Rubber mats with sprinkle of shavings?

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If you have rubber mats, do you still giev full bed or just a sprinkle of shavings? I dont give full bed as shavings are too dusty for my boy and we have really good quality mats although a full bed woudl be better for him, we just done have access to decent bedding!
 
I find they get filthy on a sprinkle and some get iffy about lying down which, in winter when they are in a long time, cant be right. I have mats and full beds in both of mine.
 
Me again!!

Sorry!!
I use mats cant have shavings as irritates mare. She eats the straw so she has no bed just a square of straw to pee on. She lies down on the mats and rugs get smelly but I have no option. My other horse has the same as when I bought him they didnt put anything down. I reakon he would trash a bed anyway.

He doesnt lie down.

I do save lot of money and they dont know any different.

They can be a bit smelly though
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I have full beds in winter when hes in for longer, I found that a sprinkle doesnt soak up enough wee and he would get really filthy from sleeping in it. In summer hes in during the day so he just has a sprinkle then.
 
IMO this practise is quite revolting TBH! The horses dont like it, and for them to be breathing and sleeping in all that ammonia is so toxic. Also makes their feet so thrushy not to mention really yukky rugs.

A full bed of shavings or straw every time for me am afraid.
 
rubber matting is supposed to have just a thin layer of shavings on top to mimic a semi-deep litter bed. the matting acts as the 'base' add then the sprinkle, acts as the clean layer on top.

How ever a lot of owners find this cold- looking and bare and drafty- also it doesnt look that comfy and do a full bed on top of the matting.

I think rubber matting is designed to save money and the horses are fine with just a sprinkle but they can sometimes get very dirty and wet...


Also you said about dusty shavings... Do u get yours from a work shop etc? ive never seen shavings for sake that aren't dust extracted/vacuume packed..

I hate straw and only use shavings but at my new yard they seem to have this straw that has no dust what so ever..which ive never come accross.!?! But i'd guess your horse would get very very messy on a thin sprinkling of straw as it doesnt really soak up that well.....compared to shavings.


xxxx
 
Shavings are from work shop, When i say a sprinkle maybe more than that as it does soak up ALL wee and i always have some clean shavings in morning left, Ru always lays down and rugs dont tend to get any dirty than normal. I guess it just depends and Ru likes it and does not have to suffer from coughing which is a plus.
 
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IMO this practise is quite revolting TBH! The horses dont like it, and for them to be breathing and sleeping in all that ammonia is so toxic. Also makes their feet so thrushy not to mention really yukky rugs.

A full bed of shavings or straw every time for me am afraid.

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I dont have much choice with my mare and they pee & poo on the straw so dont lie in it and there stables dont smell of immonia at all.

Not everyones cup of tea agreed but I have never had any problems with breathing or thrush either.

My neighbours stable stinks of pee and he is on a full bed of straw ??
As the saying goes horses for courses

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A lot depends on the individual horses, the type of mats used, the time the horses spend in, and the drainage of the stable. I have Fieldguard M2 mats which are very springy and drain well. My stables have good drainage also. The horses are usually out 24/7, but sometimes come in overnight when the weather is really wet. Used like this I find mats with minimal bedding work well for me.

However, might be a different story with thinner mats, bad drainage and horses that are stuck in the stable for most of the day and night. In fact, when I had an old laminitic pony who had to be stabled a lot, then she did get a much fuller bed on top of the mats.
 
I have a full bed of straw on my thick bouncy rubber mats - my stable has a sloping floor to a drain, so no ammonia, also I have had rubber mats for years and my horse has never ever had a case of thrush. Her stable is mucked out twice a day in winter, once in summer when there is turnout and her feet are picked out numerous times during the day, as we have to do them every time we leave the stable/lunge pen or arena. I couldnt cope with a sprinkling as I like her to be cosy & warm.
 
On previous yard had rubber with just a sprinkling of shavings, never had a problem with thrush but had horrid dirty stable rugs. Current yard have rubber mats with bigger beds, not full beds but much more than a sprinkle. I prefer this as looks better and certainly dont get the filthy rugs. Have to say my horses lie down on it whether it is a sprinkle or a bigger bed. At the end of the day it is what works for the horse and you.
 
Well I only have my little shetland coming in at night (all the big boys live out). The stable is rubber matted and I just put down a small square of shavings. Because she's small she can fit on it if she lay down. I do the same if any of the other horses are stabled overnight for shows the next day and they dont tend to get filthy and both always lie down happily. Never had any problems of thrush of amonia as the stable slopes so pee just pours down the drain at the back. I hope to eventually have the other large stable done with matting as it is also used as a field shelter so matting would be so much easier than the current deep litter!
 
Ours are on rubber mats with about an inch of shavings on top of them, and a full straw bed on top of that. The shavings catch the wee and we never get any smell of ammonia. They are all fully mucked out every day.
 
My girl has rubber matting under full bed of shavings. The shavings used are brilliant and not dusty (cant remember what they are called)...she is a great roller and would often scrape the bedding away and end up rolling on concrete...so always use rubber matting underneath.
I did have her in a yard where it was only rubber matting with sprinkle of shavings..awful for her rugs and for her laying down...I asked constantly for a full bed and was prepared to pay for it so got more than a sprinkle in the end but still was not enough for her comfort and rugs to be non-stinking.
 
