Rubber matting...am I mean?

springgrass

springgrass

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I HATE them! And have finally ditched them all together at my new yard. I have my boy on a big, 6 inch bed over back half of his stable. It's shavings mixed with a bit of aubiose to help absorb the pee. Mucking out is a joy! He seems so much cleaner...I think the pee soaks into the concrete to be honest so I make sure I air it out daily and will disinfect the pee spot regularly.
He still lays down and rolls as he is covered in shavings when I arrive in the he mornings.
My question is, am I cruel? I'm very aware that concrete isn't as soft as rubber. I just really, really hated sweeping the bobbly matts and found them to be smelly underneath, and even with a big shavings bed on top I found him more dirty and wet as the pee that didn't find it's way underneath would sit on top of the matts and soak into the shavings. What are other peoples opinions?
 
I wouldn't say so. I've only been using rubber matting for the last 6 months, having had horses for 8 years. Big thick beds are the answer!
 
Nope, I don't like using them either. With the exception of the ultra expensive ones that are sealed to the walls I've never come across ones that haven't ended up completely icky or that moved in some way.

I've never had a problem not using them, I keep a deep clean bed on most of the stable and a bit of bare concrete at the front where the hay, feeds and water goes. Never had any cuts, scrapes or capped hocks and horse lies down every night and daytime too if in - seems perfectly happy to me and much more hygienic :)
 
No, if he has a decent bed you're just doing what the rest of us did for years before they existed. I would want a full bed though, not a half one for the horse to be able to properly roll and lie down safely.

I only have mats as my horse digs beds up and rolls. I just want to make sure she doesn't scrape knees or hocks. I put them in the other stables as we did DIY and people seem to want them, but don't really need them now.
 
Feel slightly better now thanks :)
We were down to having just three matts under the shavings at last yard so it's been a gradual transition.
I dream of easy to sweep, sealed, water tight matting, but until I win the lottery a massive bed will have to suffice!
 
He does have a big stable so back half is plenty enough for him to roll on.
When we moved there was an unexpected delay so I had to put him back in his freshly disinfected stable for two hours. I just out down a flap of straw. More for him to pee on really...it covered the back quarter of the stable. When I returned he was laying on that small patch of straw, curled up like a little dog! Not bad work for a 16.1 TB. He did look very sweet ☺️
 
I too, detest rubber mats. Most don't seem to work well with bedding leading to unhygenic, smelly stables. If used without bedding its easier to keep clean but the horses don't like to wee on it and end up covered in wee and poo when they lie down.

However, I don't think a 6" bed is thick enough on concrete base. I have aprox 10" beds and whilst it makes the mucking out harder with having to dig down for the wet, I like that there is never a bit in the middle that's been scraped down to concrete as they get up or move around in the night.
 
10"!! Blimey!
But to be fair, if I was finding 'bare' patches of concrete he would definitely get a bigger bed.
His bed is very firm and my fork doesn't touch concrete when stabbed into the bed.
It's taking a bit of getting used to not having the matting, but so far I prefer it
 
Erm, rubber mats never used to exist for horses and they all survived!! I have over 26 years horse experience and only used rubber mats for about two of those to try them. I got rid as they were pointless. If you manage a bed properly, there is no need for them whatsoever IMO, unless you literally just sprinkle a tiny amount of bedding over them for minimal bedding usage, but I found this method to be pretty disgusting and not acceptable for my mare so that got scrapped instantly for a deep litter bed of hemp or shavings.
 
I neither love them or hate them. They are a fairly recent option, in the past it was either straw on concrete or earth, or deep litter. I was called cruel when we didn't have them once, however I pointed out that during a very dry summer the ground is often just as hard and no different from concrete and the horse had no problem lying down when out 24/7. I only hated the mats when I used to lift them to clean twice or three times a year. OMG the stink nearly made me pass out and I had to wear a mask and put a dab of Vick in each nostril. I have only once loved them, that was when we were in a stable with sealed wall to wall rubber flooring, on a very slight slope towards the door. Our mare now has a large stable with three quarters matting with the front concrete, she also has a reasonably deep (6-7cm) bed over the matting (hemp) which seems to soak up the wee and so far has not needed me to lift the mats to clean underneath.
 
I don't particularly like rubber mats, and I think they can encourage slapdash 'housekeeping'. I really don't like half beds, though, as I think it is far too easy for the horse to end up on the concrete, or for the bedding to move and become very thin. I also prefer the horse to have a dry, clean area available to lie on.
 
I like mine. I don't tend to put shavings down in summer, or if i do it is one bag that lasts until there is nothing left. I only bring in sparingly and only if the horse refuses to back out cause of rain or whatever. He lies down on it and is none the worse for it.
 
I hated the hard rubber bobbly mats. I now have EVA ones over the whole flable floor and a half bed of shavings at the back. It took the mats a couple of moths to bed in but now they are great. I use a bale of shavings and a bin bag of shreded paper a week and my bed is around 4-5 inches deep. The mats are lovely to walk and sit on so must be nice to lie on too and dont seem to get smelly. I'm not sure I would want a shod horse on them though
 
I have mats because my boy has Wobblers so we felt it was a good precaution to take. Luckily though we have thin non-porous ones (I'm also on full livery so don't have to deal with them!) and in the past when I've had the thick playground mat style they were foul as they just soaked up the pee.
 
