Would you use just rubber matting, no bedding?

Seth said:
They sleep on a hard field during the Summer so I daresay they can cope with just rubber matting.
Click to expand...

I daresay they can just as I daresay you could cope with lying on the bathroom floor every night after you'd missed the loo. Doesn't mean you'd rather not!

They can choose NOT to lie where they pee and poo in the field and on what patch. Just think of the stench of urine in a box when you muck out and shift the bedding - I can't imaging that's pleasant for a horse, especially when you consider its nose is far more sensitive than ours!

Actually, I don't like rubber mats at all - as another poster pointed out, they stink underneath, however carefully people muck out.
 
Would never bed on just mats. Not just because of all the other reasons above but also because it cant do a horses breathing any good with the amonia smell.
 
No ,never. I have recently been riding a 17 hh ID whose owner gives him 3 ft of thin shavings from the back wall of the stables.With rubber matting underneath.Its pathetic to see how he has to pee at the back on the shavings and then tries to curl up on 3 ft of bed against the wall to lie down. Horses in the wild can choose where they lie down and can walk about.It is totaly different.Personaly I think rubber mat and no decent bed on top is cruel.If I inflict an unnatural lifestyle on a horse ,I expect to at least give him a bit of comfort.
 
Mike007 said:
No ,never. I have recently been riding a 17 hh ID whose owner gives him 3 ft of thin shavings from the back wall of the stables.With rubber matting underneath.Its pathetic to see how he has to pee at the back on the shavings and then tries to curl up on 3 ft of bed against the wall to lie down. Horses in the wild can choose where they lie down and can walk about.It is totaly different.Personaly I think rubber mat and no decent bed on top is cruel.If I inflict an unnatural lifestyle on a horse ,I expect to at least give him a bit of comfort.
Click to expand...

I Totally agreee!
 
Rebelzmum
I don't like them with straw either, with a very wet horse I too found everything drained through the straw and sat under the mats and festered. I think mats work best with absorbent type bedding like shavings.

Cptrayes
Mine won't pee without a bed - mats or no mats.
The other day I had him tied outside and he obviously needed a pee. I was part way through mucking out but I put him back in to have a pee.
Because I had cleared alot of the straw out he managed to balance himself on really quite high banks so he could pee on the decent layer of straw.
 
If you want to use straw on rubber mat then put a thin layer of shavings under the straw around where your horse pees. This worked for us with a mare we had and its not difficult to muck out either.
 
I'm a minority too - my back is too knackered to lift matting so it's old fashioned straw beds, with just matting at the front. They are out 24/7 ( unless it's horizontal rain) and come in every day for a lie down and a roll. They smell sweet and so do the stables. They rarely lie down in the field.
 
criso said:
To the OP
Maybe your yard owner would consider something like wood pellets, they create much less volume of waste and biodegrade more quickly than straw or shavings.
Click to expand...

She is on chopped up flax at the moment whichis supposed to rot even better, only half of the stable though. Works fine for me at the moment but she basically said that she would like me to use nothing sooner or later. I dont think 1 bale per week is a lot.

She is the messiest horse I have ever seen;)
 
I use rubber matting but I wouldnt have no bed. You need some shavings to soak up the urine. Even if its just a small area. The less bedding the more your rugs will soak it up and it will reek!
 
Rubber mats are great, but unless you want to be refused entry into Tesco
etc., because you smell like a health hazard, I would certainly use bedding. Rugs and horses even on limited bedding get really really skanky. However, that is omp:)
 
I don't think my horse would wee on just a rubber matt. He's funny about getting splashback I think, and only ever wee's on a deep bed or on grass and I think quite a lot of horses are similar?
 
My 4 have rubber mats, tried the 1st year with only them as had trouble getting shavings. The horses weren't happy the stables stank also their rugs as well as being very wet and I couldn't afford rugs for every day of the week, yes the stables were easy to clean, 5mins each stable, but took hours to dry out after slouching down. 2nd year, shaving on top, horses able to lie down and happier, cost a fortune each month and I hated mucking out, took me hours. This year 3 on straw and utter bliss for me anyway, lovely thick beds and even my gelding that boxwalks seems happy and my mare that is on shavings, because she started coughing badly years ago, doesn't look happy, so may when her bed starts to get less, try her back on straw. shaving look cold to me and the rubber matting well that been an experience (costly):):)
 
would never bed my horses on rubber matting alone. gross. yes they sleep on the ground in the "wild", but they are not enclosed in a 12x12 space being forced to lay in their own excrement! (unless you are blessed with one of those angelic creatures that poops all in one spot ;) )
 
horses living out do not get stinky - they do not chose to lie in their own poo or wee, in a stable they may do it as they have no other choice. i appreciate that they do not need bedding to lie down but why not make it more comfortable for them by giving them some bedding - peeing must be less pleasant as lots of horses don't like to get their legs splashed. bedding also absorbs some moisture from poo as well so they have a drier area for sleeping.

my pony lives out and sometimes i see him lying down having a snooze and i have never seen him lying in poo or in mud.
 
Has the YO discussed a rather large reduction in livery?!!

Another one who likes bedding on top of the mats. I like the idea that there is support and give for my horse and he now only has half a bed down in his stable - but he lies down and wees on the bedding - I get through 1 - 2 bales of bedding per week but everything is taken out each day. The box next day has only matting as there is no horse in there per se, but a field gelding is brought in for the morning to keep another horse company - the smell of the wee is revolting plus which as also said, rugs do get soaked in urine which has a great habit of transferring to you. Its even worse with a mare in season!
 
You do not need a lot of shavings but imo you do need some. Not for comfort at all but for the urine issue. A horse would be perfectly comfortable and warm on clean dry mats so that is not an concern for me whatsoever. Laying in wet urine all night would not be so great though nor would having it splatter all over when they go.

Tell your yard owner not to be stingy and put a light coating down to absorb the pee.
 
Daisy1905 said:
Its DIY and I am paying for my bedding.
Click to expand...

Even so if the yard owners not paying for the diposel of your bedding its costing them less so your rent should go down. I must admit i would tell my yard owner where to stick it if she asked me not to have bedding to keep there muck heap down. Having to dipose of muck is part and parcel of having a yard!
 
zoelouisem said:
Even so if the yard owners not paying for the diposel of your bedding its costing them less so your rent should go down. I must admit i would tell my yard owner where to stick it if she asked me not to have bedding to keep there muck heap down. Having to dipose of muck is part and parcel of having a yard!
Click to expand...

The yard is also her 'garden' as she lives there. Her three horses are on just mats so she says my one should be too...
 
I use matting with a small straw bed because it works well for me.

Rubber Matting is designed to be used with 'minimal' bedding, I would never not use any bedding at all, you'd end up with stinky rugs and stinky horses.... eeuuwwww!
 
Daisy1905 said:
The yard is also her 'garden' as she lives there. Her three horses are on just mats so she says my one should be too...
Click to expand...

No thats her choice your shouldnt have just to be just because hers are. Just say no your not prepared to if you dont want to its her personal preference not yours too, i dont blame you if you dont it wouldnt be nice!!
 
I dont keep mine in all the time, they only ever come in overnight if they have an event early the next day - so I just use rubber matting with a square of shavings or straw for them to pee on. All of mine have been found lying on the matting happily.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top