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IMO this practise is quite revolting TBH! The horses dont like it, and for them to be breathing and sleeping in all that ammonia is so toxic. Also makes their feet so thrushy not to mention really yukky rugs.

A full bed of shavings or straw every time for me am afraid.

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Surely stating that the horses don't like it is a bit of a gross generalisation?

My stable has good drainage so she isn't breathing in all the amonia. I've found that it actually smells much less because the wee is free to drain out the door rather than being soaked up to stay in the straw until you can muck out. My eyes used to water every night when I mucked out her full bed from the amonia smell, stabling on mats has no comparison for me.

D has excellent feet, never had a problem with thrush

I will admit that it makes your rugs mucky if you use a stable rug but its fine if you put a TO rug on in the stable. A good quality breathable rug is fine for overnight.

Yes it wouldn't be for every horse but surely its all about finding out what works for you and your horse. Daisy is happy and healthy and thats what matters to me
 
All of mine have a full bed on top of the mats. Two are lamintics, so need to have a good cushioned bed, two are arthritic, so they need a good bed too. I use Excel which is shavings with dust-extracted chopped straw - makes a lovely springy bed.
 
Ralph has rubber matting and a full chippings bed, cant stand the thought of him weeing on the rubber and then laying in it, plus being a big boy, I'm paranoid about him getting capped hocks
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IMO this practise is quite revolting TBH! The horses dont like it, and for them to be breathing and sleeping in all that ammonia is so toxic. Also makes their feet so thrushy not to mention really yukky rugs.

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Hmm having tried both have to say am in agreement with you on this. With just a bucket or two of shavings the stable was plain draughty and he and his rugs were filthy.

Now use a sort of 2/3 bed of straw, normal banks just not quite as thick
 
At my old yard, Chloe had rubber matting and a huge straw bed (when we first walked in there I nearly fainted - it was SO deep!) Took the mats away in the end, as they were really irritating to muck out with - much better without IMO, and we just made her bed twice as deep, with a rubber mat at the front. At current yard she's on a deep shavings bed without matting, just a a bit at the front. If your on shavings, I'd definately do a full bed without the matting.
 
QR: I use a 2/3 bed of about an inch or so of shavings over mats and he lives in his TO rug. Nothing smells and he is definitely better than last year when he had rubs on his hocks no matter how deep the bed was.
 
Mine have 2/3 inches of shavings on top on the mats. Horses lie down everynight, rugs aren't dirtier than normal, horses are happy and healthy with good feet!
 
[ QUOTE ]
IMO this practise is quite revolting TBH! The horses dont like it, and for them to be breathing and sleeping in all that ammonia is so toxic. Also makes their feet so thrushy not to mention really yukky rugs.

A full bed of shavings or straw every time for me am afraid.

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When you deep litter you're meant to not disturb the bottom layer as it releases the ammonia into the air. So, even when you muck out a full bed you disturb the ammonia and leave some behind. They'll always be at risk of the smells (unless we fit them with catheters), and a horse is far more at risk of thrush on a full bed not mucked out properly than rubber matting which is sweps / washed down daily.

Personally, I think people rely too much on matting. Was discussing this with a friend and agree that lots of people don't put enough bedding in to stop pee splashing back on the horses legs (which most of them hate).

I use a full bed of straw, mucked out daily, washed out once a week.
 
I was at one yard where there was just a little corner of shavings over the rubber mat which my horse hated. His rugs were filthy as were his legs (he's grey) and he disliked peeing as he missed the shavings corner and got splashed. He now has half of his stable shavings, which are quite deep over his rubber mats. This works really well for him. He likes to lie down and roll in his bed when not rugged, and in winter his rugs are never dirty, nor his legs. The clean rubber at the front is where his haynet is so its easy for him to eat the bits he's dropped and to sweep that bit out. He nalso only poos and pees on the shavings at the back half of his stable so its easy to muck out.
 
On a proper draining rubber mat they won't be standing in wee as it all drains away (certainly does on mine anyway). Therefore shouldn't increase risk of thrush, in fact, they should be drier than a wet shavings bed that has absorbed the wee before it could drain away??

I have a half bed on mine as I don't like the thought of him laying on the rubber (I'm sure he wouldn't mind though!).
 
Following on from yesterday....

My one horse doesnt lie down so it doesnt effect him having no bed. But I will make a mental note to self to ask him!

My mare is very clean. She does all her wees & poos on the straw I put down and she has good quality thick mats that have good drainage hence the no amonia smell. if she lies down she lies on the mats that are clean and dry. All my horses live in T/O rugs so the marks dont matter. There stables are completely mucked out and swpt every day.


In 3 years of doing this I have never had thrush, wee on legs capped hocks etc etc.

I have no choice with her if you read my post yesterday I could use alternative bedding and did try shredded papaer for a while which was awful smelly stuff. My other horse doesnt know any different but he is only 4.

My daughters pony has not a good quality mats but she gives him a straw bed but I have to say he smells a bit and tends to lie on the poo!!

I think this is a good post as veryone has there own way and whatever suits you is what you should do
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