# Traction for horse trailer mats???



## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

Hi guys! We bought a gently used stock trailer with a wood floor and nice rubber mats. The mats are like-new but on our first outing with a horse I noticed that when he poops on the mats and steps in it they become pretty slick. Is there a way to remedy that? Because even if you start with a pristine trailer, poop happens!

I have friends with regular horse trailers that put shavings down but I think they would just fly all over the place in a stock trailer because it is so open. (Even in an enclosed trailer you can see how the shavings move around).

So is there anything I could do besides buy new mats? I checked both sides of the mats.....they are smooth on both sides. Is that normal, or should one side have a texture?

I almost want to buy some bath-tub stick-ums, but I doubt they would hold. Do other people worry about this or am I over-worrying?


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

My mats have barely any texturing either side....... 
My horses do not slip or lose traction on them that I have ever seen or heard them scramble ever.
Stock trailers and loose shavings on the floor... I would also be hesitant about them swirling around and creating a problem for eyes and breathing..
I do have to wonder though...
That poop when you say it was slick...to you or the horse?
You and your maybe 150 pounds, possibly... to the horse and their 1000 pounds of force and traction applied through their hooves....doubt it.
Bring a muck fork and clean off the manure best you can before you load to go home....
Once home... clean it out, strip the mats out and thoroughly wash the mats and the trailer inside and leave all to air dry before replacing your mats on the floor.
Pay special attention to between boards for drainage, the edges of floor to wall and corners where things get stuck and if left can cause rot...


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## PrivatePilot (Dec 7, 2009)

Some people use profuse amounts of shavings in trailers, some use none. I'm in the latter camp as I find that urine covered shavings (poop isn't the only thing that happens in trailers) can be even more slippery than nothing at all.

My rubber mats are textured/ribbed and I've never seen any evidence that the horses have had traction issues. 

Yes, poop is slippery as well, but most of it stays behind them so their front legs remain with good traction even if their rears end up stepping in it and getting a bit slippery, but IMHO it's not that big of a deal.

I clean the trailer after unloading and pay particular close attention to the ramps (side and rear) as if there's anywhere the horses will slip if they're sloppy, that's it...but once in, I don't worry about it.


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