Recommend rubber mats

[Ranyhyn]

Looking for good quality, mid range rubber matting. My preference in my head is the thick rubber rather than the thinne Eva-but open to suggestions!
Photos would be a boon!
Thanks

 

[cauda equina]

I have both

EVA in the stables - very light, a bit squishy (so probably more comfortable if the bedding gets thinned out) and stay in place well. You do need to leave a gap around the edge as they expand in the heat. Mine have been down 15ish years and all fine, only one hole where a box resting horse tried to dig his way out.
Rubber mats in the field shelters - very heavy, have moved around a bit (only been down for a few months, but have had to cope with horses zooming in and out), more flexible so cope better with an uneven floor

ETA Sorry, that doesn't really answer your question. The rubber ones I got from my local feed shop; I don't know the make

 

[TGM]

Not the cheapest but we have Fieldguard M2 mats and they have been down nearly 20 years and show no signs of wear. They have little rubber legs under the mats which make them nice and squishy and comfy. The individual mats are fairly small so easy to lay and move around if you need to.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

Probably the best matting for your stable would be solid rubber, 6 feet x 4 feet x 17mm (minimum). If you buy any thinner they end up moving with the twisting & turning of a horse on them. They may be ok for ponies but certainly not horses. As for the best place, put stable mats into the search on Facebook and you will get several people selling them both new & used. You should be able to buy at around £30-£33 per mat, some are far more expensive but check which ones are nearest to you & you can either arrange collection or have them delivered.

 

[AFB]

I had mid range 17mm heavy rubber and got rid of it for various reasons:

- It was so heavy that cleaning it was a PITA and it needed doing fairly regularly despite being well fitted.
- Current horse is much cleaner deep littered so it was an unnecessary hassle
- It was IMO too hard to help with 'comfort' (although admittedly would be warmer than standing on concrete)

I have some EVA (I think 24mm) for my box, it's light & easy to move and cut, but I do find it shifts around (despite being a very good fit) and definitely expands slightly so you need to take this in to account when fitting. I'm not sure that I'd fit a stable with for fear of it moving around though.

 

[Annagain]

Both M and A had EVA and it's lasted really well in A's stable - probably about 8 years so far. It does expand / flatten a bit so at the beginning and end of every winter I trim any stretched bits but that's only a 5 minute job. It's easy to lift to clean underneath. However, it was a disaster in M's stable. He's obviously a lot more active in there and he wore holes in it especially in front of the door and his haybar, stretched it all out shape and even managed to create big bubbles in it where the top layer seemed to come away from the bottom. We replaced it with heavy rubber mats and they've been far better for him although they're a nightmare to lift every summer to wash out his stable. Price-wise they were very similar so I'd say it depends on your horse. The only problem is, you don't really know until you put your horse on EVA that it won't suit him. I'd have been convinced that A would destroy it and M would be fine before putting it down!

 

[Ranyhyn]

Thanks guys, I’m lucky in the sense that the stable I have up now can always be swapped to be my daughters pony’s stable, so I could go for EVA see how my big mare copes and go from there while her stable is being built.

I like the idea of rubber because my mare is a bit of a wrecker in the stable, I think she does do a lot of moving about but as an older horse, I do like the comfort factor that seems to go with EVA