# Is concrete floor OK?



## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

Removing shoes or not removing shoes is a horse by horse thing. You will have to discuss it with your farrier. 

Personally I think just mats with minimal bedding on concrete is too rough on a horses legs if they are required to stand there for any amount of time.

If you bed deeply on the mats then it should be fine.


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## wannahorse22 (Dec 27, 2009)

Oh, I forgot to add something. The horse would only go in its stall durung bad weather, otherwise it would be in its pasture 24/7.


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## Silvera (Apr 27, 2010)

Concrete floors are fine if you have bedding and mats. The mats help soften the floor for the horse, but even without the mats I have had horses in concrete stalls with just shavings or straw and had no problems. The only downside to concrete is you need more bedding for absorbtion.

As for the shoes if you put snow pads on them then shoes are perfectly fine and safe. I leave my horses shoes on all year because we do a lot of road riding. If you are road riding in the winter make sure you have some sort of no slip on them, either borium or picks of some kind.


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## wannahorse22 (Dec 27, 2009)

Ok ,great! I was just a little worried because some people said it can cause lameness.


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## Silvera (Apr 27, 2010)

Usually only if your horse either has a problem already or if they are super restless, pawing, running around, rearing, that sort of thing.


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

When I lived in PA I had concrete floors with heavy mats over them. My horses had free access to the stalls from the pasture and were only kept in if there was in injury that required stall rest.

During the winter (we rode 12 months/year) I had my guys shod with borium welded to their shoes for traction. While riding in snow, I used WD-40 to help keep the snow from balling up.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

iridehorses said:


> While riding in snow, I used WD-40 to help keep the snow from balling up.


This actually works for you?

I have tried it several times and it does not work well for me. It lasts like 15 minutes and then snow balls start again.

My shod horse wears rim snow pads in the winter.


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## MissPhoebe (Jul 13, 2010)

I live in PA and we don't have an indoor so I ride outside every month of the year (well, sometimes, I chicken out when it's brutally cold). Anyway, I'm really interested in this snowball prevention thing because we don't just get snowballs in her feet, we get glaciers! Does WD-40 actually work?!?! How do you apply. I have heard about using WD-40 or Crisco but I have never tried it because I don't know how to go about applying it and I'm afraid I'll get it on her shoes and send us flying though the ring like Clark Griswold in Christmas Vacation :lol:


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

LOL, the WD-40 does have to be reapplied several times during a ride but it does work. As for applying it, WD-40 is an aerosol so you would just spray it on. I always sprayed the whole hoof. It will quickly come off the iron on the shoe and, if you have borium on, it makes no difference.

Our group of ~10 (sometimes more, sometimes less) used to trail ride for several hours in snow, freezing rain, anything really. We crossed creeks, roads, and fields yet never had a horse slip out from a rider.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Silvera said:


> Usually only if your horse either has a problem already or if they are super restless, pawing, running around, rearing, that sort of thing.


I agree. Many folks don't like mats over concrete because they say it is too hard, but I've never seen a problem, and to be honest, when it's hot and dry around here, the mostly clay ground is hard as a brick...a lot harder than a mat over concrete.


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