Rubber matting - is it worth it?

[{123756}]

Im downsizing to one horse and was thinking about kitting out her stable with rubber matting. I've been having a look and the prices seem astronomical. Currently shes just on a concrete base but with a huge thick hunters bed and haven't had a problem with this but figured It would save me on bedding during winter by laying a thinner bed during the day and lay the rest of her bed at night. However having a look at some other peoples matting on the yard they don't seem very 'soft'. Im sure its a lot in difference with how much weight there is on horses but they just seem rock solid and smell awful. My bed gets fully aired out each day when i lift it however it seems with matted stables they are constantly wet underneath? don't know if this is normal?

 

[milliepops]

depends on how you manage it, as with everything.

With regard to softness, I have EVA mats rather than the heavy rubber ones and they are noticeably cushioned in comparison to the floor. I keep a small bed down all the time (pellets) and mine is dry.

Is it worth it? yes, for me, because the floors in my stables are slippery without the mats, and I only need to bed the back third of the stable.

I wouldn't worry about it being soft or not though- if you have some bed where they lay down so they don't rub their hocks and knees ... my little horse got down and rolled on the bare flagstone floor in my stables before I had a chance to pop a bed down. She didn't care at all - didn't look at all comfortable to me! but then they roll on the hard ground in the field/go to sleep on the wet grass etc. I concluded that we do a lot of things for *us* rather than for our horses!

 

[{123756}]

Ive had a look at the eva mats but there just so expensive!! I would have to save a few months to afford to mat my stable but im not going to put just any heavy duty rubber down because i don't believe it will benefit.

 

[Rollin]

I would not stop using litter because I had mats. I use small rubber mats for 50% of the loose box and bed as usual at the back. It saves time and money. Small mats are easy to lift and wash underneath. Cleveland Bays are prone to capped hocks so mats give good protection.

 

[Equi]

I have mats that were cattle ones so really soft, I can kneel comfortably on them and the horses would lie on the bits with no bedding. I got them cheap for like £30 of the whole stable but that's a one off second hand but they are great. I think they help keep the bed drier but then I have cobbles and good drain not sure how they would cope on concrete. One point though, the majority of mats down are down wrong (upside down) so if they seem poorly draining that's probably why lol

 

[Rowreach]

I'm hoping people think they're worth it (I certainly do) because I've got a lot of them to sell

 

[Clannad48]

I love them but they can get really stinky when you lift them, good ones are really, really heavy to lift as well. The best stable I ever had was one where the previous owner has laid a liquid rubber floor which went from wall to wall, properly sealed so nothing could get underneath it - no stinky smell underneath, saved on bedding and was lovely for the horse. I have promised myself that if ever we can own our own land and stables that this is the first thing that I will put down.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

ONLY have rubber matting if you have a stable with good drainage where everything can flow away; otherwise they're a total nightmare. You also need to have them properly fitted wall-to-wall, coz else what happens is that they'll slip and you'll get bedding banked up underneath them.

I had some rubber mats down in my stables here at home: got sick of having to take the cussed things up to hose out underneath, so got rid of them.

Life is soooo much easier now! I'd never go back to using them again.

 

[Evie91]

I wouldn't keep a horse without rubber mats now BUT they have to be fitted properly to prevent puddles and stink underneath. My old mare would often skin her hocks prior to mats even on quite a thick bed, they provide some insulation; would rather think horse in winter is stood on these as oppose to metal shoes on concrete floor (cold).

 

[nikkimariet]

I would always have rubber mats. For away shows where it isn't guaranteed I've bought slot together foam squares which do the job nicely.

Fig rolls and lays down a lot and he scrapes his hocks so badly without mats.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

I hate them. They are never dry underneath, no matter how good your stables drainage is, I've lifted them in summer when the horse hasn't been in the stable for a month and they're still wet underneath. Also, do you have your own land? Because it's a PITA transporting them when you want to move yards.

 

[milliepops]

They absolutely can be dry underneath. I've just moved 2 sets that have been down since Xmas into different stables. Horses have been on pellet beds for back third of the stable and they've been in either overnight or during the day every day since laying them.. no wet underneath at all. Mine are Eva and they are laid quite tight. I never take mine up unless moving, haven't ever had a wet problem

 

[Zipzop]

I also really dislike them and would never use them again. The wee just sits under them for all eternity until you can be bothered to lift them or have to move yards both of which are a huge PITA. No matter how much you think you can leave the bed up to air out the urine smell it will never go as it's under the mats. Gross. And so bad for your horses health.

 

[Nicnac]

Yes. They don't need to be soft - horses lie down on grass in the wild. Much cheaper than pure concrete as only use a bale of Hunters a week per stable (mine are out 12 hours a day in winter though and 24/7 in summer so guess cheaper than most to keep).

it was expensive to get the stables fitted with the mats but they are so well sealed I don't need to lift them.

 

[SO1]

I have half and half.