I don't use rubber mats, never have. My horse has a nice thick straw bed, deep enough so that if you drop the fork down you can't hear it hitting concrete. Never had any issues.
 
Springgrass
I had been looking into rubber matting for my 3 boxes. But have seen others on the yard with them unless you lift them regularly and are meticulous about hygiene the smell coming out of one or two peoples rubber matted boxes on the yard is not nice at this time of year. Having lifted one box worths in helping someone move boxes I decided not to invest in rubber matting but to continue with nice deep straw beds which I would happily bed down in. They are so deep that the tines of my fork do not make contact with the floor. Call me old fashioned but I love a nice deep straw banked box.
 
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I have a 2x2 rubber mat.

my horse developed hock sores over winter, and even with a 6" thick bed and bandages on his hocks they were getting worse. Got the mat so it covered his floor and they healed very quickly - so mats are great for horses who are prone to hock sores through lying down, rolling etc and even with thick beds end up scattering them.

his new stable is bigger than the old, so the mat looks tiny now and is placed in the corner he seems to sleep in. the smell when mucking out is awful, but once it's lifted it's lifted. my mat is quite thin and has 'drains' on the underside as well.

I think with bedding it's what works best for your horse - some horses are fine without mats whilst some need the extra cushioning.
 
I never understand why people think mats aren't easy to keep clean, if stable hygiene is good, you don't have smelly mats or the floor underneath. I'd hate to go back to bare floors, I've had Kraiburg mats for about 14 years now. They're still as good as new and don't smell, slip or prevent drainage.
 
No, OP, you're not mean. Not having a deep enough bed and no mats would be mean.

I like mats and a deep bed. Mine don't smell, even when we lift them to move stables.
 
Both my stables have rubber matting & I use pellet bedding on the top. The bed is clean & there's no smell. Mine don't get wet & dirty undermeath because the mats are fitted properly & tightly together. Half the problem people have is because they throw the mats in & don't fit them correctly.
 
Like Moomin1 I've worked in the equine industry for decades and loath rubber mats with a passion.

People have forgotten why they originally came into being circa mid 70's they were to cushion the legs of stabled horses so that they were not standing on unyielding concrete 24/7 not so that people could reduce bedding to a minimum.

You're not being cruel just practical. Unless sprayed on wall to wall urine gets under them and they stink!

For your concrete floor buy a bag of garden lime and sprinkle over the wet area each day. It neutralises the ammonia smell.

I also agree a 10" bed with shavings is best as they do move around until they compact. If possible I only remove dung from shavings and leave the bed undisturbed.
 
Tnavas said:
Like Moomin1 I've worked in the equine industry for decades and loath rubber mats with a passion.

People have forgotten why they originally came into being circa mid 70's they were to cushion the legs of stabled horses so that they were not standing on unyielding concrete 24/7 not so that people could reduce bedding to a minimum.

You're not being cruel just practical. Unless sprayed on wall to wall urine gets under them and they stink!

For your concrete floor buy a bag of garden lime and sprinkle over the wet area each day. It neutralises the ammonia smell.

I also agree a 10" bed with shavings is best as they do move around until they compact. If possible I only remove dung from shavings and leave the bed undisturbed.
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Thanks for the practical advice :)
Having read a few peoples comments I will make his bed even deeper. I'm barely taking any out since ditching the mats so spending a few extra quid on bulking his bed out more won't matter much
 
I use mats at the front of my stable. He has a large, thick shavings bed at the back which overlaps the mats by about a foot. I like to keep the front of the stable clear but don't like bare concrete, so have the mats for him to stand on when eating his hay or looking out.

They don't smell as he pees in the middle of his bed, but I still lift and disinfect the mats regularly, which is whenever I do the concrete.

ETA: I wouldn't consider it mean for not using rubber mats. As long as the horse has a clean & comfortable bed, that's all that matters.
 
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Pearlsasinger said:
I don't particularly like rubber mats, and I think they can encourage slapdash 'housekeeping'. I really don't like half beds, though, as I think it is far too easy for the horse to end up on the concrete, or for the bedding to move and become very thin. I also prefer the horse to have a dry, clean area available to lie on.
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They only cause slapdash house keeping if you allow it too.
My horses have beds and mats .
That way however much they roll about about they can never damage themselves on the hard floor .
Rubber mats do need to mean inadequate beds .
 
I use Eva mats as my lad shivers, and he finds it much more comfortable to stand on mats than concrete. If he's in at night, he then also gets a half bed of shavings.

The Eva ones are lights and easy to lift, and my stables slopes to the door, so really easy to keep clean underneath. Also means I don't need to maintain a bed in summer, I can just bank all the bedding up for easy cleaning when he is in for short periods.

My boy loves to wee on his, he always weds on the mats rather than the shavings, he's a funny old thing!!

However whilst mats work well for me and are clean, comfortable and easy, it doesn't mean you are cruel if you don't use them!!
 
We've used playground type porous mats for 22yrs(same ones!). They never smell, are very thick, about 50mm and have little legs underneath. If you lift one it is usually dry underneath and not unpleasant at all. There is also a little ecosystem of dung beetles under there busily cleaning up so I find they are best left undisturbed.on top we use wood pellets.
I can't understand anyone wanting to use thin non-porous mats . They shift and get slippy when wet and as for having to keep removing them, well what a pain in the ar*e!
 
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