rubber stable mats

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kombikids

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whats the general consensus - are they worth it time and money wise? Can anyone recommend any good/cheap companies? I have a 2 year old child so need to cut down the time hes spending freezing whilst i muck out!!! any other handy hints for time cutting in winter? much appreciated!
 
Think they are great. They make mucking out easier and quicker as you can use less bedding (in fact our horses would be happy to lay down without any bedding but we put a small bed down to make it cleaner). We have the really thick mats and they are lovely (but very heavy!).
 
i think if you can afford them they are nice - but a good thick bed is just as good! They do save time mucking out and there is no worry about capped hocks - but the down side is that it gets a bit smelly underneath and is hard work pulling them out to clean them.
 
Ive just bought Arch some and love them. I got mine off ebay, its a propa company and they are £25 per mat, the cheapest Ive found by far.
Arch used to cut himselt b4 I got them, even with a really deep bed. Now I have mats and use Bed Down and its takes seconds to muck out (Arch is very clean though)
 
I have them in one of my stables, ordered direct from cobra who i found on ebay.
They delivered them to me on a pallet next day cost me £150 and OMG how easy is it to clean that stable now!
The other two take me a lot longer. So will be investing in more to fill the other two stables this winter so i dont have to take long to muck out and more time riding
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My older horse also finds it warmer too
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as he suffers with arthritis
 
Had them at the yard i groomed at, looked after 5 warmbloods (n 1 large offspring) in v large stables. No need to deep litter but still as quick but a lot more hygenic and more pleseant for everyone! used to take me about an hour to do all five stables and had to muck out properly everyday, not just skip out. Also alot nicer for the horse, alot warmer and softer on their joints. plus you save on bedding obviously. I think some compnies tell you how long it takes to pay for itself. Try ebay, thers loads on there and robinsons do a liquid one.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I have them in one of my stables, ordered direct from cobra who i found on ebay.
They delivered them to me on a pallet next day cost me £150 and OMG how easy is it to clean that stable now!
The other two take me a lot longer. So will be investing in more to fill the other two stables this winter so i dont have to take long to muck out and more time riding
smile.gif

My older horse also finds it warmer too
smile.gif
as he suffers with arthritis

[/ QUOTE ]

So all 3 are here for the winter?! inc Mr Snoops? Any update on situation hon? Hope you have it sorted some how
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ive got think but really light ones and all i do is muck out as normal during the week but at the weekend i put the bedding up the wall and lift the matts to let the floor dry. really easy!
 
Not at the moment.
Thanks for asking.
The loaner fell threw unfortunately for winston. ATM all horses are on holiday in the field. So cant sell snoop until hes back in work but he is up for sale
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However, if i can continue to teach which i am doing (two a week) then that will pay for one horses livery
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which means i can afford to keep them all
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just cant afford to compete them ARGH!
Hey ho!
Im trying to find ways of keeping everything down this winter and putting matting in will help.
Im thinking of giving lessons on winston too which might help? dunno. Anything to be able to keep all my horses lol
But if someone offers me the money i want for snoop he will be gone.

Hows the sale of Cruz going?
 
Shame about the loaner
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Even if you can keep them and not afford to compete at the mo that is something isnt it, well better then nothing!!!! Then keep teaching and hopefully afford to compete Snoops
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Sale is going ok - market a bit slow at the mo but have someone coming to look Friday and have had quite a few calls, she will go on Horseselect soon and will stay advertised until sold! I can not have 3 over xmas!! not all in work anyway! so fingers crossed
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I havent cleaned mine yet lol
But shall lift them this weekend and clean them.

Ive always been one for HUGE straw beds for warmth and protection. But now I only put in a bale which lasts ages.
I cannot believe it only takes me about a minute to clean out my older horse who is a real dirty bugger to clean up usually.
 
Yeah guess so.
HOpefully I will be able to afford the odd dressage competition and the EHOA lessons will come in handy in the spring.

Hopefully if i can get a few more to teach then that wil really help
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pay for diesel then lol

Fingers x for cruz
I am gutted yovue got to sell her.
 
I was very lucky and managed to get second hand ones off ebay. I paid about £80 for two big stables worth. They've really helped alot to speed up mucking out. They are really heavy to move around so I only lift them once a year and give them a good thorough clean - usually in the spring when they've just gone out 24/7. The stable isn't used over the summer so it stays ready for the winter. If I had her in over summer as well I would definately do it at least twice a year if not more.
 
I have 2 on and 2 off...... I take one barrow out of in total from the matted stables and I take 3 barrows out of the other 2 in total so saves on my much heap

I love mine.... I put bedding down too but not as much, they can get smelly but not really that much of a problem really

There is a ad in Farmers Guardian this week with them from £21
 
I get mine out once a year and jet wash them and the stable. They don't smell (the shavings soak up the wee) but you can also use special disinfectant on them if needed. I sometimes wash them down without getting them out too if needed
 
I'm really not sure what I'm going to do now. I was going to have rubber mats in 5 stables with Flax bedding, but now I think I'm going to just have 2 mats in each (6 x 4ft) for the front and then deep litter (which is what I've always done) for the bed.
 
Have rubber matting for both of mine. Jig is at the local college at the moment so don't muck him out but they don't seem to use as much bedding for him as I used to use a week when I didn't have rubber matting.
Alisha's bed is always a complete mess in the morning, but only takes me 10 mins with the rubber matting, used to take me at least 20mins before I got matting. She always poo's in the same place and then mashes it all around so don't put any bedding there so easy to sweep out and then she has a small amount of bedding everywhere else to soak up the wee!
 
ive got them and love them used to deep litter my 17 hander and he was a dirty so and so ! now hes great and really clean and gives me peace of mind with him being so big, no matter how deep his bed was he always used to manage to scrape himself ! i was lucky and got second hand ones, only 12 motnhs old ! £50 for the lot, i lift them twice a year, just before winter and after spring when they go out x
 
ive got them and i love them! takes 5 mins to do 2 stables (we use rubber matting with a sprinkleing of shavings to stop the splash, so we just brush everything out)
we clean under them once a year with the power washer and put disinfectant on the floors. they dont smell at all and the ponies happily lie down on them
 
I have all 6 of mine on mats with beds on the top. The stables are much warmer and I don't use as much bedding as I did before. In 4 of the boxes, the mats have been down 5 years and we haven't lifted them, they aren't smelly and haven't moved at all. I recently bought some of the £25.00 ones from Ebay. They are just as good if not better than the ones I bought 5 years ago. The mats were expensive, but a worthwhile investment!
 
OMG! used them for years and struggled at new yard until we got some more, with 3 biggies and 2 minis to muck out daily its a breeze, sweep it all out, shove in wheelbarrow, sprinkle minimal shavings down for the night and nice fresh quick stable all ready. We estimate we use one bale of shavings per stable every fortnight, horses in every night, one is ID other TB and other irish X, hence yes saves time and money.

Some people do not use them the way they were intended, and put a full bed of shavings down! each to their own, but if you do that then you dont save too much...other than limbs!
 
i brought some second hand £100 for 4 6x4 mats i would never go back to any other kind of bedding i used to be mucking out for ages digging away and 3 wheel barrows later it would be done NOW 1/2 to 1 wheel barrow and 10-15 minutes later costing alot less i have much more time to spend with the horses, it doesn't smell it isn't eaten my mare seems to love it and still lies down. She used to cough alot when she was stabled no she doesn't. Best thing i have ever invested in (it also means that i don't have to store all the straw and my shavings are £1 a bag so alot cheaper!!!) go for it xxx
 
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