Horse stall floor - under the mats

[weedsportpete]

I haven't gone too far back, but I haven't seen this one discussed yet..

We've just bought a farm and are renovating the horse stalls. We are putting in rubber floor mats (5/8"). Whats the best or easiest or cheapest material to put in under the mats? We've tried dirt in one and mason's sand in another. We did not compact them much; I guess we should have. The floor is a little bit lumpy/uneven.

And I haven't found a place yet that will sell us mats cut to size - they have all been 4x6 mats. I really don't like to deal with the seems between the mats, or cutting them to fit in odd corners.

Any suggestions out there?

Thanks, Pete

 

[MikePA]

We made the mistake of believing the people who put our barn up and had clay put in our stalls in order to absorb liquid. It absorbs liquid alright, then it turns into an amporphous mass that slowly hardens into mounds and valleys, particularly at the corner where we have the feed bins and hay rack in each stall.

We then tried the rubber mats. Another mistake. The liquid drains underneath the mat, and never dries out. Last summer, I lugged these mats out of the stalls (oh my were they heavy! - Lovely smells, too /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif) and now use them outside the barn as big welcome mats. They prevent the horses from dragging mud into the barn.

We replaced the mats with Stall Skins that we purchased from <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.statelinetack.com/scripts/product.asp?style=EI3-310984>State Line Tack</A>. We dug out, by hand, most of the clay and replaced it with limestone (2A) as a base.

If we had it to do over again I would install follow their instructions which mention digging down 6" or 8" and installing different size stone as a base that will both absorb moisture and remain relatively firm. BTW, use bales of pine shavings as bedding and clean the stalls daily.

 

[riptides]

We have rubber mats, 5 inches of stone dust, a french drain,
little bit of gravel and then clay.

-Mike Z.

 

[Wingnut]

stall mats ... cut to size ... with dirt underneath. Never worry about the drainage since we buy shavings and, daily, clean and replace the shavings ... all the horse apples and wet bedding ...
When we have circumstances like this last 2 weeks when our source of shavings has disappeared, we go to TSC and buy bags and use more SweetPDZ (treated clay, I think) to deodorize.
Work well ... never had a problem with odor staying ... nor with wet floors.
Originally had floors with old snowmobile tracks ... the stall mats are MICH better ... and were very easy to cut to shape.

 

[MikePA]

Wingnut, thanks for the tip about SweetPDZ. I've sent them an email asking where the closest dealer is.

 

[Wingnut]

TSC is where I get mine now the QFF is gone

 

[MikePA]

Some additional questions, if you don't mind /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

1. How big are the bags?
2. How much does it cost?
3. How long does it last?
4. Does it save you $$$?

 

[bsauter]

We have compacted ag-lime under our mats. 3 years and working great so far. We use shavings and clean every day.

 

[AndyInMich]

Try Groundmaster Stall Flooring in Minnesota (they have a website). They sell a cut-to-size heavy duty perforated plastic floor system that you install over a layer of 1/4" crushed gravel. We installed it in 6 stalls and it works great. We use a lot less shavings since the urine drains right through the flooring to the drain field underneath. The only drawback is that it is expensive, about $350 + shipping for a 12' x 9' stall, but we figure we'll save that in shavings and stall mucking time in a few years...plus it keeps the horses feet a lot drier.

 

[cowboydoc]

All good info. that you have gotten. A couple guys mentioned drainage. That's the most important aspect of the mats, any mat. You need at least six inches of drainage area under the mat. First dig it all out and compact it level. I like to use pea gravel but anything like that will work. This gives the urine a place to go to.

Now however if you decide to go the one piece route. BTW there are several companies out there that do one piece stall mats. Just do a search under stall mats and they will come up. If you can't fine them let me know and I will send you a bunch of addresses. The best ones out there are the equine mattress system from www.woodypet.com. Summit also has a good system as well. With the one piece you just need a solid base as the urine never makes it to the ground. Here you can tamp and fill with either clay or lime screenings. If you get the stallskins though that is a different story as that relies on the urine going through shavings and a drain system as well.

You ahve alot of good options but they all start with a good base. I've done them all so when you decide which way you want to go let me know and I can be more specific for you.