The Old Gray Mare Recommends Horse Stall Mats

It’s hard to believe that I have been around horses most of my life, but only recently discovered for myself all the benefits of horse stall mats. I’ve always had the usual stall surface: dirt with a mixture of clay. Every few years, I’d undertake the laborious process of pulling up the stall surfaces and reinstalling the clay mixture into each stall again.

Now I have horse stall mats – they are really fabulous!

By no means have I suddenly become an expert in stall mats. My point in writing this article is to share my experience, and talk a little bit about why I like mats so much. 

I have found mats to be an important installation in each of my horse stalls. They provide indispensable padding over the base 6 inches of fine crushed stone screenings. The mats are installed directly on this hard-packed surface and provide excellent protection for hooves and joints of my horses.

In addition, cleaning chores are greatly simplified since the mats have been added. It is unnecessary to use as much bedding as on a dirt floor. I find that the cleaning fork slides easily on the mat and soiled areas clean up in a jiffy. Urine areas clean up equally as well and the addition of lime or Sweet PDZ neutralizes most of the odor. A severely soiled mat can readily be washed or scrubbed and be good as new.

If you don’t already have horse stall mats in your barn and installing them interests you, I recommend that you keep several things in mind:

Recommendation 1 - You must measure accurately for a perfect fit. I advise that you get the floor area numbers for each stall once, write them down, and then re-measure a second time to be sure you have it right.

Recommendation 2 – Make sure you have a properly prepared subsurface in the stall. Mats may be installed over almost any type of surface including wood or concrete. If the subsurface is dirt, sand or clay, additional preparation is required. Sand should not be used and must be removed since it is not solid enough and will shift with the horse’s weight. The best alternative is a 5” layer of crushed fine stone (no larger than 1/8” to 1/4" in diameter), compacted and leveled. This material provides excellent drainage and compaction. Once the screenings have been compacted and leveled, soak thoroughly with water and permit to dry and stabilize. Adhere to this level of detail in order to get the best results for the subsurface. Now you are ready to install the mat.

Recommendation 3 – Purchase the best possible mat that you can afford. I personally recommend a mat that traps the urine on its surface; if your land has excellent drainage, you could purchase mats that allow urine to drain through. There are nonporous revulcanized mats that not only trap the urine on the surface but also retard odor because of the antibacterial substance in the mat. A solid rubber mat will also pool urine. Interlocking systems will not shift and urine is trapped on the surface. If you decide on strait edged stall mats, purchase the most solid, thickest mats available, install on level subsurface, and make sure that all joints abut perfectly.

The interlocking-type of stall mats are a bit more expensive, but when installed properly, all pieces lock tightly together to form a solid floor. This type of floor also traps the urine on the surface. No bedding will get trapped under these mats when they are fitted well.

Recommendation 4 – Buy a top quality mat to prevent curling, buckling or rolled corners. The overall price of mats can be costly so buy high quality to preserve your investment.

Recommendation 5 – Of course, how deeply a horse is bedded is a personal preference. However, I use less bedding since the installation of horse stall mats since they provide excellent cushioning and I pick manure and urine twice, sometimes three times daily. I rarely have a major clean out day since the horses are always clean and the shavings don’t really get soiled or darkened. After I remove the soiled material, I pull the shavings from the stall edges for use over the cleaned areas, and add new shavings as needed. I love it this way – there is never a heavy load or many wheelbarrow trips.

I know I am somewhat spoiled because I have horses that are ultra neat in their stalls. If you also happen to have a clean horse – one that voids in one spot/corner or along the stall edges, your cleaning chores will become even easier with stall mats. Cleanup on the mats is a breeze. In my case, bedding charges have diminished to less than half of what I used to use on the dirt floors and, even though I clean my horses several times daily, my overall time spent cleaning takes just minutes.

My suggestion to you is to think about installing horse stall mats. Look into the pros and cons. The negatives may outweigh your decision to switch over to mats because you’ll have to do lots of work to fix the stall subsurface and then there’s the cost of the mats. Perhaps you can try just one stall and see how you like them.

It took me a while to even acknowledge there was a better way to keep my horses comfortable in their stalls. Since I made the decision to switch over from clay stall surface to mats, I’m never going back.

More on horse stall mats in a subsequent article.

This article is written by The Old Gray Mare of www.DressYourHorse.com, www.FantasyKritters.com, www.TShirtsbyLily and www.Amway.com/HealthandHomebyHeidi.