V. dangerous horse - eva stable mats

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niagaraduval

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Hi all,

After umming and awwing a long time I decided to invest in some eva stable mats to save money and hopefully make life a bit nicer for my boys who are on shavings.

HOWEVER -

My old boy is fine with the mats although manages to hook them up once a week on average whcih means a lot of work as I have to clean up underneath them and put them back down again.

The mats are very very lightweight, which is no doubt the source of the problem.

Having spent out hundreds on getting my 2 stables matted in the hope of saving money I am starting to wonder if I have made the right decision.

My younger horse (well not young anymore - 12 this year) cannot stand the mats. He becomes very dangerous and totally freaks out when he's in his stable, I have had to open his door and let him out as he has been that freaked out it is dangerous leaving him in the stable as all the mats are flying all over the place the horse is freaking out and all 4 feet of the ground, slipping and sliding all over the place..

For a few days I left him out in a temporary pen I have made infront of his stable so he can stay out bu go in with the door open if he chooses, however he will not go near his stable and once on the mats he does not move an inch as he is that scared of them.

He is snorting, running in sweat, flared nose, white of his eyes apparent, the lot. A total jibbering wreck !

He can't stay out so he has to come in and I have just spent out hundreds on his mats, cut them to size etc. Will he ever get used to them ?

It's got to the point where even the sound of hay falling from his mouth on the floor sets him off. And ofcourse the mats become extremely slippy as well as being super soft and as they are so light they just fly around the stable (which is even worse as he is totally terrified of them).

If left in he will stand in the same spot and not move at all or eat or drink he will stand totally still, the second he moves he goes crazy.

I left him out and decided to put his hay on some mats so that he could get used to them on his own witout being on a slippery floor and enclosed in the stable but he will not eat and would prefer to starve than to put one hoof on these awful horse eating mats !!

I could honestly cry... What can I do ?
 
If the mats are moving that easy/that lightweight I would definately remove them. Sounds like an accident waiting to happen.
 
Ive got EVA mats and theyre not that light that a horse spinning in a stable lifts them, how light are they ??
Have you tried throwing a light layer of shavings over the whole mat to see if that helps, one of mine was a bit iffy with his when i first put them down but quickly got past it, failing that if youre worried about the horses safety lift them
 
It's not just a case of him getting used to them though is it, they are slippery and coming up, so they are not fit for purpose and dangerous! Take them up and if you want rubber matting buy the thick heavy stuff, I have never heard of EVA been used for flooring only for stable walls
 
Weirdly this sort of reaction happened with my daughters old pony. - Mine were normal heavy mats though and safe.
I needed mats really as she had the most severe breathing problems. I covered them totally, right to the door in shavings for a week or so and just gradually exposed bits as she became happier about the situation. It took a long time tbh but she was ok in the end. Somedays she would walk in over a 6" exposed area and we'd think we were getting somewhere, the next id have to cover it again but she did get to be perfectly happy on it eventually and we were able to give a small bed at the back to minimise any dust.
 
What thickness are the Mats?
I have had Eva for several years with no problems, and they certainly don't lift even if our 17.2hh decides to spin round quickly. Mine are, I think, 44mm thick. If you have too thin, they are really meant for stable walls, and not floors.
 
I have tried putting shavings down on them to weigh them down but this makes to difference at all I have seen them even him walking on them they seem to lift up on the edges and he doesn't lift his feet up either.

They are very light weight and flexible I can carry several mats under one arm at a time.

Also, they said that they were floor mats although I am starting to wonder if they are in fact real eva mats I think they are roughly 4 cm thick.
 
i have rubber mats, not eva, and really struggle to just move one to clean underneath it so if you can carry 4, they must be very light(too light for horses) and you must be super strong!!!! sounds like your horse is right to refuse to use them, as they dont sound like they are made for horses...
 
niagaraduval said:
Yes they seem to be very spongy and dent easily !
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Please take them out. I know a lady at a livery yard my friend had her horse who brought these as a good deal. Her horse slipped as the mats moved with the horse's weight. luckily no damage to horse but refused to step on them again. These are dangerous and not worth the risk. Sorry OP
 
I bought them almost 3 months ago (kept them for a while before getting round to fitting them) do you think it is possible to take them back to the place I bought them from (someone off ebay) and get my money back ? I am honestly gutted..
 
lisa_dundee said:
It's not just a case of him getting used to them though is it, they are slippery and coming up, so they are not fit for purpose and dangerous! Take them up and if you want rubber matting buy the thick heavy stuff, I have never heard of EVA been used for flooring only for stable walls
Click to expand...

Equimats are EVA, and perfectly safe in stables ive had them down for almost 20 years in 3 stables, theyre interlocking and designed to cover stable floors, ive never had a mat lift in all that time. I dont know what youve put down OP but it doesnt sound suitable for stable matting.
 
I have rubber mats and they are heavy, could only just drag them into position, they are solid rubber. Not sure why anyone would sell spongey mats as stable mats, if they dent easily then how are they supposed to help?

I'd take them out, sounds dangerous! Shame though, who ever sold them to you should have known they wern't suitable for horses! Maybe you could sell them on ebay or something then buy some new rubber mats with the money?

Also my 3 mats of 6x4ft cost me £84 altogether, so enough for half a stable which I though wasn't bad, I put it a little away from the back wall so theres a small strip of concrete at the front for food/water space and some concrete at the back which is covered by the banks. Just a thought so you don't have to buy a whole stables worth?
 
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I will take a photo for you tomorrow but they are not interlocking and they seem to expand with the damp so I have to keep sawing them off with a knife to get them to go down again.. I agree don't seem suitable for a horse. Will take them out tomorrow morning. Is it possible for me to get my money back ? They cost me about 300 quid a stable.. I have cut them to fit my stable though so lots of cut ones etc.
 
Jesus £300?? For that money I'd kick off at the seller! If they are swelling up under damp they are def not suitable! Seems like pieces of sponge. Argue they are not suitable for horses if they were advertised as such!
 
Im sorry OP but i dont think what youve been sold is of the thickness and weight needed for EVA stable matting, my mats are great, interlock and i can lift them and move them myself to clean, they dont dent and dont spread like you describe. You can try trading standards as what you describe sounds useless and dangerous. O can understand why youre gutted after paying that amount out for them
 
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