Earth floor for stable: what to do?

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Am wondering if anyone else has an earth floor in an area where their horse is stabled and how do they manage it?

At the moment I'm needing to stable my boy in an area on our farm that is basically a big barn with an earth floor (previously & many years ago used for livestock), but has a partition with a gate across it - which is basically the "stable". This is a temporary arrangement only until the spring when horse will be out (I can hear the critics already humming and hawing!!!). There is good drainage in the area in question.

So whilst the floor is well drained and under cover; it does tend to get a bit wet underfoot especially overnight. At the moment I've put down some sand on top of the earth floor; but am thinking of using shredded rubber tyres.

So advice needed really: would you continue filling in on top with sand........ or use shredded rubber? The thing I'm concerned about with shredded rubber is that we spread manure from the muckheap on our fields here, so if its shredded rubber in there as well I'd worry in case the sheep picked it up when they're grazing.

Any advice? Thoughts?

Thanks.

 

[JFTDWS]

I have an earth floor on one stable. But I've never used it so that's not much help. I was going to put rubber mats down, but tbh I will probably just leave him out all year instead.

 

[Bobby Boy]

What about stable mats

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

I have an earth floor for the double field shelter - that doubles as little Fuzzies bedroom in winter as more room to move around in as she is elderly.
For the last 3 or 4 yrs I've put down a large amount of Comfy Bed across the floor about 6 inches deep at least & toppped it up after a month or so.
Done the job - absorbs all & I only skip it out from October to March/April & then rake it back & take out all the wet in the spring. Then leave to dry, then rake in the sides to the middle & fill up again.

Hope this helps

 

[Cobbysmum]

I have earth floors in two of my stables and they drain really well, we don't seem to use as much bedding as we do in the stables with concrete floors. We just put straw down and lift the beds every morning but our earth is quite hard and not at all soggy.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Mmmm thought about stable mats BUT big problem is that the floor is a bit uneven so a bit of a non-started TBH.

Haven't heard of "Comfy Bed" - do you have a link/web address by any chance? Thanks.

 

[nicola_g]

I had an earth floor and had the same problem with wetness so we concereted it over and put down rubber mats. Rubber mats are not all they are cracked up to be, I found that you still need to put down some sort of bedding otherwise your horse just gets minging.

Typically I have since discovered that using hemp bedding is the best way to go for an earth floor. If you start by put down a good deep bed and keep it topped up it really holds the moisture and you only need to skip out daily.

 

[Foxhunter49]

I would not use shredded tyres but either rubber mats which would probably not lay flat so could get hooked up r I would semi deep litter with straw. Take out all the droppings but leave the rest so it packs down and add clean straw to the top. It makes nice deep warm bed and you can use a tractor to clear it out in the spring.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Mmmm thought about stable mats BUT big problem is that the floor is a bit uneven so a bit of a non-started TBH.

Haven't heard of "Comfy Bed" - do you have a link/web address by any chance? Thanks.

Couldn't use mats in mine due to undulating floor.

Comfybed is like big chip shavings - wasn't convinced at 1st, but they DO dry better than top qual shavings in the field shelter - and dont move about as much. Elderly pony still snuggles down in them too. You just need to have a very good covering 1st - and its suprising how little I do end up taking out at the end of the winter and it rots down well as local farmer is fine about it going on the muck heap that he takes from me

http://www.ecocomfybed.co.uk/

ps: am not a rep for them in any way!!!

 

[Spot_the_Risk]

Rubber mats on earth floors aren't great, the floor doesn't dry and so you get poaching underneath. I'd just bed on top of the earth, bear in mind that earth is warmer than concrete too, so personally I wouldn't feel the need to use a really thick bed.

 

[mik]

Both my stables are earth, sandy. I use wood chippings over this, remove the wet regularly, disinfect and refill any large dips that form with sand now and then.
I prefer this stable flooring.

 

[YasandCrystal]

I have earth floors and a bit uneven - I levelled up best I could with soil and put down rubber mats at the front half of the stable and just put straw bed on the earth. Has been working fine for me

 

[scribble]

we have mats on ours, just ensure there are not any sharp stones underneath and then we put bed down on that. they do fine and live out in summer and in at night in winter.

 

[dumpling]

I know someone that uses field mats in a stable with an earth floor. They're the ones with the holes in them.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

We have 3 stables with with earth floors and 2 with concrete floors. We are only using the earth floors atm. 2 of them have straw floors and the other has megazorb, as that horse eats straw and gives herself colic. We have found that the deeper the bed, the better. We also find that earth floors drain better than the concrete ones.

 

[splashgirl45]

i used to have earth floors and we just used woodshavings and deep littered all through the winter, just took out droppings and the wet and put fresh on top when needed. the wet drained into the earth and the beds were drier than if they had been on concrete. i preferred the bed to be quite thick so there was no chance of stones getting through...

 

[mystiandsunny]

Have two stables with earthen floors. One has rubber mats down then deep-litter on top, the second just has deep-litter shavings straight onto the earth. Where there are no mats, if it's wet outside then the bed does stay a little more damp until the base has properly established, but after that it's fine. I have mats for the first stable because the mare in there box walks, and she'd go through a bed down to the mud if she felt like it.

 

[Cuppatea]

STRAW!

Earth floors are the best for deep littering with straw - the straw drains the wet through (shaving absorb it) to the floor, the floor then absorbs it and gets rid of wet. SO, the only thing you have to do is skip droppings. Simples.
DONT use shavings, they will pull the wet out of the ground and you will effectively be spending money on drying the ground out!

 

[mulledwhine]

I have earth floors, and have only ever used straw

 

[asyouwish]

Why not just concrete it? Thats what someone down the road from the stables did when she turned her 20 x 14 ft field shelter into 2 stables. She did it herself (well her hubby laid the concrete) they left it to dry then sealed it and popped matting down and they look for all the workld like professional stables.

Either that or get sme second hand slabs, even out the floor a little and lay them then pop mats over the top.