Matts Or No Matts?

T

TeamTBMare

Active Member
Joined
15 June 2010
Messages
32
Location
Carterton, Oxfordshire
Visit site
Help!!!!!!!

im thinking about changing my bedding to something other than straw as my mare is so messy (any advice on a good absorbant bedding which u can deep litter would be great) so was wondering do you have to have rubber matts or not with shavings, hemp etc?

:)
 
I have mats with shavings and straw, now my WB is very messy and the straw doesnt work with a mat, but id have to say i love them, the shavings are great with him and so much easier to muck out.

I think before I was doing 1-2 bales of shavings a week for one horse with a starter bed of 8, with the mats, a starter of 1-2 bales around the edges to build a bank plus some on the mats, then 1/2 a bale a week maybe a bit more when its very bad weather.
 
I have my gelding on straw with mats. I love the mats and wouldn't be without them, they make mucking out so muck easier even though he still has a full bed.

If using another bedding I would still have mats as you can use less bedding with them.

Well worth the initial outlay.
 
If you have good drainiage in your stablet then yes mats would be a great assett (sorry I cannot spell either ) however if not then in my experiance they can lead to a very smelly stable!
 
kerilli said:
definitely have mats, if only to protect your horse's elbows and hocks from the concrete floor. the mats insulate well from the coldness of the concrete too. i wouldn't be without them.
Click to expand...

Same here! I have a really large stable and the floor is completely covered with matting. Otto has a straw bed (far to messy with anything else).
I have the mats to protect his joints etc
 
lannerch said:
If you have good drainiage in your stablet then yes mats would be a great assett (sorry I cannot spell either ) however if not then in my experiance they can lead to a very smelly stable!
Click to expand...

I second this, mats are a lovely option if the urine has somewhere to go, if not it will just sit underneath them, atleast with a concrete floor you can give it a good old wash down and it will dry well, although it does mean lots more bedding! I had stable lite mats which were great for our arthritic boy as really cushioned, but the yearly clean up wasn't pleasant!
 
I love my mats and would not be without them, makes mucking out easier and saves on bedding.
I also drilled some holes into the concrete floor so the urine has somewhere to drain away, so not sitting under the mats.
 
Agree, I love my mats. I still have a bed on top, but it is only about 1-2inches thick with banks, but it still looks like a "proper" bed and is never soggy! It means I get away with using 3 bales of shavings to start the bed, and aim to use a bale once every week to ten days. :D
 
I love having rubber matting in the stable, but I dont use it to save on bedding but more to protect the joints and the insulate the concrete floor.

My mare still has a deep shavings bed (about a foot deep :o) and then thick high banks. It may sound excessive but in a 12 by 12 stable I only need to put 1 bale down a week to maintain (put 5 down initially) the thickness and she is alot cleaner on a thick bed so it works for us.

So yes I say go for it if you can

Sadiemay
 
thank you everyone for your thoughts, now for another question, shes currently on straw with no matts but quite messy & wee's a lot, do you think first i should try her with the mats & less bedding or just change the bedding? any recommendations for a bedding thats good for messy/wet horses & would be appreciated.

:)
 
Hi there

See also a thread I started entitled What stable mat suppliers don't tell you - lots of useful tips about mats

What I have learned supports the comments above - think about where the urine will go - if you have wooden stables and no drainage then rot is likely to be the result. This will be much worse with straw that shavings.

Consider the new wood pellet bedding - I have just started trying it - economical and more absorbent.

Debbie
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top