Stall mats

[sweetheart]

Hi!

We just built a new barn and I'm trying to decide whether to spend the $$$ on stall mats or not. Our old barn had a clay floor with no stall mats and I felt like I could never really get it clean. I thought I'd try rubber stall mats this time, but wanted to get opinions on whether you think they are worth it. Do they make it easier to keep stalls clean? Any particular brand or thickness or type that you like? I have eight 8' x 10' stalls.

Thanks!

 

[Miniv]

Some folks do just fine with dirt floors with bedding.....

Me? Every place we've had we've chosen to set rubber mats into. It's a pain in the butt iniatially because you need to totally level the ground, put in a layer of fine gravel and level it, another level of sand and level it, lime or PDZ and level it..... before puting in the mats.

But we've always had a way for drainage too........So, with the mats we can hose down the stalls periodically and sweep them out.

That's just what we do........

MA

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Well I have a concrete floor in my barn with rubber mats. I love em, saves a bit on bedding and easier for me to clean.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

I would definately put them in if I could afford it.

 

[Charlotte]

Wouldn't have a barn without them! So much easier to clean stalls and we don't have to keep filling in holes that the 'pawers' make.

:

Charlotte

p.s. just don't skimp and get light weight mats which the horse can pick up or pull up or paw up. Definitely get the good thick ones.

 

[jayne]

I know the prospect of buying a whole lot of stall mats can be scary. I had my 4 stall barn built in November of 2005, and based on past experiences with diggers and urine smell, I knew I wanted them. 12x12 means 6 mats per stall, so that was a total of 24 mats. I went to my local feed store/coop where they were listed for something like $42 a piece. OUCH. I asked to talk with Zeke the manager and since I wanted so many, he let me have them for $32 each. Nice, but still a hurter. 24 x $32 = $768. So I bit the bullet (and ate cheap food for a couple of months) and got them.

Not for a minute have I regretted buying them. I bought the REALLY heavy ones, and they were a bear to install, but they're not going ANYWHERE. We did the prep like MA talked about, with gravel, then sand, then lime. The way I clean stalls though, I'm not sure the lime was necessary. My mats are so tight together, and I use a pelleted bedding that keeps the urine contained until I can pick it up every day, so I don't think hardly anything gets through to the substrate. About every two weeks I strip out a stall, sweeping it down to the bare rubber, apply a disinfectant and re-bed.

I think this is one of those cases when the hard work and expense up front really pays off dividends for years to come.

Jayne

 

[Equuisize]

I'm very pro mat, the nice 3/4" ones.

We just bought thirty of them for the first phase of stall building

in our new barn and will still need to buy for 3 more stalls.

Worth every penny. We have cement floors and they need

the cushioning from the cold of the cement and the sheer hardness

of the cement.

It's so easy to clean up after them with mats and I feel

like they come into a clean bedroom every night.

 

[FoRebel]

We have stall mats in every stall... I wouldn't have a barn without them. They make it so easy to strip and clean stalls, especially when you've got mares foaling!

ETA: We put pine bedding down we make sure that there's enough bedding in the stall to make it inviting for them to lay down.

 

[eagles ring farm]

we have mats in all our stalls wouldn't want to be without them again

so much better than the old dirt floors

 

[twister]

So you guys that use the stall mats, do you all put bedding on top and if so what type and how much? I am thinking about buying some as I think it would be better for the horses legs to have some cushioning and as you all say easier to clean.

Thanks for any info.

Yvonne

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

Definately put bedding on top

I actually use the same amount as I would on dirt. You can skimp and use less, but the urine will start to splash if you skimp, and the smell will actually be a little worse since the urine can't escape quite as easily as it can in dirt. If you don't put down shavings you'll make puddles, and those mats can be pretty slippery when wet. I've been at barns where they used just a few pounds of shavings in a 14x10 stall because shavings were a lot of labor to store for the winter, and I wouldn't ever allow one of my horses to live like those poor boarders did. Yes, it was adaquate, but not comfortable and it STUNK in there. And the poor geldings would move three or four times before finishing urinating because it splashed so much.

 

[twister]

Thanks for the info Nathan. I asked the questions because I was at a barn that had mats and saw that the bedding they put down was just in one corner, I didn't think that was a good idea.

Yvonne

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

My thought is this... even if they did use just that corner for their toilet, would you like to lie down on those mats for a nap, all day every day? They are just plain uncomfortable! Nice soft shavings with the rubber underneith is MUCH more comfy

You also see a lot more leg and girth sores when there isn't enough shavings, from resting on their hooves (chest rubbing folded legs) all the time. And hock blemishes are hard to prevent with full size horses, even when they DO have enough savings! Even harder if they don't

 

[wildoak]

Yes - we put mats in our new barn out here too and I'm a fan. We moved into the barn apt in a hurry before things were done, and the dust was horrible. Since we have added the mats, it's cut the dust by 3/4 probably. Do take the time to do the prep first - we did not (lots of reasons, had to move horses into the barn before we had time to finish the stall base, etc) and sooner or later we will have to drag the mats out and redo the floors underneath. Not something I'm looking forward to.

