rubber matting does it save money on bedding

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cellie

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As in the title -in your experience does matting save money on bedding.I currently use hemcore which is very absorbant but expensive and semi deep litter.
Where do you recommend for buying matting and what price would you expect to pay for 12 by 10 stable .
Thought I would get some opinions before I commit
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I used 5 mats in my 10x12 stable at a cost of £23 a mat. I haven't worked out whether it has saved me money yet but I suspect it has done because I use a tiny amount of bedding compared to everyone else on my yard. It all depends on whether you plan to use less bedding when you have mats.
 
hello,
i have bought the eva mats from robinsons they are £50 per sheet, but worth every penny!! it cost me £300 or a 12x12 stable

they are like equimat but chaeper and thicker,you can lift them by yourself- which is a godsend believe me, when you want to clear the underneath out!!
the cheap black rubber ones, generally off ebay are really uncomfortable and hard, i have used both types and me horse actually lies down on the thich eva stuff from robinsons with only 1 slab of straw on!!!!!!!

i have had the eva mats for around 2 months now- for the first month i still put big banks, but just a sprinkle on the floor and found i was using 2 bales of straw per week £4 weekly- isn't too bad

but then for the last month he had strangles so i was putting the poo from the middle on to the banks and only used 1 slab of straw per night and he still continued to lie down- and that only £2 per week!!

they must lie down on the eva as it is insulating and had a certain amount of squidge to it!!
 
The intention is to use less.I have moved to new yard and dont have the option of 24 hour turnout in the summer but thought that if they came in for 4 to 5 hours during the heat of the day it might be practical to leave only small amount of bedding rather than big bed that I use during winter months.Plus my new mare is filthy
 
Thanks thats interesting because I was going to go for the cheaper option.Will have a look at robinsons catalogue.
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Well i was using 1 bale every 10-14 days with dream as i only used to sprinkle down.
As shes on box rest now im using straw, given her a resonable sized bed!
But if thats ur plan then yes i deffinatley think your'll save, its also so easy & takes half the time!
Oh and can't remember what company i got mine from but googled it a rang around to get a few prices.
 
Daisy has the 18mm mats and definitely lies down on them. They are fairly solid but quite comfortable if you try sitting on them yourself. If you think about horses that live out they sleep very happily on bare ground, they don't go and find a bush to lie on.
 
the horses that live out have acres to roam around to find a comfortable spot not a 12x 12 stable.

i was only sayin for that bit extra you can really notice the difference- it is personal preference

ps if you ring robinsons they will send you samples of each matt
 
Try horsemats.co.uk (??) very good value and they offer a range of mats to suit all budgets.

They are in North Essex, so if you can collect, it works out much cheaper.
 
I invested in a set of Equi mats last year - it cost around £300 to fit out the stable. The mats are fantastic. I can't compare them with cheaper mats, as I've not used them. I bought them really as a labour saving devise, and the make bedding down the horse better. I found that even with a good deep litter bed he would go down to the concrete.

I must say that I don't think I've saved any money on bedding. I still put in between 2 and 3 bales a week. However, the time it's saved on mucking out a messy horse has been invaluable.
 
I think it does save you money in the long run if you aren't putting down a 'full' bed of something like shavings.
I was using paper when i first had matting and was only using one bag a week at £3.50 per bag. Moved yards and went onto shavings and was only putting down a small bed, but found i was taking out loads each day, so put in a thicker bed and found it more cost effective. Then i found i was putting in two + bales per week and as the cost of shavings were going up i decided to swap to straw. After all we're only paying for something for our horses to toilet on and throw out again.
With straw i think you have to put down more of a 'full' bed on mats other wise the wet will just run out of the stable or build up under the mats. So i now have a full bed of straw on mats, but i'm not worried if she manages the move the bed around to floor as she has the matting underneath.
Oops gone a little off topic . . .
 
Yes it saves some money and a huge amount of time.

Delia - went from 10 bales of straw a week to 3/4 of shavings - she box walked so just had a pee spot.

Cairo - went from 3 bales of shavings to 1, ditto Fleur - they had a 3" thick bed over the back half of the stable.

Farra - went from 3 bales of shavings to 1 bag of megazorb - and from 30 mins mucking out to 10 mins max, including cleaning out the haybar.

I am going to do Chancer's stable this year and go to megazorb for both of them as shavings are so expensive now. I am hoping I can still get Stablelite mats - costs about £350 to do a 12 x 12 stable - expensive but after 9 years mine still look like new even with a clydesdale on them.
 
I have mats down in all 4 of my stables - they are all equimats. The oldest mats are about 12 years old approx - and I just replaced them in October last year. 12 years for £300 ish - can't complain about that at all.

I haven't had different makes of mats myself, but I do know people who have had cheaper mats and they just haven't lasted. I guess it depends on what your horse does on them and how they are looked after - but something to bear in mind.

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I went from using 1-2 bales of shavings per week, to using 1 bale of shavings every 2-3 weeks!!! My mare is very tidy.
 
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