Stable mats...yay or nay?

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Allie5

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My youngster is a seriously filthy beast, he grinds his poo into his bed and will pee anywhere he feels like it. To do a proper muck out I take out at least two if not three wheelbarrow loads. I'm going through shavings at an alarming rate and something has to give! He was on box rest but back out now so have a bit of breathing space before he starts to come in overnight again. So what to do to preserve my sanity and my bank balance! I am considering getting stable mats but I'm old fashioned and I like a big snug bed! Are mats really warm enough? Do their rugs get truly filthy? Help!!

Any advice/suggestions gratefully received!
Stinky in Glasgow x
 
I wouldn't be without my mats now - I love them.

I still do a pretty big bed during the winter, rather than just a sprinkling of shavings. But the saving have been great.
 
I love my mats.

Because my current horse is clean she has a big bed and we deep litter.

One of our ponies was a filthy beast so he just had a sprinkling of straw and we saved so much time as well as £.
 
I love my Equimats, as mucking out is so quick, but that's with about a scattering of shavings over the back half of the stable, enough so that I can't see the mats. With a deep bed on top mucking out will still take the same time.

My horses wear turnouts in the stable as a dirty horse is likely to get even dirtier in a stable rug. Don't get me wrong, they're not lying in wee & poo & wearing smelly rugs or I wouldn't be happy to keep them that way. It just makes everything easy & I only change rugs if the temperature dictates. The mats keep them very warm too. Mine are about 2cm thick.
 
My gelding is also disgusting. I have mats but I am afraid I still have a big bed as I do find him easier to muck out with a big bed and waste less.

But I wouldn't be without mats even though I use the same amount of bedding as I find it makes the stable much warmer saves hock scrapes.

I have the blackmat company mats and highly recommend them for quality.

Mine have been down 2 years and still look like new

:-)
 
personally i prefer a big deep litter but depends on the horse. Im not a fan of mats as they harbour urine and, unless a big bed, stink.
 
Have had mats for 7 yrs now they have saved us a small fortune. The cleaner horses have straw put down, we have now find the messier ones do much better with a couple of bags of Megasorb to 'mop up' with
 
Mats that are fitted right are boon they save you time and money I have had mine some years now, and my stable does not smell I really do recommend them.
 
Sorry may I slightly hijack your post, i too am thinking of matting my stables, have seen the lightweight mats being advertised and wonder if anyone uses these, they say they are light enough for one person to remove and clean under easily ? thankyou.
 
I put mats down last year as my stable tends to flood when we get a lot of rain and I used to lose most of my shavings. Now the water tends to go under the mats! However, I now have to pull mats up to get rid of water and they are so heavy and I am too old and arthritic. A lot of the wee tends to go under the mat but someone told me that unless the air gets to the wee it doesnt smell ? Must admit havent found it any more or less pongy than before mats. My boy has navicular and I think the mats have helped him and stable is warmer than without them
 
I use them in one of my stables and it's somewhat easier than without ..... only somewhat, because the floor is uneven and the wet pools up underneath, so I have left that part of the stable mat free so it's easier to muck.

I'd definitely agree that with perfectly fitted mats on a lovely flat floor, you'd save tons of time/money. If not, then it's a lottery. The jury is still out in my case. My matted big boy is neat, but fairly wet, as is my unmatted small boy, so I'm doing a bit of a trial period with my two stables. At this moment I really can't tell!! I do love mats, so I'm hoping that stable wins out!
 
I'm undecided. I've got mats down, with Miscanthus on top, BUT find the mats do need lifting and Jeyes fluiding under at least once a week or the place stinks!!

Tho' you do use less bedding, plus don't get the hock callouses etc.

So I'm undecided as to whether mats are a good thing or not at the mo. My stable doesn't drain at all well so everything pools up under the mats.
 
I wouldn't be without stable mats. But must confess that ours still have full beds on top. We use paper to catch the wee and then straw on top. Never gets smelly that way, whereas with just straw it would be minging. Saves a fortune compared to using shavings.
 
I couldnt be without our rubbermats!! they are pretty good!
and we use comfy bed, its really good because it doesnt get stamped round the stable!!!
its doesnt give the nice fluffy bed that straw does but it does give a comfy bed!!! and doesnt move either!! its great for the horses that stamp in there poo and walk it everywhere!
might be worth giiving it a try??
hope i helped! x
 
devilwoman said:
Sorry may I slightly hijack your post, i too am thinking of matting my stables, have seen the lightweight mats being advertised and wonder if anyone uses these, they say they are light enough for one person to remove and clean under easily ? thankyou.
Click to expand...

I've had lightweight mats in the past - and wouldn't go back to them. I've got Equimats, which are quite heavy - but a little weakling like me can move them no problem.
 
Which mats do you all have? There's so much choice that I don't know which ones to get.

My boys not too messy but does go to the loo in the same spot.
 
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