I use pelleted bedding over mine for the most part, and I use it in about 2/3 of the stall leaving the front 1/3 to feed on. I agree, don't like the thought of horses laying on just rubber mats with no bedding.

Jan

 

[Equuisize]

We use a combination of things to keep the stalls clean and the barn fresh smelling.

First we put down Stall Dry on the urine spots after that area is swept clean...

The whole area is left to air and dry thru out the day.

Just before bedtime we put a layer of wood pellets on their pee spots and cover

deeply in shavings. The Stall Dry deodorizes and absorbs moisture, the pellets

swell to contain the overnight peeing and the shavings I call their clean sheets.

Our horses are for the most part very clean and use only certain spots for certain

things so clean up is quick and easy - we don't have to strip each day. The previous

night's shavings become the pee spot for that night and then fresh is laid down for

their bedding.

Horses do hate splashing on themselves so a nice soft deep spot for that makes

their night more pleasant when they are stalled.

 

[evedex]

Yvonne,

Perhaps mine is the barn with just a corner bedded that you were refering to. We don't have the rubber mats but have stall matresses....a whole different thing but in construction, use and expense <G>

For years I had the stall mats and we bedded the whole stall the same way as one would without mats. If you use rubber mats, you do need the cushion of bedding for the horses.

The matresses are about 3-4" of ground rubber tires covered by a waterproof fabric and are intended to be used without as much bedding and all of the bedding is removed completely each day. We have 2 horses with respiratory problems and using the mattress system has cut the dust in the barn to almost none and removing all the bedding each day also has helped the air quality....our full size gelding does get a whole stall of shavings though not as much as he used to...the minis are happy with a very well bedded corner that will prevent splashing and find the matresses more comfortable to lie on than a bedded stall with rubber mats.

I would never have a stall with nothing on the floor. If I am at a show for overnight, I take my own rubber mats for the horses...I have some special light ones that transport well and are meant for going to shows. (Mighty Lite Horse Stall Mats)

 

[Becky]

Mat lover here! My show barn has a concrete floor with mats in the stalls. Love them! I use shavings in them just as I would any other stall. It is much easier to clean and disinfect. Much better for the horses' legs, too!

 

[Margo_C-T]

I LOVE my stall mats; was fortunate to buy them on sale for $29 each and NO SHIPPING costs, several years ago. They are the heavy ones, 4 x 6'-I have to use locking pliers to drag them around, but others are right; get the good heavyweight ones that won't be curling up, or moved by the horses--you'll be glad you did!

In my case, I left the size of one mat-4x6'-uncovered, and put a good cover of shavings there. So, THAT'S where the horses will pee when in the stalls. My horses aren't in the stalls too much; only during severe summer heat, anytime there's bad weather, and when it's really cold and/or we're having wind or snow in winter--mine is a large barn, and the horses in their attached runs have the 'buffer' of the building for PM shade/wind protection under many conditions, and I have heated buckets that can be moved inside or out in winter. This means that the open areas of the stalls don't get 'saturated'. I pull back the shavings, remove the wettest, use PDZ or Stall Dry, make sure there is plenty of air circulation-all of which aids in keeping severe wetness and/or odor under control. The 4x6' area is large enough that they can lay down there if they choose, w/o lying directly in the pee spot. Works well under my particular circumstances!

Since leaving one 'mat space' empty in each stall meant I had 'extra' mats, I also placed one mat outside in each 'run' at the barn(I have only 4 barn stalls), and in a couple of my outside run-in sheds, in the corners where I have their feeders. I sweep the dirt off them daily; even though they are all fed in feeders, I feel this helps considerably to minimize how much dirt they might ingest while eating. Since I placed crusher fines in the runs(YEARS ago), and that means a certain amount of very fine granite particles(similar to sand) is part of the ground there, I feel this especially helps.In the stalls, I did not 'prepare' the soil, except to re-level it, before placing the mats; I'm sure I'd have to IF my horses were going to be stalled extensively, however.

Margo

 

[sweetheart]

Wow! I guess I'm definitely getting them! Any suggestions on where I might find a good deal on quality mats? Jan, you are near me, where did you get yours?

Thanks!

~Allisa

 

[Cathy_H]

I asked the questions because I was at a barn that had mats and saw that the bedding they put down was just in one corner

........................... Actually this is basically what we do but we have big stalls. We put the bedding at about 2/3rds at the end of the stall. We use a good quality of the kind that you wet & it expands. We use one - two bags per stall. The horses do their business & stand/sleep in that area. I keep the front end swept where we feed & give them hay....... Our horses are out in the dry lots / pasture most the day & at night when it is nice so they are really not in their stalls much.. Guess it depends upon how long your horses are stalled as to how you do the bedding.