STABLE MATTING - Cost getting ridiculous :( Help?!

[MagicMelon]

Well the most recent quote I've had for stable mats has come out at £2,100. And that is just for TWO stables (15ft x 15ft each). I'm totally aghast at the cost of them! The cheapest I've had is about £600 but maybe they're poor quality, its hard to tell from the internet. I tried Mayo Mats for cow mats but they were over £1k. I just keep thinking I could buy a horse for that money! I dont want to pay heaps for something my horses will simply poo all over!

I just need decentish enough mats to go down on top off hardcore, I literally cannot move my horses here and use these stables until I have mats but I can't afford much as these stables have cost more than I'd thought already!! Ideas anyone please?

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I have bedded down straight onto compacted hardcore before? worked quite well with shavings.

 

[Orangehorse]

Put a thick bed of sand down for now. Not red builders' sand, but something better. This will allow the urine to drain through.

Or just deep litter with straw or shavings for now. If you have good drainage you should find it will work OK and wonder why anyone bothers with concrete.

 

[Nugget La Poneh]

Are you looking specifically for EVA mats then? Rubber is on sale here: http://www.horsematshop.co.uk/255-12mm-hammertop-mat.html and is under £500 (not including delivery though) for both stables (based on 24 mats)?

 

[YasandCrystal]

I have never paid more that £32 per 6 x 4 mat before for new 18mm thick ones with a choice of patterns from the Horsemat company. I have recently bought 10 mats secondhand for £20 per mat. My original mats have lasted for years so maybe I am out of sync with pricing.

 

[AdorableAlice]

You don't need mats. I have 3 very large boxes with earth floors. They have a layer of hardcore and then road chippings on top. The bedding is wood chip (Giffords). The initial set up was expensive, but one of the boxes is 28' square.

Once everything is settled you will be left with a firm, supportive bed. Totally dry as long as you have enough hardcore down to prevent the water table coming through. All urine just disappears and muck is picked up as normal. All rugs are clean and not smelly, the horses feet are healthy and cleaning out takes seconds.

I occasionally throw down a bale of shavings but my costs are minimal once the bed is set up. Here is a bed on hardcore, the concrete is a walkway and the edge of the bed is where the hardcore starts.

l

 

[Firefly*]

I have these .......

http://www.molevalleyfarmers.com/mvf/store/products/original-mayo-cow-mat-6ft-x-4ft-x-24mm

 

[AdorableAlice]

How are mats going to work on hardcore, you won't be able to get them level to seal them so you will need a fall to drain them, again that will be tricky on hardcore.

 

[webble]

I bought some 32mm EVA ones off ebay fairly cheaply - word of waning though they dont fold and will not fit in a corsa even with the seats down

These are mine although mine are 6ft6 x 3ft http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EVA-Stabl...ssories_SM&hash=item1e835011fe#ht_1645wt_1158

 

[MagicMelon]

How are mats going to work on hardcore, you won't be able to get them level to seal them so you will need a fall to drain them, again that will be tricky on hardcore.

I don't know entirely. I went to see some hardcore based stables prior to going with hardcore for mine, and they used mats on top. Not sealed, just loosely put in and I guess they just swept the pee to the edges so it went onto the hardcore and drained away. My worry with just putting bedding directly on top is how do you properly clean it out? Isn't it quite hard to get all the poo / bedding out without digging up a bit of the hardcore at the same time? Would shavings, straw or wood chip suit this best? I just assumed I really needed mats, I guess because at my mums where they currently are - because we open the doors so they can come and go in/out of the field we just have mats down (on concrete) and only a small square of straw for them to pee on it they need to so I just figured I'd do the same again and not need to deep litter. Out of interest, how many bales of shavings would I need to initially fill a 15 x 15 stable? And then how many bales say once a week for "topping up"?

Thanks those who have recommended mats BTW!

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I used either sawdust/shavings-whatever was available and semi deep-littered it. You don't want to be brushing away the top too energetically admittedly but there isn't a need with absorbent bedding. it worked fine-actually the best set up I've had so far. I had a 30 x 16ft barn and three (one horse, two ponies) of them used it overnight (hay was in it) although they had access to a small turfed and hardcore yard overnight as well. It was used as stabling for one when required.

 

[Slightly Foxed]

I bought bog standard cheap 6'x4' rubber mats for my concrete floors 14 years ago and they're still going strong. For example: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ArkMat-Rubber-Stable-Matting-6ftx4ft-18mm-Horse-Mats-/230916649362

 

[YasandCrystal]

You don't need mats. I have 3 very large boxes with earth floors. They have a layer of hardcore and then road chippings on top. The bedding is wood chip (Giffords). The initial set up was expensive, but one of the boxes is 28' square.

Once everything is settled you will be left with a firm, supportive bed. Totally dry as long as you have enough hardcore down to prevent the water table coming through. All urine just disappears and muck is picked up as normal. All rugs are clean and not smelly, the horses feet are healthy and cleaning out takes seconds.

I occasionally throw down a bale of shavings but my costs are minimal once the bed is set up. Here is a bed on hardcore, the concrete is a walkway and the edge of the bed is where the hardcore starts.

l

That looks like a brilliant set up.

 

[RutlandH2O]

I bought some 32mm EVA ones off ebay fairly cheaply - word of waning though they dont fold and will not fit in a corsa even with the seats down

These are mine although mine are 6ft6 x 3ft http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EVA-Stabl...ssories_SM&hash=item1e835011fe#ht_1645wt_1158

I bought the same mats in green. What are yours on? Concrete, soil? Do you have to pull them all out to clean? Do they move around much?

 

[Micky]

Try looking at local farms sales, the dairy farmers bed their cows (sometimes) on rubber matting and thats where i got mine from, about £10 each, easy to cut, lift and clean, have even matted out the trailer in them

 

[RaynerK]

You could go for cow mats, they are generally at least half the price. Or my friend somehow managed to get a load of cheap second hand ones from an ice skating ring place that didn't have use for them anymore - bit random I know but it may be worth thinking outside the box if they are quoting you that much!

 

[NeverSayNever]

i have mats down on a hardcore base in my small shetland box, it works fine. Yes its a bit uneven but pony doesnt care and it drains fine I got my mats from East of Scotland Farmers in Coupar Angus, they deliver I think.

 

[kal40]

I have the ones from horsemat.co.uk too. They are fab. We are now on to our fifth year with them. Quite reasonably priced too compared to others I looked at. I have the Croc top ones. Great for drainage.