Stable Mat users - HELP! Very disappointed so far!

[Bert&Maud]

A couple of weeks ago I finally took delivery of some "Horsemat" stable mats. My horse is very untidy in his box, creating a general mush of wet and droppings in the middle of his stable and then treading it about so that it takes ages to muck out. After the hard winter last year I decided that mats might help. I've fitted them carefully so there's no gaps (using the connectors on each side of each mat) and put the existing Equisorb (hemp) bed back on top. He stales in the middle of his stable which is where the joins between the mats are, and I lifted the middle of the mats today to check underneath to find a huge pool of urine. I sprinkled some dry bedding over the pool to mop it up, swept it thoroughly and put some disinfectant down, but 2 hours later the floor was still wet so I've had to leave it uncovered overnight. When I just used Equisorb without the mats the floor used to dry in 1/2 hour (I used to take the wet out every two or three days). The bed wasn't very thick (I thought that was meant to be one of the benefits of mats), so should I be using a thicker Equisorb bed, or is there another product that is much more absorbent. I think that before I had the mats, the urine would reach the floor and then soak back up into the bedding, but now it goes through the mats and can't soak back up again (I hope that makes sense!). I'm really disappointed at the moment because I think I'm going to be constantly lifting the mats and trying to dry the floor, which seems like more work than the time it used to take to muck out. Glass of chardonnay if you've made it this far, and more if you can help!

 

[spaniel]

Are these the lightweight type with teeth that lock them together??

Ive just tried to ggogle them but they only seem to do 18mm deep mats....are these the ones you have because if so I reckon you will need to get a sealer on the edges, they are very thin and wont have the weight they need to hold them firmly.

I wouldnt go for anything thinner than 25mm in a stable, its false economy.

You could try putting a more absorbant bedding down. I use pellets over my mats and they are super together.

 

[Bert&Maud]

Yes, they are 18mm. They are cut to fit the stable exactly so don't seem to move at all, but liquid will find its way through any join no matter how closely the mats are laid. Are wood pellets more absorbent than Equisorb? How well to they rot down - we rely on a local farmer coming to take our manure to spread on his land so need something that will biodegrade. I've picked up a couple of bags of Aquamax to try but don't know if I can use that with the existing Equisorb bed - I can't afford to throw out the old bed but will have to mix two products and gradually change over.

 

[spaniel]

I think the pellets probably are more absorbant, they rot down really well and you dont get a huge muck heap either. The other bedding which I would look into is Megazorb, I used to be on this but merchant stopped stocking it on a regular basis. Whichever you use make sure it is deep enough, a sprinkling of any bedding wont be enough to soak up the pee quickly, I have a good 4 - 6 inches down and I leave it undisturbed until its starts to look wet. Other than that I would seal the joins with a rubber sealent from somewhere like a builders merchants, if you need to move the mats you can cut through it with a stanley knife.

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

It sounds to me as if your problem is just an uneven floor. No stable mat that clips together can ever make an entirely waterproof join. To get that you'd need to invest in one of the liquid rubber products that you pour over the floor and it forms a totally watertight seal. If the dip in the floor is in the centre of the stable where the joins in the mats are, then the mats will have a tiny degree of movement at that point which would make it even more easy for urine to seep between the joins and pool underneath. Your best bet would be to lift the mats and get a local builder to level the floor - with a gentle slope toward the door - before you re-lay the mats.

 

[Tnavas]

Lift the mats, wash & dry floor and then put down a good layer of garden lime - this will at lesast stop the floor from smelling.

Though you have mats they were never meant to replace bedding but to make the floor safer, less stressful for limbs and warmer. You still need a normal bed to soak up urine and to keep the horse draught free.

Consider deep littering him with a deep woodchip/sawdust/shavings base and then add straw on top, then just pick up dung regularly and muck out completely at the end of winter.

Makes stabling a lot cheaper and quicker to deal with, just don't disturb the lower bed. It will pack down and absorb urine well which will spread out at the base and will gradually break down the shavings. Makes amazing compost at the end of winter.

 

[HazellB]

Your best bet would be to lift the mats and get a local builder to level the floor - with a gentle slope toward the door - before you re-lay the mats.

That's my thought too.
You can't expect any bedding to drain when there's a dip in the middle of the the floor - and I have the stable to prove it sadly! My own boxes have all worn lower where the horses stand over the years, so all have one or two places where urine settles under the matts. Oddly the rubber has never worn, the but concrete floors under it have quite markedly. Some of our matts are about 15 years old, same as the floor, and as good as new.

Anyway, invest in a stop gap by mixing one load of cement to patch the dips then next summer get the floor fully redone. It pays for itself in the long run as the bedding used to soak up all that pee won't be needed anymore. If you're on livery, ask the YO to do it - they have a legal obligation to supply safe floors and urine pools are far from safe in every aspect.