Those of you on rubber mats - can I see pictures of your bed?

Jingleballs

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I know it probably sounds a bit odd!!

I have recently moved yards - I had my new stable fitted with rubber mats as I'm only allowed paper bedding.

Previously, I'd used straw as my lad is ver messy and it was the cheapest and easiest option although I was lifting 2 - 3 wheelbarrows a night!

I always give him a big bed to lie down on and I'm struggingl to get used to this idea that with mats you don't need a bit bed.

Here is his bed tonight - He's 15.h - the mats are 17mm.

Does it look big enough?

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With the boys I tend to bring it more forward but about the same depth. (Some boys dont like the splashback and wont wee)
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So sad as it may seem i have to think about where their willy will be!
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[ QUOTE ]
With the boys I tend to bring it more forward but about the same depth. (Some boys dont like the splashback and wont wee)
wink.gif


So sad as it may seem i have to think about where their willy will be!
grin.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

See Casper like to kick his bed forward - if I leave it too far forward he kicks it out the door which is why I leave it back a bit and he moves it himself!:D
 
MissMillie - Im glad someone else catches their horses pee in a bucket! Everyone on the yard thinks Im totally bonkers for doing it!!
 
I like to ensure my horse can lie down on the bedding rather than the mats, so I either do a 1/4 bed square or a half a stable. I used to use a half stable when my horse was on paper and mats.
My horse is currently going through a phase of being really stressed in her stable so even if I had a photo of my box you wouldn't be able to see the mats as they are covered in a foot and a half of straw! I'm lucky though that I get my straw dirt cheap (and even if it's a little dusty it's not that bad quality) so I can afford to lay it down thick all over the stable. The more the better IMO in most cases.
 
I always try and catch their wee when they come in at night. Murph is sometimes a bit shy but you can guarantee the first thing the mare will do is christen her bed. The fun starts when they both go one after the other, I look like someone on the generation game trying to dash between stables
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Our stables have rubber matting, I use slightly more bedding than in the pics to try and dry their feet off a bit. I am using a mixture of carboard and Sundown at the moment, works well.
 
This is Farra - she is on megazorb - 4 bags to start so it is about 3" deep and covers the back third of the stable. I have to use 1 and sometimes 1 1/2 bags a week as she is such a big wet girl. Megazorb is the only thing that copes with a very piddly clydesdale. My mats are stablelite - very thick - 40 mm thick and pee drains through so no wet stays on top. It is designed to be a non bed system.

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and this is Cairo - same stable and mats, but he used to have a 50 - 50 mix of shavings and dixons chopped straw over back half of the stable to a depth of 3 - 4" as he liked to have a bit more of a bed.

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I have just had a pee spot on these mats - 2/3 buckets of shaving in the middle in the past with a boxing walking TB mare who mashed everything to a pulp and had to be cleared out completly each day.

Personally I like them to have a thin bed over half the stable to lie on if they wish to - keeps rugs a bit cleaner too.

With your mats as they are not that thick, and I assume don't drain, I personally would want a bed that covers at least a third of the back of the stable about 3" deep to ensure that he is not lying on damp mats. Won't kill him to have the bed he now has though if he is the sort that does not lie down a lot.

Nice cob you have - not that unsimilar to my chap.
 
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