Could you talk to me about rubber matting please?

[Hornbeamhocks]

Have two large loose boxes with slightly sloped concrete bases on which I keep a thickish bed of barley straw.

My horses live out 24/7 with voluntary access to stable and they generally prefer to sleep outside.

But they often come in to eat and pee/poo and go out again. In summer they are inside during the hottest period of the day to avoid the flies, and in winter they are in more at night when it’s cold.

One of my boys is big (850 kg) and has CPL which is being managed carefully but his hoof quality is suffering so I’ve decided to lay down some heavy rubber matting for his legs and because the barley straw on concrete takes a long time to muck out considering they are only in for short periods of time.

I have no clue about rubber matting though. There’s a massive choice out there. Should I go for tiles or a fitted carpet? Does pee seep between the tiles and go under them? Ditto sides of carpet?

How hard are they all to carry and fit?

It makes sense to do it myself as it’s a relatively small job but because of my big lad I will need the thickest, heaviest type.

Please can anyone advise?

I used to have about 3 mats laid in my stable. yes the pee does seep under them (and will begin to smell) and yes they are very heavy to move.

They are incredibly heavy. And yes, you want to try and avoid gaps between them so need a good fit to avoid the pee issue.

Either:

Use large mats and go for the best quality you can find. Cut them as close as you possibly can, or get them professionally fitted.This will all help with the seepage and mean they don't curl. The cheaper, lightweight mats curl up at the edge and even more gunk gets under them meaning they stink to high heaven.

OR

If you do go for cheaper mats, go for ones you can lift easily as you will be doing it a lot.

Either way Jeyes fluid is your friend to keep them reasonably pong free.

You can get custom fitted matting which gets around the seepage problem but it will be eye-wateringly expensive. We’ve got lighter-weight EVA mats which are still pretty heavy but a lot more manoeuvrable than the traditional rubber mats and they have been great for our lot who are mostly out 24/7 / they’re nothing like as big as your boy though so I’m not sure how they’d cope with a heavyweight horse.

Thank you very much indeed for all of this advice.

Getting rubber mats is far from straightforward!

I’m going to re-think this and start researching the ones that are bonded to the floor, although presumably they are the eye wateringly expensive ones?

Does pee seep under them I wonder?

I had two carpet style ones in the middle of the stable.

My bedding was banked up round the walls with a layer of in the middle. I used shavings as they are more absorbent than straw, and I didn’t have any issues with pee.

Perhaps you could try shavings? Even just in the middle with straw banking?

I looked on rubber mats as extra protection not a replacement for bedding. Not sure if that would work in a field shelter though.

Thanks Rentalwoesnotfun

I have free access to beautiful quality barley straw so I won’t be using shavings for economic reasons. I take your point about absorbency though!

They have voluntary access to proper brick stables btw; not just a field shelter. They come in twice a day to eat their tiny grain + supplement ration (have to watch their weight) but prefer to live outside except in the most extreme weather or when the flies are at their worst.

Good point about extra protection though. Maybe I need to look at a different material?

If you have straw, mats can smell very quickly in my experience. They are generally better with other bedding types. Would your horses tolerate deep litter? It takes a matter of minutes to muck out but I note one has CPL so might not be an option.

Thank you!

I am learning a lot from this thread!

Yes I have to manage my boy’s CPL quite carefully. He is fifteen and it is well controlled but he does have a flare now and again.

I keep his feathers trimmed in summer so I can keep them washed and dry and can easily treat any mite activity.

Deep litter would not be good for that presumably?

Probably best to run it past your Vet (you can usually give them a quick call). I haven't had to deal with CPL as an owner, and the yards I worked on many moons ago were all shavings and mats. If the straw is good quality you may be fine and actually the extra cushioning may help.

Having tried various mats, kraiburg rubber interlocking mats are by far the best. I sold mine to buy ‘something better,’ and wish I hadn’t. Will be having these again when I rebuild my stables later this year. My old horse has COPD so I use minimal bedding.

Thank you, yes, I was thinking that about the cushioning.

That’s good to know for future reference thank you!

Some excellent advice re mats here.

Ref the issue of them being heavy and difficult to move - get two mole wrenches, adjust so they clamp tightly on the mat edges anbout shoulder width apart and use them to lift/drag the mats into place. Gives you something to get hold of. (Wear gloves)

Have just helped my friend move yards and we moved 24 of the >€!)! things quickly and easily like this. Good luck.

Wow this is fantastic advice! Thank you!