I have the amoeba mats on half the stable and the deep bed on the other half. This means he has a nice comfy area to lie on with a deep bed but he does not need to have bedding over the full stable. The area with no bedding has the mats and the area with the bedding is directly on concrete. This seems to work well. I am on part livery so I don't muck out and the bedding is included. However he never seems to wee or poo or lie down on the matted area {he is tidy normally and poos in one corner}

https://www.horsematshop.co.uk/shop...oebic-pattern-stable-mats-122m-x-184m-x-17mm/

 

[Cortez]

Mats are great, I've had mine down for 13 years and they really save the horses legs, are insulating and mean we use less bedding and still have warm horses. I take them up once a year and they are rarely wet, and then only at the doorway. But you must have a properly sloped floor so that wee drains out, and lay the mats very tight. I do have to trim them now and again as they expand a little over time. I have cow mats rather than the horse version - softer and cheaper.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I hate them with a passion I only have one mat at the front of the stable where there is no bedding so they are not standing on concrete, I have very thick straw and shavings beds right up to the mat and it works fine they never get damaged hocks, I would never go back to them unless I could afford the liquid rubber you lay down that seals to the edge of the stable.

 

[scats]

We have rubber matting in ours but also put full beds down, perhaps not quite as thick as I would with no mats but still much thicker than a lot of people. I like that if they kick the bedding out the way while rolling/lying down, they have the mats to stop them slipping as they get up.

A particularly wet horse can be a bit of a nightmare though, my geldings mats need to be lifted every so often.

 

[GirlFriday]

If they are properly sealed they would be great, kinder on joints and for lying IMHO. If not sealed best on a sloped floor and liftable at an edge/with plenty of texture underneath so that you can pop a hose /empty a water bucket under them daily whilst the bed is up to keep them from getting stinky.

I'm not one who believes horses need nests, they aren't birds! But what rubber mats are not is a substitute for enough bedding to soak up the pee.

 

[oldie48]

I've had mine down for over 15 years, they are showing signs of wear but they have paid for themselves several times over. I have very big Victorian stables which are correctly sloped and have channels in them, I put a bed in half and over the years have used shavings, aubiose, wood pellets and now use straw pellets. For me the most important thing is to ensure that the bed is compacted properly so it absorbs the stale rather than letting it run straight through. Straw is useless on rubber mats IMO unless there's something really absorbent underneath. I also have mats in the walkway as I think concrete can be very slippy.

 

[mums the groom]

I bought EVA mats for my boy, and they came in 1metre interlocking squares and they're great not heavy easy to take up to clean and very easy to move yard or stables
http://www.horsematsplus.co.uk/shop/eva-24mm-interlocking-comfort-mat-12-set-special/

they were more expensive than the rubber matting but they are so much easier to cope with and my bedding is just enough to soak the wet up so saves me a fortune.

 

[paddy555]

I have fieldguard mats in all my stables which are soft. I have had them for over 20 years and they have paid for themselves many times over. That systems uses very little bedding, just a sprinkling of shavings. The water drains through the gaps in the mats but you must lay them on a sloping concrete floor leading to a drain. That way the pee drains. The mats are tight and don't let smell through. They are also very small (around 20 x 40 inches ) so you can lift each mat with one hand when you come to pressure wash underneath them.
The horses love them and come in specifically to lie down on them rather than on the hard field!

I can understand people's comments about smell, drainage etc. I went to look at fieldguard mats before buying. They were dreadful. Stank to high heaven, rugs were filthy and they were beyond awful. I walked away but OH pointed out they were a disaster because of lack of preparation and drainage. He relaid some of our floors, drained them and the mats were brilliant. I think fieldguard gave them a 10 year lifespan and mine have managed 20 and look fit to go on for a while yet. I never have to worry about horses getting down to concrete. Whatever time of the day it is they are always on soft, warm rubber.

 

[booandellie]

whether they are worth it to you will depend on what type of floor your stable is, what type of bedding you use and your horses stable habits. In the past where i have had ridged stable flooring i have just had a nice deep bed with a mat at the front which worked fine for her as i like a thick bed and horse never got down to concrete but if she did, it was non slippy. Current horse is on slippy concrete base and despite the thick bed likes to dig holes so it is a safety feature more than anything and i use 1 less bale a month so does save me a bit of money. Generally i think the people who think they smell are using them with straw or as an excuse to just use a sprinkle of bedding which doesn't soak up the urine which then seeps under the mats. They are not an alternative in my view to a decent bed but a safety feature that in the long run does pay for itself

 

[tallyho!]

For me, no.

Deep litter full beds all the way.

 

[eggs]

I've been using rubber mats for years. I had my stable floors laid with a slight slope to a drain at the back.

I have 18' deep stables and put a thick (minimum 6") wood pellet bed down in the back half. I very rarely lift the mats but when I do they are dry underneath.

The trick is to have a sloping floor, well fitted mats and a deep enough bed. I originally just used to use a sprinkling of bedding but found that didn't work so well. Straw is a disaster with mats.

I like the fact that they are better insulated than just a concrete floor and that they save scrapes when the horse gets down to the base. To be softness doesn't really come into it as they happily lie down on the rock hard ground in their field.

 

[ElleSkywalker]

I have Equimats (Eva and rubber mix) in one stable and I love them. Don't need lifting ever as have a small pellet bed at back to absorb tiddle. They dont smell, are warm for the horse, good for hocks etc and super quick to muck. Am currently saving up to kit the other 4 stables out with them, anyone want to buy a kidney?!