How do you stop urine getting under mats?

[nwilson012]

My stables are fitted with rubber matting. However, there is always a pool of urine under the mats in the mares stables, meaning I have to lift the mats weekly to sweep out the wet. Any longer than that and its creeping out the doorways! What do people do to prevent this?

 

[CBFan]

What type of bedding do you use?

It sounds like your stable floors don't have a particularly good 'fall' on them so this won't help the urine drain away effectively...

 

[classicalfan]

In my experience you can't. Just have to keep lifting the mats up!

 

[Wagtail]

I never have to lift any of our mats up. There are three ways to acheive this:

Fit a system that is cushioned underneath and one piece cut to each stable size and screwed in and sealed around the edges.

Fit a system that is interlocking and sealed tight,

Or with normal 4 x 6 mats they shoudl be a minimum of 17 mm thick and fitted so that they are tight together and tight against the stable walls. Then seal around the edges and any gaps with black silicone. The sealant must sink below the height of the mat to avoid being snagged and pulled out. My husband fitted ours and they have been completely water tight for seven years.

 

[Tammytoo]

I never have to lift any of our mats up. There are three ways to acheive this:

Fit a system that is cushioned underneath and one piece cut to each stable size and screwed in and sealed around the edges.

Fit a system that is interlocking and sealed tight,

Or with normal 4 x 6 mats they shoudl be a minimum of 17 mm thick and fitted so that they are tight together and tight against the stable walls. Then seal around the edges and any gaps with black silicone. The sealant must sink below the height of the mat to avoid being snagged and pulled out. My husband fitted ours and they have been completely water tight for seven years.

-ditto-

Do you use straw? If so, I would change to something more absorbant so the wee doesn't simply drain straight through it. I use shavings and although the matting gets damp there are never any pools of wee. The bed is at least 4" deep plus banking and I only need to lift out the damp shavings once a week and put down 1/2 to 1 bale of fresh shavings depending on time of year.

 

[maresmaid]

My mats are not sealed and just laid down on the concrete floor (although they are cut to be a tight fit). I find straw is not absorbant enough but something like Nedz bedz pro or bliss most effective. (shavings worked ok but not quite as well for me). I semi deep litter the bed, just removing droppings, each day, then full muck out removing all wet, and topping up with a new bale once a week.

 

[Izzwizz]

We had a mare who was very wet and she was on rubber matting. We used to put shavings down in the wet areas and she had straw on top. It worked well for her.

 

[nwilson012]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I might try the sealant.

It's the two mares that are wet. The gelding's stable is fine. The mats are pretty tight to the edges and there is a slope on the concrete floor with a drainage whole in the lowest corner of each stable for the wet to escape. Problem is that there is always this smelly pool of urine that has escaped and this makes the yard (American barn) smell! I use a deep bed of Eco Comfybed with banks. I remove the wet every day and turn the banks over at weekends. This is the first year I've had a problem with these mats - so maybe the mares are just wetter this year!

 

[Miss L Toe]

I put a sprinkling of shavings under the mats to absorb wet.

 

[Spyda]

My OH sealed my mats last year. Laid them, then sealed around the walls and inbetween the mats with silicon sealant. Worked well, although needs re-doing in some areas after a year's use. I also use a bag of dampended LWP over my mats, under the main straw bed to catch the worst of the wet. I muck that out once a week and replace with new. Seems to stop the wee from draining down the slope of the stable and out under the door.