New stable and matting bedding help needed

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Ellielou49

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Hello. I’m moving yards and have a 16x16 concrete floored stable on my new yard. At present I can only afford to buy 6 mats so covering 12x12.. how would you use them .. put the shavings bed on concrete and use the mats for standing or the other way round. It’s also slightly odd in the fact it’s square but on a corner.. any advice gratefully received
 
What do you want the mats to do? If you put them under the bed you have a comfier bed with less depth, put them at the front they are softer on the feet and cam keep the stable feeling warmer. Which is your priority?

I just moved from a yard with fancy fitted mats back to concrete and I'm delighted not to have to deal with mats anymore 😂 so I wouldn't use them at all!!
 
I'd keep a check on Marketplace for second hand mats. I have ended up with a loafing area matted through snapping up any used mats. Some are nicer than others, but some were very cheap!

I'd only use the thick and heavy rubber ones though. Anything inferior lifts and allow pee underneath. I also always use a thick bed on top, so pee is absorbed.

If I only had some, I too would mat the front and thick bed the back.
 
Quite surprised to read this, altho suppose it might be affected by what type of bedding you intend to use, but,
If your floor is non absorbent concrete, and presumably slopes towards the front since no mention of a drain anywhere, then any urine percolating through a bed on concrete at the back - will just seep forward and under the mats at the front - and smell (unless you keep lifting these mats and swilling out)
However, if the mats and bedding are at the rear, then any urine percolating through will also seep towards the concrete front, which can be brushed/swilled away, and will air out - without fannying around under slimy mats.
Presuming you intend mucking out every day? Taking out all dirty litter? Which is better for horse health and breathing.
But if, instead, you are using genuine deep litter, then mats beneath are contra-indicated - full stop.
If deep littering, you need to fully and very deeply cover the entire area, and keep adding plenty more until the horse is effectively high rise; otherwise bedding gets dissipated thinly and ineffectively, the poor horse permanently inhales an ammonia atmosphere, which is extremely aggravating for their lungs.
If using mats for ‘comfort’, solid rubber are unyielding, hard, but move about less due to greater weight.
Personally, I’d either save up and mat the entire area like a fitted carpet - no one wants awkward bits of edges, corners, gaps to be poking clean all the time - or bed onto the concrete.
Good luck.
 
I would check to see if there is any slope on the floor. Mine slopes towards the back so I bed that with straw and the wet drains through and out a gap under the back wall. I have mats by the door and where his hay is put.
 
My stables are 12' wide and 18' deep and slope slightly to the back. For the straw beds I have mats at the front and deep straw beds in the back half which are fully mucked out each day. For more absorbent bedding (currently chopped rape straw) I tend to have the stable fully matted and a deep bed in the back half which is skipped out daily and dug out at the weekend.

I was once at a yard where the stables sloped to the front and they quickly developed pools of urine at the front.
 
Last edited:
Exasperated said:
Quite surprised to read this, altho suppose it might be affected by what type of bedding you intend to use, but,
If your floor is non absorbent concrete, and presumably slopes towards the front since no mention of a drain anywhere, then any urine percolating through a bed on concrete at the back - will just seep forward and under the mats at the front - and smell (unless you keep lifting these mats and swilling out)
However, if the mats and bedding are at the rear, then any urine percolating through will also seep towards the concrete front, which can be brushed/swilled away, and will air out - without fannying around under slimy mats.
Presuming you intend mucking out every day? Taking out all dirty litter? Which is better for horse health and breathing.
But if, instead, you are using genuine deep litter, then mats beneath are contra-indicated - full stop.
If deep littering, you need to fully and very deeply cover the entire area, and keep adding plenty more until the horse is effectively high rise; otherwise bedding gets dissipated thinly and ineffectively, the poor horse permanently inhales an ammonia atmosphere, which is extremely aggravating for their lungs.
If using mats for ‘comfort’, solid rubber are unyielding, hard, but move about less due to greater weight.
Personally, I’d either save up and mat the entire area like a fitted carpet - no one wants awkward bits of edges, corners, gaps to be poking clean all the time - or bed onto the concrete.
Good luck.
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Thank you for your reply.. originally I was planning on matting the front and leaving the concrete for a bed.. shavings and yes mucked out daily. Just watching him rolling and getting up in his current bed yesterday he took the bed with him (it’s about 9 inches deep) so now concerned he’ll cap hocks etc if I bed him without mats. The ones I bought are cushioning Eva mats
 
Th
Carrottom said:
I would check to see if there is any slope on the floor. Mine slopes towards the back so I bed that with straw and the wet drains through and out a gap under the back wall. I have mats by the door and where his hay is put.
Click to expand...
The stable is brand new and looks level but thanks… next time I’m there I’ll throw some water in there and see where it goes
 
Ellielou49 said:
Thank you for your reply.. originally I was planning on matting the front and leaving the concrete for a bed.. shavings and yes mucked out daily. Just watching him rolling and getting up in his current bed yesterday he took the bed with him (it’s about 9 inches deep) so now concerned he’ll cap hocks etc if I bed him without mats. The ones I bought are cushioning Eva mats
Click to expand...
Well, if he’s rolling and kicking his way through 9” depth of shavings, yes, either he needs a full deep bed to cover the entire floor, or at least put the mats beneath where he’ll be getting up and down in his bedding.
A ‘fitted carpet’ of EVA probably is your best bet, then you can put the bedding wherever, and if he kicks it thinly all over, at least the concrete will be cushioned.
Might be cheaper if you buy the identical spec EVA mats branded as ‘dairy mats’, for cow bedding - because an equine market usually boosts the price tag.
Obviously would be better if you (or someone buying on your behalf? a farming friend?) can claim back the VAT.
Hope you get sorted out!
 
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