Rubber matting for a smelly wet horse..

[Chloeap]

I've got a rather wet gelding, I'd quite like to get some rubber matting for his stable but don't want something that will leak/where all the wee will run under as don't think that's particularly nice or hygienic!
If anyone knows of anything that won't break the bank too much please let me know
Thank you!

 

[GirlFriday]

You have kind of two options really...

Go for something very sealed so nothing gets under or go for something very easy to lift/with good texture under so that it is easy to lift to wash under and wet will run away. Which is most cost effective might depend on how long you're planning on being in that same stable and what the flooring is like (texture, slope).

 

[catroo]

If you have mats and a join then wet will get underneath to some extent. I'm at a livery yard so didn't want the permanent sealed option and went for eva mats. I still use bedding to absorb the wet so very little gets underneath. I lift about four times a year for a really good scrub and dry out and there isn't much of a smell when I do

 

[asmp]

I gave up on my mats after some year as believe these caused my horse to have breathing problems. I had the heavy ones and they weighed too much for me to move on my own. The wee went under them. Last year I had him on a deepish bed of wood chips and he was much better (although also on haylage too)

 

[Horsekaren]

breathing problems?
because the wee went under the matts? sorry, i'm curious, I am laying mine on the weekend and that has worried me a little :/

I gave up on my mats after some year as believe these caused my horse to have breathing problems. I had the heavy ones and they weighed too much for me to move on my own. The wee went under them. Last year I had him on a deepish bed of wood chips and he was much better (although also on haylage too)

 

[cauda equina]

It depends not just on the mats, but on the sort/amount of bedding you put on top.
A good thick layer of wood pellets works best for a wet horse IME

 

[LHIS]

I'm trying my two without mats and just a nice deep bed. I was lifting then weekly to clean underneath, and the smell when I did was eye watering. There are some mats that come in smaller sections and go together like a jigsaw which would make moving them much easier, but they are also really expensive, I think it came out at nearly £300 per stable when I costed it.

 

[oldie48]

I've had rubber mats down for 17 years and have used a number of different beds on top. Mine are on little legs that allow any stale that goes through the joins to run under and I can lift one mat up where they join and put a hose down to flush out on a regular basis or if I start to smell anything unpleasant. I have geldings and they tend to wee in the same place so I will put extra bedding there. i would always have properly fitted rubber mats, mine are showing signs of wear and are broken in some corners but I've been able to move them around as obviously some get more wear than others, so there is an advantage in having mats that you fit together. They are not an excuse for sloppy habits though and if there is any smell of ammonia, they need a good clean but I find this is infrequent if the beds are managed properly. I have never taken all of mine out, the concrete base is sloped towards the door so the pee only goes under the mats in one area and it's been sufficient to lift those mats in the sprin g and give them a good clean under. I had a horse with mild COPD and he was fine. I take my big horse away from time to time and if he's on a bed with a concrete base, he can scrape his hocks, this never happens on his rubber bed and the rubber is definitely warmer too.

 

[asmp]

breathing problems?
because the wee went under the matts? sorry, i'm curious, I am laying mine on the weekend and that has worried me a little :/

I first had him on a thick straw bed but thinking the dust was causing the problem switched to wood chips . These soak up a fair amount but the wee still goes through the mat joins and sits underneath.

 

[Cecile]

I had my rubber mats put down years ago and I have never moved them as they can't be moved
Firstly I made sure the screed laid was on a slight slope with a hole at the back of the stables for any run off/drainage
The mats are huge and were fitted and sealed with some sort of marine/boat sealant
I use shavings on top, skip out or chuck the bed up every so often and remove the whole bed before the grab lorry comes
and then jet wash the stables

 

[Nik90]

I bought rubber mats from the tack shop and just laid them down and I haven't had any issues. My gelding is very wet and likes to dig up his bed so was scrapping his hocks on the concrete. Can't have done his old joints much good either.
I clean the stable over the summer and wash the mats with green goop, then add a bed of wood pellets. I haven't had anything disgusting under the mats with this and it doesn't smell. It smells much better than straw and is much drier than shavings. He does live out for as much as possible, often only in for odd nights until January and back out late February/early march.

 

[ElleSkywalker]

I have equimats, they can be lifted but I never have as they have jigsaw joins so nothing gets underneath. The beds don't smell (wood pellets) and occasionally I leave the bedding up to let top of mats dry which they do very quickly even in winter.

One of mine particularly wees a lot and even her bed is not smelly.

Yes they are expensive but I wouldn't use other mats for all the reasons above

 

[Fiona]

I have EVA mats fitted tightly together, and they rarely need lifted. I use a mixture of pellets and shavings on top, with more bedding where needed (ie where horse pees).

Bed is probably half of what I would use without mats.

Mats have lasted 16 years in two stables without much wear.

FIona

 

[windand rain]

Rubber mats stink unless covered by a normal or big bed they cause breathing problems if they get wet underneath and the ammonia is eye wateringly bad. I am allergic to latex and I would guess so are some horses which exacerbates the situation. I do think with a good deep bed of shavings (which I hate) or pellets (ditto) they are great as they are warmer and softer than concrete floors. I cannot use them anyway so it is a bit irrelevant to me. Mine live out 24/7 so much better for them and in many ways although it is harder and more expensive to keep them that way it is my choice to do this

 

[pip6]

I have a wet mare in a large stable. The front 2/3 of the stable is covered in rubber mats, the back 1/3 I use Verdo European wood pellets. It's very rare she does a poo anywhere other than on the pellets, and her wee is always in the pellet bed. When previously on straw she was a nightmare she was so wet and messy, and I just can't get on with shavings. This combination of mats/Verdo has slashed my mucking out times, the mats are always dry so don't need lifting and never smell. I've gone from taking out 3 barrows of straw a day to 1 barrow of pellets. It's amazing. Don't know if a gelding would work as well given they pee more in the middle of the stable, I'd go for 2/3 Verdo and 1/3 matting.
P.S. I have no connection with Verdo! Just recommending them as I have found them to be brilliant.