EVA Stable Mats for leg problems

[Solar]

Hi,

My horse struggles every summer as soon as the ground gets hard, keeping him sound becomes an issue.

He has been x-rayed and this showed a bit of ringbone, some arthritic changes and a bony spur above the navicular bursa - all in all a bit of a mixed bag!

This year he has already had a cortisone injection into the coffin joint and is now on week 3 of 4 weeks box rest with adequan injections. He's also having 1 bute a day (down from 2).

After the box rest, I want to continue bringing him in overnight (he is usually kept 24-7 at grass) onto a surface with some "give" to give his legs a break from the hard ground each day to see if that helps - my vet has agreed that it's worth a try.

So my questions are, has anyone any experience of this or can anyone recommend matting to help achieve this end?

I have looked into a few makes - the equimat supersoft is a bit out of my price range so i'm wondering about the 34mm easimat or Robinsons do a 33mm eva mat.

Thanks in advance

 

[muff747]

I have had stable mats for about 12 years now, I bought two Fieldguard EVA green stable mats to start with to put in the middle of his stable where he laid down in the summer. I added more to cover all the stable later as and when I could afford to.
I liked them so much I decided when he was older I would buy the thicker mats to help his joints and that day came yesterday. I ordered one 3odd.mm Easimat this time and it came within 24 hours! There is a difference in the height but it fits in place of one of the Fieldguard ones which I still use to this day, they do last a long time! I cover the lip and the matwith about 3" of shavings at the back of his stable and he seemed happy to lie down on it last night. I do like him to lie down to rest his legs and feet now he is 23 so I would thoroughly recommend the EVA mats.
I also like the lightness of the mats, it makes it much easier for moving them when the need arises.

 

[spaniel]

Id be wary of EVA mats on two counts. Firstly I would be concerned that they will actually be too soft and may put strain on the joints because of this. Secondly if your horse does have trouble getting up and down they can cut up quite quickly and you may find they are a false economy.

Have a look at these people and phone them for a chat, they do matting including for knock down boxes and race horse walks and are really knowledgable about the right sort of mat for your circumstances.

http://www.quattroproducts.co.uk/index.php?id=stable-matting

EVA mats are great for walls but not really that good for floors.

 

[muff747]

Id be wary of EVA mats on two counts. Firstly I would be concerned that they will actually be too soft and may put strain on the joints because of this. Secondly if your horse does have trouble getting up and down they can cut up quite quickly and you may find they are a false economy.

Have a look at these people and phone them for a chat, they do matting including for knock down boxes and race horse walks and are really knowledgable about the right sort of mat for your circumstances.

http://www.quattroproducts.co.uk/index.php?id=stable-matting

EVA mats are great for walls but not really that good for floors.

I wonder if Spaniel has had personal experience of EVA mats and found these problems arose? I can put your concerns at rest as my EVA mats have never "cut up" and are not too soft. They have lasted twelve years and there is hardly any wear on the surface, and he was shod for the first seven years of him being stabled on them.

 

[Mystified]

Hi I have eva 22mm stable mats fitted in my stables. I bought them 4 years ago when we had our stables built as one of my mares is arthiritic and has bone spavins, but also kept on scuffing her legs on the concrete floors no matter how deep her bedding was. The mats are green like the equimat and are quite firm not soft.

I bought them from 'the matman' and they are really light and easy to fit, a bit like a jigsaw. They have worn really well and my mare no longer scuffs her hocks/knees. It worked out about £330 per stable, the guy was really helpful and they were delivered really quickly.

I still use bedding as I am a big softie, and have found either chopped rape straw (bliss or bedrap) or chopped straw & shavings mix to be very good and absorbent.