EVA matting, rubber, gym mats?

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PomPomFeathers

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Been looking into getting matting for my lads new stable but the horse stuff is sooo expensive (it's on a DIY livery yard so not my stable). I notice the EVA gym mats are alot cheaper and seem to be made of the same stuff... any ideas on this? differences between horse ones and the gym ones? Any links appreciated also! I've never had to buy this before!
 
i used the lightweight eva mats they were hopeless horse paws and digs hole in it , loads rubber particles all over the place. You get what you pay for , buy cheap and it wont last long. I would keep an eye on ebay and watch for some proper ones 2nd hand . Be cheaper in the long run and last longer
 
My horse has got Quattro cow mats in her stable. I think they are EVA and they are fabulous. She has them wall to wall and they haven't moved or come up. She is a fusspot in the stable and paws the ground a lot and generally makes a nuisance of herself, but the mats don't budge. The bonus of EVA ones is that they are lightweight and easy to lift and clean under.

It took a while for them to settle in as they stretch a bit at first, so I had to keep trimming them - easy to do with a stanley knife, but now they are great. They cost about £40 each, but the cost is quickly recouped with the savings you'll make on bedding.
 
StarcatcherWilliam said:
My horse has got Quattro cow mats in her stable. I think they are EVA and they are fabulous. She has them wall to wall and they haven't moved or come up. She is a fusspot in the stable and paws the ground a lot and generally makes a nuisance of herself, but the mats don't budge. The bonus of EVA ones is that they are lightweight and easy to lift and clean under.

It took a while for them to settle in as they stretch a bit at first, so I had to keep trimming them - easy to do with a stanley knife, but now they are great. They cost about £40 each, but the cost is quickly recouped with the savings you'll make on bedding.
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I didn't pay much more than that for heavy duty stable mats. They are extremely heavy and I wouldn't fancy having to lift them but I've had them lifted recently (they weren't fitted properly in the first place because my pony was on box rest - we just chucked them in best we could and I needed them adjusting) and there has been absolutely no leakage underneath so I don't see that there is any need to lift them. Just make sure you use enough bedding on top.
 
dalidaydream said:
I didn't pay much more than that for heavy duty stable mats. They are extremely heavy and I wouldn't fancy having to lift them but I've had them lifted recently (they weren't fitted properly in the first place because my pony was on box rest - we just chucked them in best we could and I needed them adjusting) and there has been absolutely no leakage underneath so I don't see that there is any need to lift them. Just make sure you use enough bedding on top.
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They drain via the small joins between each mat and then into the drainage channel in the bottom end of the stable. Are your mats water tight where they fit together then? Maybe I should train my horse, to only pee where there are no joins LOL! ;)

Anyway, very pleased with my mats, I only lift them to clean once a year and there is only wetness under the mats near the drainage channel.
 
StarcatcherWilliam said:
They drain via the small joins between each mat and then into the drainage channel in the bottom end of the stable. Are your mats water tight where they fit together then? Maybe I should train my horse, to only pee where there are no joins LOL! ;)
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No, maybe I'm just lucky :). I do have a 2-3" shavings bed on top though - I still save pounds and time because I only have the bed at the back half of the stable and I used to have it twice as thick.

I was just surprised that there wasn't a bigger difference in price to be honest.
 
I only put a bed down in a quarter of the stable, and I use about a bale of shavings a week (maybe I am extraordinarily tight?!). But with the shavings and drainage her stable is always nice and dry. Madam tends to spread her haylage ALL over the stable too, so almost everything has to be removed each morning.

I have the heavy rubber stable mats here too, but they don't fit in the stable I currently use and I didn't want to use more like that as I found that they moved a lot (weren't fitted wall to wall in previous stable) and are so heavy that they need two people to move them. I think that they are the very old-style ones though which did tend to be heavier?? They are currently spread on out my patio to suppress the weeds :o
 
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StarcatcherWilliam said:
I only put a bed down in a quarter of the stable, and I use about a bale of shavings a week (maybe I am extraordinarily tight?!). But with the shavings and drainage her stable is always nice and dry. Madam tends to spread her haylage ALL over the stable too, so almost everything has to be removed each morning.

I have the heavy rubber stable mats here too, but they don't fit in the stable I currently use and I didn't want to use more like that as I found that they moved a lot (weren't fitted wall to wall in previous stable) and are so heavy that they need two people to move them. I think that they are the very old-style ones though which did tend to be heavier?? They are currently spread on out my patio to suppress the weeds :o
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Or maybe I spoil my pony. Love the idea of using old mats to suppress weeds :D
 
I have some for sale!

They fitted my 16ft x 12ft stable. They are several sizes (to fit them into stable), but they still sit together nicely.

I am based in Ivybridge in Devon if you are interested. Send me a PM.
 
I would go for EVA rather than rubber. Lighter and I think warmer in the winter.

Got mine from Cowcomfort and love them :D
 
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