Horse Mat.....

Junkman · Nov 14, 2004

Exactly what is horse mat and where is it sold? Price? What width and lengths is it available???? How durable is it for a plowing edge??? thanks...

ronjhall · Nov 14, 2004

Junkman
They sell them at TSC in the Equine Care section.
I believe they are about 3/4" thick. 4' X 6' should allow several cutting edges for $40.

8561 · Nov 14, 2004

Junkman - I'm not sure if you have a TSC near you (I know I don't). I bought mine at a Blue Seal farm needs store. I used one on my blade last year and it worked pretty well. The key is to not let too much hang down below the leading edge of the blade, or it will fold over. 1/4 to 1/2 inch is plenty. Be advised - it's miserable stuff to cut.

Junkman · Nov 14, 2004

I have a TSC about 40 miles from here, so it is within easy driving distance. You mention that they are hard to cut, do you think that a circular saw would cut it more easily???? thanks for the information...... Junk...

MarkLeininger · Nov 14, 2004

Don't know if you have any quarries by you, but we buy the old conveyor belt material from our quarrie for next to nothing; last time we bought about 120' and it was $75. It comes in various widths from 36" to 44". It sounds similar to horse mat. We use it on the floor of the stalls. It's made to carry gravel long distances on a conveyor belt so it's tough stuff. You can cut it with a circular saw but it sort of melts and it's a mess. I've never found anything better than a razor knife but it is murder to get through. The quarrie has a machine that will cut it like butter if you know the size you want, but they charge to cut it.

BANDAMAN · Nov 14, 2004

I got mine at TSC, I think this is the one:

http://www.mytscstore.com/detail.asp?pcID=6&paID=1045&sonID=182&productID=1312

They have about 3 different kinds. This one is 4'X6' and about 3/4" thick. It was $39.99. The top is smooth and the bottom has 1/8 wide by 1/8" deep grooves about every inch apart running the long ways. The grooves make a nice line to make a straight cut. I put a 4X4 under mine to raise it up and then used a jigsaw with a medium tooth blade. It cut it like butter, very quick, easy, and straight. I have heard you can use a table saw, but might want to put baby powder on the table to help it slide. You might also need some help, because the mat is a bugger to manuever since it is about 100 lbs! I had a heck of a time getting it in the SUV for the ride home. I can't comment on the durability yet, haven't used it yet. Here is a pic of it mounted.

By the way, I only used about an 8" wide piece of the mat, so I plan to use the rest of the mat for removing the loader on my epoxied garage floor so as not to gouge the floor. I think a mat like this has a lot of uses.

bczoom · Nov 14, 2004

Junkman

I can't speak for how durable it would be for a plowing edge but I can say that while lying flat, they're indestructible.

I haven't cut any in awhile but if I recall, I used a circular saw with a blade on backwards to cut. I think I used a regular plywood blade.

Henro · Nov 14, 2004

I have some conveyor belt that is about a half inch thick, or a little more, and I have had good luck cutting it with a "knife blade" blade in my hand jig saw.

One could probably take a regular jig saw blade and grind a knife edge on the back and get about the same result.

I think the idea with this stuff is to slice it rather than cut it by chipping away small chunks like you would cut wood or metal.

RonR · Nov 14, 2004

Junkman,

In a previous life I cut the sidewalls out of large rear tractor tires to bolt the flat tread on some steel wheels of an antique tractor. I heeded the advice of well meaning friends who said use a circular saw with the blade backwards.

After the SMOKE PLUM cleared (a full 10 minutes), I realized that was not the way to do it................ I used a sawsall with a wood cutting blade. MUCH less smoke and I could see where I was cutting.

I know, I know---use your acetylene torch on it!!!!!!!!!!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Best wishes,
Ron

jam2004 · Nov 14, 2004

How is the stall mat secured to the blade?

markie61 · Nov 15, 2004

This link has a picture of a piece of stall mat on a rear scraper blade. I did mine the same way. On the FEL bucket, I did the same think but had to provide my own strip of metal for form the "sandwich."
Mark

hudley · Nov 15, 2004

I'm coming in late on this discussion...

The have very competitive prices on stall mats at Cashman's in Delaware, OH.

Alan

Maxwell · Nov 15, 2004

Another place to find horse mats is at your local Agway dealer. They usually have them on sale this time of year for about $29 for a 4' x 6'. I used a carpet knife to cut mine. Good Luck!

toadhall · Nov 15, 2004

I cut mine with a carbide blade on a circular saw, using a 1x6 guide strip. Heck of a mess, dust and smoke! I got mine in one foot strips at our town dump. How does it work under the FEL for removal? I like that idea.

DocHeb · Nov 16, 2004

Bring a pair of ViseGrip pliers to grab onto it and wrestle it into your truck.

Bartley · Nov 17, 2004

I put about 50 of these in my horse barn. I saved money by getting them from dairy farmers that had gone from stall milking to parlor milking.

I paid about $5 a mat for the used dairy mats. Most of them were in good, or great, shape and saving $35 a mat adds up quick if you buy 50 of them. They seemed better made and heavyer than most of the "horse mats" I looked at in the AG and horse stores.

I had to cut several of them, I tired every thing, and by far the best was a chain saw. It half cut them and half melted them, at the same time.

I used a old dull chain and it worked great. It did leave some build up on the bar and chain saw, so I used a old chain saw I had. The build up came off the bar and saw with a little solvent , and it didn't seem to harm the saw in the long run.

Good luck.

Bartley

btolle · Nov 17, 2004

Stupid suggestion: Has anyone tried an electric knife to cut the horse mats? I learned that from an upholstery man when I needed to cut some foam rubber, it worked great.

Bill Tolle

DaGoatMan · Nov 18, 2004

Excuse my ignorance, but what is the purpose of putting a piece of horse mat or other rubber material on the cutting edge of your plow, rear blade or front end loaders?

markie61 · Nov 18, 2004

Squeegee!

When you are moving snow on your driveway, you won't tear up the blacktop so much (or at all). It acts like a big squeegee.

Wahoowa,
Mark
COM'83