[Castle Farm]

Looking to put some rubber in the stables as shavings are getting expencive, that and or old boy suffers with this chest.
Has anyone found a value for money mat that stands the test of time. I'm not looking for a cheap type.

  If I do it I want it right.

[Rosemary]

I bought equimats years ago for my pony. They are the green ones that link together. I think they're great. Although I don't stable the pony now, the mats have proved valuable in lambing pens, under chicken runs and in the byre for the cows.

[Brijjy]

Don't buy EVA ones from ebay. I did and although they are comfy and warm, they haven't lasted and one is full of holes. The pony that was on them was 13.2hh and wasn't shod. I wanted lightweight mats that I could lift easily. I have heard that cowmats are good but pricey.

[mcginty]

I use cow mats, are light and easy to move around,
may have to use some bedding but can be reduced.
are cheaper to buy and last for years.

[Victorian Farmer]

B AND Q place together quite good for the price.

[tizaala]

Whatever you buy lift them,wash and disinfect under them very regularly to prevent bacterial build up, they can get very foul very quickly.

[Brijjy]

The only problem with any rubber mats that I have found is that there is nowhere for urine to soak into and it either stays as a puddle on top of the mat or soaks through the cracks and underneath. Unless you hose down regularly or use shavings to soak it up, the ammonia stench can be pretty horrific. I am having to use shavings on top of the mats which, although a reduced amount, is kind of defeating the object.
  When I worked as a groom at the local hunt, we used deep litter the stables with shavings and pick out the poo and the worst of the wet patches. The bed would be topped up as necessary. The stables would be gutted and disinfected at the end of the season when the horses had gone away for the summer. I might think about doing this for the coming winter.

[Beewyched]

Not sure what brand ours are - we got them from our local feed supplier 3 years ago, spots on 1 side & stripes on the other.  They are VERY heavy, so I cut them in half with a stanley knife.
Ideal for using under straw in the "maternity wing" for the pigs, especially in the winter, as it keeps the piglets off the concrete without using too much straw = less likelyhood for squishing.
As Tiz says, you will need to lift & disinfect them regulary - we powerwash & use either agrichlor or the pink powder (can't remember the name    ) once a week.
 
 
 

[feldar]

I found the same as Brijjy when i had my pony just on mats the urine smell was bad. I changed to deep littering on Aubiose which is very biodegradeable. It's expensive at about £9.00 a bale but not dusty and i only cleaned out poo every day and wet once a fortnight.
The waste went on the compost heap and broke down into the best horse compost i have ever had and it was quick to break down too.

[Small Farmer]

We use Mayo mats, have done for about five years and think they're great.  They save so much time.  They aren't the answer to everything but we have tried straw bedding, deep litter systems and conventional rubber mats before this and it's the best solution for us.   


We found deep litter worked well when the stables are really close so you're able to skip out frequently.  The horses tended to wee in the same spot which could easily be refreshed.  If the horse is a tidy crapper then it may be great, but OHs hunter is a dump-and-walk-around-in-it sort of chap and that makes a lot of work and waste of bedding.


Rubber mats are heavy and damn awkward to move.  We saw a variety of mats at one livery yard from the interlocking variety through to the ones with pegs which give more gap underneath.  Nevertheless you need to be able to get a hose underneath at least weekly, and to take the whole lot up for a jet wash every couple of months.  It's a vile job in my experience made worse by the heavy but very bendy nature of the mats.  Of course some owners lifted their mats annually whether they need to or not....


The Mayo mats are much lighter and much stiffer so I can easily pick up a 6*4 mat and move it around without help.  That means I get the hose under the mats more often and taking them all out is far easier.  We use a sprinkling of Rapport but all our stables drain reasonably well so the horses don't wade around in wee.  The nice thing about the mats is the smooth surface which is not slippery underfoot but is dead easy to brush clean.  They do spread very slightly over time so don't fit them tightly together, but over the 5 years we've had no damage whatsoever to the mats even though one learned to scrape when he had a concrete floor and still continues.  He's got navicular and the mats are excellent for that.  We have some spare mats and use them in the lambing shed every year.  The sheep poo washes off easier than from the concrete and we use a lot less bedding.


Hope this helps

[Castle Farm]

Thankyou Small Farmer that was very helpfull.

Cracker our sec D has a slight touch of laminitus and is in the shed. Large cattle shed now split into 2 stables.
He is messy and going through a lot of shavings and the thoought was get some mats and save on shavings.

Mayo mats seem a good idea, so might looking into getting some of those.

[smudger]

I'd second mayo mats - great if you need to lift regularly or move about on your own. They are ideal for levellish ground/surface.


I also bought 25mm rubber comfort mats. They are like a cow mattress 2 layers with spongy bit in the middle. As they are the same money, I prefer them for comfort but very heavy definately a two man job. So these are in the stables, yearly clean (no smells if deep littering) and I use the EVA mats for livestock eg under pig arks at entrances to shelters etc.


I would also say we bought  a lot of grass mats to avoid poaching and a complete waste of money.

[Brijjy]

I am trying different combinations of mats and shavings. I've got my 14hh fat Fell pony for a spot of clemming (thats shropshire for starving!) and he's got one 6ft x 4ft EVA mat in one back quarter of the stable and a deep layer of shavings in the quarter next to it. This means he can lay down if he wants ( he's doesn't really like laying down though) and the shavings soak up the pee. The stable smells alot better like this and I'm not using any more shavings than I did with all the mats down and keep sprinkling shavings on the top. The front half of the stable is just non slip concrete. So far this system seems to be working. I'll probably continue with it when I get the Sec C mare in for the winter but she does like to roll and lay down so I may have to rethink. S'never easy is it?

[SallyintNorth]

That's one well-behaved Fell, Brijjy.  My Fell pees on the mats, even if he's got somewhere perfectly suitable to pee elsewhere.  And he doesn't always pee in the same place, I think it maybe depends on the weather!  At least he always poos in more-or-less the same spot (but not always, just to keep me on my toes  )