Rubber matting - advice and your thoughts appreciated please

[MyBoyChe]

As it says really! I have never used rubber matting before and never think it looks very comfy, however, my new boy gets a bit stressed if the other horses are turned out within sight of his box and can quickly turn his bed to mush. I wondered whether to try rubber matting with a layer of shavings rather than the straw I'm currently using. He's a TB and quite fine boned so I'm a bit worried he'll feel chilly or may damage himself if he rolls. The box is 12'x12' and I thought I'd cover the back 2/3 in matting with a concrete strip left at the front with shavings over the rubber. Just looking for thoughts really on whether this sounds OK for a messy boy.

 

[Maisy]

I have to say, certainly if he is stressed his stable will probably end up *stinking* and he will be filthy if he lies down!! His rugs will probably smell pretty ripe too!!!

I used to help out someone who had her horses on rubber matting and a scattering of shavings, and my husband knew when I had been there as I stank of horse urine!!!!!

 

[AmyMay]

I put rubber matting down in the winter for my horse. I do actually put down quite a lot of shavings because it soaks up the pee, and I do like the horse to have a decent bed still.

If you do put matting down, and your horse is going to box walk ensuring that you have mucked out and swept back the bed before the other horses start going out should help keep it clean I'd have thought.

I put Equimats down - which cost around £300 for the stable.

 

[LCobby]

I would do the whole box, the front will get more wear as he looks out at the other horses.
And and edge of matting will get wet and bedding under it, and ruck up. Then use an absorbent bedding on the back half of the box.

We have non porous non-darining mats, so they sweep out better than concrete. No pooling under them, and bed is as warm and dry, if not more so, than a normal bed.
WHen we use a traditional straw bed when staying away, I really notice the smell.
But we do have a half bed, not just a scattering, of shavings.
And Equimats, which interlock and are easy to trim for a neat edge to edge fit,

 

[itsmyparty]

We also have a thin-skinned TB and use rubber mats with shavings. He is very wet. He has two mats at the back (leaving a gap where the banks go) and one at the front, so his feet are level. His water buckets go where the gaps are at the side. He has about 4" shavings on top of the mats. I would feel that his skin is just too thin for just a sprinkling. He only has to look at a hard surface to get a scrape. As he's over 17hh he tends to wee in the same sopt in the middle of the stable (he can't really get to the other spots !) and so we scrape back the top layer of dry shaving and then dig out the wet bit underneath. Get through about 2 bales of Bliss a week, sometimes more.

 

[AmyMay]

Of course the other thing that will help you with regards to the 'pee' question, is to catch as much in a bucket as possible.

We have one horse on the yard that will pee on command - so very rarely pee's in his bed. And Thumper is such a creature of habit, 9 times out of 10 I catch his too.

 

[custard]

[ QUOTE ]
I would do the whole box, the front will get more wear as he looks out at the other horses.
And and edge of matting will get wet and bedding under it, and ruck up. Then use an absorbent bedding on the back half of the box.

[/ QUOTE ]

Seconded, IME it much depends on the drainage as to how good any make of mat is and have come across very few floors with sufficient 'fall' to stop it pooling underneath. For this reason you need to first clean out the box and chuck a couple of bucketfulls of water down to see where it runs to. If it's anything other than straight outside then you need mats with a smooth underside and very absorbent bedding to soak up urine.

Again if he is messy and box walks/gets upset mat the box wall to wall otherwise they will move and get bedding trapped underneath, very messy and indeed dangerous should he get a foot under the mats when getting up or down.

I'd say either Equimats which lock together or the thickest rubber you can afford. The snag with Equimats is you have to cut them to fit the stable, a problem if you then move whereas rubber mats will just curve up the walls without the need to cut.

 

[MyBoyChe]

Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions. It's his comfort than concerns me most but I'm thinking that if we carry on as we are we'll be using about 6 bales of straw a week and like most others, I need to think carefully about costs. We've only been at the yard since July, it's a very small DIY with 5 other horses who all go out at about 6.30am, I arrive at 7 so it's only half an hour but he must walk constantly judging by how churned up the bed is. The other ponies all belong to 2 girls and although I know they would if I asked, it's unfair to ask them to turn my lad out, they have enough to do before they leave for work. It may be that in time he'll learn the routine and be less worried, he is an ex racer though and I suppose he panics when he's left behind. So far , this is the only stressy thing that he does, doesn't crib or windsuck and is OK in the field on his own, also happy in on his own if he's first in Also when I go to him he doesn't barge past me to get out, has very good manners on the whole. I suppose the sensible thing to do would be put down the matting as this will make the floor softer on his joints anyway, he usually rolls on fresh bedding, and then decide whether to carry on using straw to see if he settles and if not try an absorbent bedding is a smaller quantity.
AmyMay, have a great image of you standing at the stable door, bucket in hand, ready to dive under your boy!!

 

[scotsmare]

I bought mats last year for two of mine and I hated them, I think the floors were slightly to blame as there wasn't sufficient run off. I took the whole lot up and haven't used them since.

 

[AmyMay]

[ QUOTE ]
AmyMay, have a great image of you standing at the stable door, bucket in hand, ready to dive under your boy!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Ha, Ha - I'm like a thing possessed.

Of course, the simplist and cheapest option is to get to the yard at 6.30 to turn your horse out with the others. This will mean that he is comfortable physically and mentall.....

I had an ex steeple chaser for a time, and the key to keeping him sane and stress free was to ensure that he wasn't left in when everything else was being turned out. Like yours he was more than happy to be in the field on his own, so whilst I had him I made the extra effort to get to the yard earlier than normal to ensure he was one of the first out.

Made him a much happier, stress free lad. And it also ensured a tidy bed.

 

[Bosworth]

I have rubber matting in every stable - 16 horses. we have a variety of horses and a variety of bed sizes. I have a 17'2 DWB who is a saint in the stable. he poos in one spot and enormous pile by morning but never walks it in. He has a good bed, but has to have rubber matting as he is so big he goes through every bed and can damage his elbows and hocks on concrete even with a huge thick bed. I have a yearling who is seriously messy in his stable. he has a small bed I can clear out every day. It is far more comfortable sleeping on rubber matting than a field so as long as he has some bedding to absorb his pee he is comfortable. We have others that have a small deep bed, one which has an enormous bed. I have an old boy who has a good bed as he pees in gallons but is arthritic and so needs every comfort he can.

I sould never use Straw as a bedding as it does not absorb anything and is too easy for a big horse to push through. I always use nature best/woody pet bedding or aubiose as that soaks up any pee. I don't lift my mats as they are fitted and sealed. All stable floors are completely covered as mats have a tendency to migrate if there is space to do so.

Would never stable my own horses without rubber matting.

 

[ISHmad]

Ours are all on rubber matting. We put a layer of shavings down to catch the wee and a full straw bed on top of that. We got them to keep the horses warmer in winter and avoid stress to their joints.

I hate it when people just sprinkle a tiny amount of shavings down on top of them. The horses and their rugs end up minging.

 

[MyBoyChe]

So AmyMay and Bosworth, all I need to do is teach him to pee in a bucket and poo in one corner and I've cracked it!! Think it might be easier to get up at 6.30am, although he is quite bright!! Seriously though, thanks all for opinions, much appreciated and interesting comments. I'm tempted to go for matting for comfort and safety to his joints and experiment with what else works best on the absorbency front. Wish me luck, he's my first horse for 8 years and I'd forgotten how much I missed it all!