Rubber matting and straw?

[Lill]

Does this work?

Is it worth doing??

Or best to use shavings?

 

[alicedove]

I know someone who uses exactly that, because she's very very tidy and clean person, and doesn't like the idea of bits stuck to the horses! Rubber matting is always good, whatever its under.

The stuff you put on top is only a matter of choice, you'd have to use lots of straw just to take up the wee but with shavings you should be able to use less since you have that padding effect, already. Trouble is you get very dirty horse/rug as they lay in the muck as there's no shavings for the poops to drop into and cover it up. So I use aquamax (like shavings only finer) and a fair amount, with rubber.

It's quite quick to muck out as you can pick out the muck and wet very easily, unless you have a box walker.

 

[saskia295]

This is exactly what I use and find that it works well. You don't have to use as much straw as you would if there was no rubber matting and it gives good draught protection. However, if your horse eats the straw it may be worth looking at another type of bedding, as Armhole has suggested. I guess it depends on your horse and of course your pocket!

 

[Morrigan_Lady]

We had Max on Rubber matting and straw and it was awful but only coz he's SO messy and dirty! I think it would be fine with a clean tidy horse.

 

[aran]

I use to use rubber matting with a sprinkling of shavings/megasorb with a straw bed on top. He was very clean like this - just straw or just shavings was really mucky. The shaving absorbs the wet but the straw keeps the horse dry when he lay down and the straw stops the droppings breaking up in the shavings.

 

[alicedove]

Good plan, I've got stacks of hay (this summer's, like gold dust!) but my horse and pony don't like it, I think I'll use that on top.

 

[Lill]

Well i'm being spoiled because B DID buy rubber mats for 3 stables which includes Blue's stable!

BUT we're now unsure what to do about bedding.... B's suggested shavings but they are very expensive and we'd want the beds about 6 inches deep all over...?

 

[Tia]

I use rubber matting and some straw. Very cheap and works well. I don't use a full bed, just sprinklings of straw as you would with shavings.

 

[spaniel]

Be prepared to sweep wee puddles if you bed on straw over mats. Its cheaper than shavings but you dont get any suck, wee just drains through to the mats.

 

[Lill]

Hmm so i've got

Straw

Bad
Possible wee puddles
Probably have to clean mats thoroughly more often?

Good
Cheaper
Always used it
Lovely big deep bed and banks

Shavings

Bad
Dirty rugs
Expensive
Sticks to horse

Good
Quicker to muck out as probably less bed?
Soaks up wee


SOOOOOOOOOOO which to choose??

Would straw really leave wee puddles? Don't get wee puddles on concrete, wet patches but not puddles?

 

[saskia295]

I can't say I've seen a wee puddle in my horse's stable! But you might do, if you only have a sprinkle of straw down.

 

[custard]

I use straw over rubber because our stable floors are flat and Wills a dirty git on shavings. I muck out as normal then re use the lightly used bedding on the bottom along with the bitty short stuff that falls to the floor. I then put the nice fresh stuff on top, probably not as thick as a normal bed and only 2/3 of the stable. Works fine

 

[Tia]

I don't get wee-puddles.

 

[spaniel]

I might have got the wrong end of the stick. If you put down what I call a 'proper' straw bed ie a good thick one then you wont get puddles. But if you are going to use straw as a sprinkle as you might do with shavings (I personally have a deep bed of shavings on mats as I dont like the sprinkle method) then you will get puddles.

 

[Tia]

Ah the problem is the "sprinkle" word I think - I "sprinkle" about half a bale of straw in my beds as opposed to 2 bales per night for a full bed. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[spaniel]

S' okay, now Im with it!

 

[angiebaby]

I use both, straw on mats for the little shetalnd who is very clean, ( just one section a week!) straw on mats for our NF pony who is also clean ( half a bale for bed then add about one section every few days ) However my pony is very dirty, walks it in so half a bale of shavings twice a week and full muck out every day! ( dirty dirty beast!

)

 

[disco]

I use straw with my equimat rubber matting.

Only because I bought the matting for where I used to keep my horse because they couldn't take straw waste plus the stable doors where kept open 24/7 straight onto the field.

I've since moved to another yard where they can take straw waste so I put the matting down purely because I'd got it already. I wouldn't take it away though!