[SallyintNorth]

We have loose boxes in old agricultural buildings and whilst I like the earth floors for comfort for standing ponies, I am finding the flooring hard to manage.  I seem to get an increasing dip where water pools and I scoop out the wet stuff.  However much I try to re-level, I can't seem to maintain a level floor.

So, we are thinking about doing some re-flooring.

Options so far include:

• concrete (with a fall to a drain) - not sure if the surface should be mirror smooth, roughened, patterned?
• concrete with rubber matting (grooved, with the lines leading to the drain) - not sure if we could get away with just matting part of the area (for sleeping) or whether the matting will not hold together unless it's wall to wall? (So far I've only seen equine grooved matting that comes in jigsaw pieces)
• hard core with matting as above - not sure I won't end up with the same 'dip' problem in time as fluid leaks through to underneath the matting

Our ponies are natives, unshod.  Mostly we don't have them in, even in pretty bad weather, but sometimes one or more is stabled - often for reducing grass intake, sometimes overnight while having training for a few days or weeks.  If I had stabling I was more happy with I think I would have one or two stabled more often, as I would like to have them more handy and we don't at the moment have ground they can be on full time right by the farmstead.  (The pigs are 'refreshing' it.  )

I'd be grateful to hear others' experiences and thoughts.

[egglady]

we once had stables on earth floors and they were a bit challenging to maintain so i know what you mean.

we now have concrete floors (roughened a bit so there is less chance of slipping) and we use cow mats on top - they have grooves one side and nodules on the other and are ideal. they are very heavy so dont tend to move around much.  we get them from our local feed merchant.

hope this helps

[Mel Rice]

Ive got large cobbles on my stable floor...very hard to clean out . Ive now put a few layers of old lino (or whatever the mdern stuffis!) I cover that bit with the bedding and it is very easy to clean out...as long as I dont spike it with the fork. It was free too when a friend was re diong her kitchen.

[lachlanandmarcus]

I have concrete floors in a mini barn and there is a slight (very slight) fall in the middle corridor to the central drain but the stable floors are level. I have rubber mats in the back halves of the stable and that works fine, makes it easier to sweep at the front as concrete is easier to sweep than the mats. The concrete is roughened, thats very important as once hooves have scraped on it thousands of time it would be as slippy as anything otherwise. But to get that effect just meant using a piece of wood tamping into slight peaks as it was drying. Also make sure the concrete has an anti frost and anti urine additive for long life. Concrete lorry stuff is better than patches of home done concrete tho the mixer wagon drivers range from very helpful to appallingly rude and obnoxious! The mats are proper horse mats. Make sure you get the thick ones, 18mm not anything thinner, and also the grooves go on the bottom and the bumps on the top.

I use very absorbant bedding (wood pellet/hemp (Aubiose) mix - mostly wood pellet) and the horses are massively cleaner and more comfy than they were on shavings or straw. There is never ever any liquid visible in the stable and I have a 17hh gelding and a very wee-y cob mare!

[sabrina]

I would go with the concrete flooring slopping slightly to drain. I have rubber mats and they are easy to work with, I lift mine once the ponies are out for the summer and power wash the floors. I use straw but do not need a deep bed so safe money and work in the long run.