting cast in the stall. BUT.....she gets down to bare mat which takes the hair right off her hocks.

 

[Kathy2m]

I've had a few of the piggies as well, not sure if matts are the answer, I found that the pee sat on top and I used more shavings. I too have switched to the pelleted bedding as well, for the piggies. It costs more to set up the stall for it a 12x12 took 7 to 8 bags, but after that I don't need to add any for at least a month and only one bag. I was using at least 4 bags of shavings a week. I like the woody pet, there are other brands but they seem to be a little dusty, the woody pet is not dusty at all. Kathy

 

[Shortpig]

Marty I love stall mats. Before you put them in it would help to have a very level floor, Gravel underneath will help to level them and also catch and drain any pee that seeps thru. If you really have a problem I would suggest laying 2 x 4"s nailed to walls between with perfect space to fit a 4 x 6 stall mat to hold them in place. They are so much easier to clean than any other type of flooring be it dirt or wood. I know someone who just put them over dirt and when she went to move them years later underneath there was a lot of mold from years of pee seaping thru. I was there and had to immediately leave the barn it was so bad. That's why I suggested the gravel to pull away the pee. For a big horse you will need the 3/4"

matts.

Good luck, the nasty messy horses are so hard to clean up after. And size of horse doesn't matter. Luckily

all my horses go in one spot in the barn and is easy to clean up. The pellets are a great idea also.