# Remeidies for a muddy stall



## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

is it a stall or a run-in?


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

I assume regrading and putting drainage in is not an option.

Is she looking for a temporary fix?


A great temporary fix is to buy straw. Strip off the shavings or sawdust. Put down the straw in flakes. Not shaken out, full flakes, like you would put down flooring tiles. Works best with layers of flakes over lapping. Put the normal bedding on top.

The straw flakes help to keep the hooves from going thru into the mud layer. 

It makes it a pain to clean and when you have to clean out the straw layer it is a hassle. But it works great as a temporary problem fix.


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## Crimsonhorse01 (Sep 8, 2009)

Both, ick. I would think stall mats for the stall. The BO shouldnt get upset at that right?


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

If you install stall mats (after asking the BO if it is OK) assume you are giving them to the BO and do not expect to remove them when you leave.

Nothing wrong with asking the BO about installing them though.

There are not a miracle answer though. If the base is bad the stall mats will probably not sit level, etc.


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## sillybunny11486 (Oct 2, 2009)

you need fine rock/gravel to level it out, and compress it as much as possible, then add mats.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

stall mats will run you close to $300. The cheapest thing to do is build the stall up with dirt, probably 5 tractor loads. Then put some blue stone dust over it, tamp it down and add shavings... then clean the stall everyday.


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

I would look at adding about 6 inches (minimum) of a good solid base (crusher fines/road base work great for this as they compact very solidly but still allow drainage) and then mat over the top of that. This is what we have done and it has worked wonderfully.


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## Crimsonhorse01 (Sep 8, 2009)

Ok, Ill let her know. Shouldn't the BO take care of that stuff though? :/


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

I suppose it depends.

Are things muddy because of a strange occurrence? Like a once per year horrible rain issue that the only way to prevent this is by moving the whole barn. Or are the stalls always muddy?

And the bottom line is, should does not mean will or has to. 

Any of those major things that people listed (like adding sand, etc) have to be run by the BO prior to being done.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

If the stall itself if muddy - what is the turnout like?!


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## Crimsonhorse01 (Sep 8, 2009)

She said its All muddy. She says they dont seem to care. Its really hard to find board in Gillette. I told her about another place so hopefully they have an opening. :/


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

If the weather there has been like it has been in some areas mud every where is pretty impossible to do without. Some areas got pretty drowned this year.

I hope she finds some where that is dryer.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

My place is a swamp right now... I do the best I can...


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## qtrhrsecrazy (Aug 2, 2009)

These are pretty nice and work well Stallskins


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## back in the crosby again (Feb 4, 2009)

How is the land outside of the stall? If the land is sloped upward on the out side of the stall there is not too much you can do without doing some major construction. I agree with putting in rock and stall mats. I made my run in stall so it was about 6 inches above the land around it. Even with almost a month of rain this October, the stall stayed nice and dry. The turnout was horribly muddy and when I rotate the pasture I will have to do some repair around the run in stall. 

If her horse starts to have hoof problems due to the excessive moisture I would definitely ask the BO to do something, not that they will.


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## rocky pony (Oct 5, 2007)

we get insane amounts of mud at my stable. my BO is awesome and does all that she can, but there are limits to what can actually be done. we who can't afford barn stalls just have to live with it.
I had a gelding whose coronary bands became irritated from the moisture, kind of like this but a little bit worse:









and what helped with that was to wait until his hooves were totally dry and then apply desitin (intended for diaper rashes but also useful on hooves, haha) to the area. this may be something your friend could utilize to lock the excessive moisture out of her horses' hooves.

and then of course, tons of horses will get thrush. my other two geldings have that problem pretty bad. I've had luck with this:









as well as with a 50/50 mixture of basic lysol sprayed on and optionally scrubbed into the frog with a wire brush.


just a few tips I thought I'd pass along in the event that her problem can't be resolved. =)


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## SuperStarsSugar (Sep 9, 2009)

Believe me when I say stall mats fall right through the mud if you don't put gravel down first. I wouldn't go that route. Can you put hogs fuel in there or something? There shouldn't be any real objection to that because it breaks down and turns back into dirt with use, so it's not a permanent addition. Definitely as the BO though.


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## filly50 (Nov 25, 2009)

The best thing i've used for mud is pellet bedding, its very absorbant and i love it, Woodpellets.com is selling it for $150 a ton delivered. give them a try their number is 1-800-pellets.


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