Matting, horse seems dirtier...

[barkinghorse]

Have moved Will into a stable with rubber matting and he seems even dirtier!!!
Last night put a small amount of shavings down where he could pee and was told it was too much!
Went down today and his rugs stink and he has lay in his poo.
Tonight put even more down, around 2" over half of the stable so will see what it's like tomorrow.
All the others on matting hardly put any down, and have told me that he will get used to it and become less mucky? can't see it myself, may just put a full bed down and forget the whole matting idea...
Any suggestions?
Jo

 

[Pidge]

Go with what suits your horse and ignore those that say it's too much! I've got rubber matting and Pidge still has a deep bed and big banks as he is cleaner this way - he is a total scut in the stable - if I only put a small amount in it would be like yuck.

 

[kildalton]

I'm afraid I ended up spending as much on shavings/matting as I did without matting, both my and my daughter's mare just mashed up a small amount of shavings to a pulp everyday, and were filthy.

 

[Louby]

Hi Jo,
I know what you mean about mats and not much bedding. My boys the same. Ive tried a few different ways but find the best for me is to cover half of the stable with about 3 inches of shavings. I find I have to remove the wee every day as hes so wet, I find I need a fresh bale about every 5 days. When I add the new bale I sweep the older bedding to his 'wee area' and put the new shavings where he lies. This way Im not throwing new shavings away.
Good luck Im sure you will find a way that suits
Lou

 

[Moggy in Manolos]

I have rubber matting and a fairly deep shavings bed (3-4 inches) as i think a small amount and seren would be rather messy/mucky in there, go with whats suits you and your horsey best

 

[barkinghorse]

Hi Lou,
I think i will just give him a normal bed, the bugger ripped his door off and chucked it at me, so am waiting for a new door, so i thought i would try the matting. I think i was expecting a miracle, but still took 2 barrow loads out of him.
Will put him back in his stable i think.
Now he's out of work again for a week at least, poor Simon had to come out late monday as he took all the skin off his poll and nearly knocked himself out! I dislocated two fingers but Simon wouldn't put them back and made me go to casualty!! No long term damage hopefully.
Jo

 

[filly190]

Have never used rubber matting, as reports I have had from people that have vary so much. I think it must be a case of trial and error for the individual horse.

Good luck, you'll soon get him sorted. Does he wee within the first few minutes of putting him in the stable, if so, get quick with a bucket.

 

[Louby]

Oh no, sounds nasty, hope you are both ok.
Not been our week either, went to ride Sunday morning and he's got a swollen leg and lame. Simon checked him out and found (to my embarrassment) a tiny scratch on the inside of his canon bone that I'd missed. Not something you'd expect to cause lameness though. Did a flexion test and he hopped up the yard. So a week of antibiotics and time off. Its all we need at the moment cos if he keeps putting weight on like he is, he aint going to fit through the door soon!!!
Take care Lou

 

[Louby]

By the way, whats Equitaxi?

 

[barkinghorse]

I'm a horse transporter and Equitaxi is my company name!!
Jo

 

[PapaFrita]

I think what you save in bedding with rubber matting you have to fork out in rug washing!! My friends horse is much muckier with rubber matting than he was before, plus wee gathers under the mats requiring a good scrub out once a week... Not really labour-saving IMO!

 

[Stasha22]

I have matting (v. expensive SuperSoft Equimats at that) but still give my horse a full bed. Her bed is not as thick as it used to be but still rather large compared to others! I find her really easy to muck out like this and I use about 2 bales of shavings a week instead of 3 when on concrete.

My friend has 6 hores on rubber matting with minimal bedding (just a sprinkle of shavings at the back to saok up wet) and his horses and their rugs absolutely stink. He also has to take out the whole lot every day and replace with new so I actually think minimal bedding on mats is a false economy as he uses more than I do in my normal bed.

IMHO, I think rubber mats work best with a bed, not just a sprinkle of shavings.

 

[AmyMay]

All my yards horses were put on rubber matting last year - and it has really worked for us.

However, if you wish to keep your horse in stable rugs then you do need to put enough bedding down to soak up any moisture.

The stables have two bales put in them to start them off - and then one bale a week from thereafter.

The big boy has been taught to wee in a bucket on command, and that certainly helps.

 

[Louby]

Oh, thanks. Should have guessed that, sorry proper blonde moment LOL

 

[the watcher]

After years of experimentation I have concluded that a thin covering of bedding is a false economy..and can get nasty and slippy on rubber. I cover half the stable in about 3" of flax/shavings/chopped straw and build banks. Happy fairly clean horses, no smelly beds, only take droppings out daily and very wet stuff so less than a barrow each, and turn the bed out well once a week. Use a bale a week at the most

 

[Frazer]

Mine has just moved yards to all rubber matted stables! At first we tried her on a deep bed of shavings, but as she is so messy and most of her bed having to be removed everyday anyway! We cover 1/2 - 3/4 of the floor in a thin layer of shavings, and banks! And then 90% of this is removed daily and new stuff down!

 

[dieseldog]

Use New Zealand rugs instead of stable ones, it works a lot better.

I use straw with my matting and have about a third of the stable covered for him to pee on. He lies down at the front of the stable not on the straw anyway. A bale will last me about 2 weeks.