stable mats ?!?

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hannah28

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hey guys :)

i want some form of stable mats for my boy this winter as i cant be doing with using 5 bales of straw each week !

anyways ive been looking at eva and rubber, the thing with eva is i dont want to have to cut them down every year and i dont think there as good, but i like the fact there light more cushoning and warmer

but rubber sounds good as the hard wearing but im worried there not very comfortable ??

then theres equimats which are rubber & eva mix which is the perfect solution problem is there about £400 !!!:eek:

so what to do ? am i being soft ? are rubber ok ?

cheers guys:D
 
hannah28 said:
so what to do ? am i being soft ? are rubber ok ?
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You are being soft :D

Rubber will be fine - think about it - horses lie on the ground without any cushioning all the time. I love my stable mats although admittedly I don't use them to save on bedding - my stable floor is slippery without them.
 
Equimats! They're brilliant. Yes a bit more expensive than ordinary mats, but they lock together like a jigsaw so don't move and are incredibly light (certainly compared to the the normal black mats) if you do have to move them. The standard size is a bit thicker than normal mats and do come in thicker still verison. If you have an unusual shaped stable ie not 12 x 12, send them your measurements and they will give you a quote which includes VAT and delivery. They then sent the mats to you all cut to size and give you any overcuts. I have handy little pad for kneeling or sitting on now! For my stable which is about 13' x 14' it cost around £400

One thing to remember about mats, whichever one you choose, you'll probably have to change bedding. Straw and mats don't really work that well as the straw isn't really that absorbent and the mats either get wet or the wet goes underneath and they move a bit more. Shavings, wood pellets or bedding like that works much better than straw.
 
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Rubber mats even though they're a demon to lift for cleaning. Use shavings or pellets.

The horse won't care about their comfort!

I've seen some brilliant lightweight interlocking mats that are very hard wearing (friend's had them for years)-apparently available on ebay.
 
I've got the rubber mats from the Black Mat Company for my 2, i'm really pleased with them, i use shavings with them, have a look on their website, they deliver as well.
 
I got my mats from horsemat.co.uk, I have the croc top ones and they are BRILL, they have multi drainage underneath so you don't get pools of wee under them and the design makes them easier to sweep. Also they aren't as heavy as most other mats and were reasonably priced :)

I use flax with my mats, took me 5 mins to do 2 boxes this morning :D
 
I have some really good thick rubber mats when I was last on DIY. I hated them. They got wet underneath and were so heavy, I slipped a disk in my back moving them to try and clean underneat. I have just moved to a livery yard where the stables are massive. They don't use any rubber mats, but they use easibed which is deep litter type, straight onto a concrete floor. Its great. It always stays dry on top, the wet goes to the bottom, but doesn't need to be taken out every day, doesn't move even when my mare throws herself down for a roll (which she never did when she was on rubber mats), and I don't think now that the bed is down that many new bales are put down. Having had rubber mats, I think they are overrated. If you don't put enough bedding on top of them and the horse lies down on them, the rugs or their coat gets really wet and smelly. None for me, thanks!
 
Stop bumping it! Jeeeze

Rubber mats is what I got = infact they are old ones off an agricultural conveyor belt!
Saves on bedding, means more warm and comfy.

EVA is alright till you have poked a fork in it too many times and the wee gets inside it to rot it out....
 
Happy Hunter said:
Stop bumping it! Jeeeze

Rubber mats is what I got = infact they are old ones off an agricultural conveyor belt!
Saves on bedding, means more warm and comfy.

EVA is alright till you have poked a fork in it too many times and the wee gets inside it to rot it out....
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sorry, just needed answers and though bumping would be better than re-posting........
 
I have eva mats from horse comfort and have had mine for 8 years no problems and that is with moving boxes 5 times. They are light weight and only need a sprinkle of shavings to soak up the wet though my stable has a good drain. A fab time and money saver!!
 
Bump away if you want. It's your choice!

I use 34mm Easi-mats. They are made of EVA and very light to move and they DON'T need cutting every year. I haven't had to cut mine yet and have had them 2 years. In fact I am ordering another 12 for 3 more stables as they save me a fortune on bedding. You can buy them via Ebay or google Easi-mat for the company.
 
i got mine off ebay, & they have saved me a fortune on bedding & time last winter. I fitted them alone & they were relatively easy to move as each mat consisted as 2 interlocking mats to make a 6x4ft mat. Think they were about £26/mat.

I only used a sprinkle of shavigns & I was only using 2bales a week for 8horses!! & based on the pic below i dont think there were any complaints about comfort! lol!
PICT1693-1.jpg
 
Have used rubber mats for years and wouldn't be without them.

Do agree though that straw is not the best bedding as the urine ends up under the mats.

After trial and error though I do use full beds but semi deep litter them.

I think they are better for the horse's joints and if you kneel on a mat and then onto concrete you will feel how much 'softer' they are. I also agree that as horses are quite happy to lie down on rock hard ground in the field a mat is perfectly comfortable.
 
I understand you pain lol!

I ended up buying eva mats from robinsons, there are fantastic, I am able to pick them up on my own, although I expected them to be bendy and spongey - they are not! They are very stiff. I would recommend them though. Also i have noticed that they dont tend to get as slippery as the rubber mats in the stable next to mine
 
Tiaan said:
I understand you pain lol!

I ended up buying eva mats from robinsons, there are fantastic, I am able to pick them up on my own, although I expected them to be bendy and spongey - they are not! They are very stiff. I would recommend them though. Also i have noticed that they dont tend to get as slippery as the rubber mats in the stable next to mine
Click to expand...

if you kneel on them are they soft ?
 
I have the equimats - and they are fantastic - yes expensive but are so easy - still really light weight but worth the money you pay for them - would never get rubber as they are too heavy especially when it comes to cleaning them - atleast with my matts i can take them out every week and give them a quick blast.
 
Sorry - The sarcasm didnt come accross in the message - Bump away!!! :) It helps a lot - this message acts as a bump too! Hope your doing ok all :o

I found these other threads that might help too.

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=389956&highlight=stable+mats
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=389938&highlight=stable+mats
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=389714&highlight=stable+mats
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=388397&highlight=stable+mats
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=364274&highlight=stable+mats

Whatever happens -think of it as an investment, the right mats will last a good few years - and save you tonnes in bedding.

Night night all xxx :o
 
got mine from countrywide really good price and lightweight so i can lift them but not too light so he cant push them around the stable great price too
 
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