# Your opinion on stall flooring?



## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

AmberPick said:


> I have been reading all about stall flooring.. And there doesn't seem to be a clear cut answer.
> 
> Opinions, pros, and cons, or any personal experienceswith flooring is appreciated!! And if you have rubber mats, how much did you pay for them? Are they even that expensive? The book I was reading was very outdated and the experience I have is with horses that were not stalled.
> 
> Could someone include wood, that seemed to be the one I was leaning toward for whatever reason!!


Are mares are always out, but in our double stalls (pretty much only used in case of a sprain or when trimming) we have rubber stall mats. They're easy to clean and provide good traction. Last time we bought some, they were about $35.
I've never seen wood on a stall floor and I would think it would be a little slippery and absorb urine.


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## artsyjenn (May 12, 2010)

We have HEAVY rubber mats in our stalls. I can't remember what they cost when we bought them 12 years ago, but they were expensive. They weigh a ton. They delivered them on a semi, dropped them off at the end of our driveway in rolls. 4 mats per roll, which is flooring for 2 stalls. We had to move the rolls back to the barn with a Bobcat. Hubby cut them exactly to fit with a sawzall, so the one seam is very tight. We put them in place, and they haven't budged. I ordered them from an ad in the back of Horse Illustrated I think. I haven't seen mats this thick in a tack store. I highly recommend something similar if you can find them.


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

Never heard of wood, and I wouldn't think it would work well. Rubber mats are great. There are several kinds I have liked, all rubber-one is even open-almost like a honeycomb, which works if your soil drains well, and you use some lime sometimes. The only one I don't like was in a place I boarded-they were green, thinner than I was used to, and, IMO way too smooth. I found them a bit slippery when wet. I don't remember how much they were years ago when we had a barn, but yes, heavy is best-they don't bend or curl.


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## wildberryxX3 (Jun 28, 2010)

Wood is a terrible floor! One barn I was at (I might add, it was a terrible barn and not well managed!) had wood as the stall floor. They thought it would be easy to let the urine drain and just "hose it out". In reality, it made for a VERY slippery and unsafe base for the horses!

At my new barn, they use crushed lime as a level base and put rubber mats on top of that, then shavings. Works really well!


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## ShezaFlashofGold (Jul 28, 2010)

I have a dirt floor with the nice thick heavy duty rubber mats on top. It works great.


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## Rowzy (Mar 1, 2010)

My barn has concrete floors with nice thick rubber mats on top. Its nice because sometimes my stalls flood if it rains really hard, and the mats don't get too slippery and if water gets under the mats I don't have to worry that much.

The barn I used to board at had dirt floors, some had mats, some didn't. Without mats the dirt absorbs a lot of urine and odors, and it becomes uneven pretty quickly. With mats it was fine for the most part.


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## justkeepriding (Jun 26, 2010)

We inherited a barn with wood on floors and was horrible - could not take them out, because they were part of foundation, therefore covered them with rubber mats with cedar shavings on top. Would prefer something with better drainage under the mats and cedar.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I would stay away from wood too. Not only would you have the slipperyness and the odor from urine soaking into it, it would rot rather quickly with the constant moisture.


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## Donanuge (Aug 21, 2007)

Wildberry, you said your barn has limestone, is it possible to find out what size limestone they use? It comes in numbers size, if they are unsure if you can ask the size of the stone. I heard the best size to use is 1/8" which is about the size of cat litter. I would appreciate if you could find this out for me. I don't know anyone that uses the stone.

Amerpick, I too am researching stalls, right now I have clay then shavings, but the clay usually gets dug out, so I have to keep putting more. Right now I am leaning toward the limestone, then the rubber mats, then shavings. If you have a tractor supply store they have mats for about 35.00, the limestone is about 50.00 per yd. 

I have 4 12x12 stalls, and putting the limestone in at 6" deep, the cost of the stone is going to be 750.00, then the mats, 840.00. That's about 397.00 per stall. What I think you do is, put the limestone in has to be very level, spray it with water, let it cure for 72hrs, then you can put the mats, etc. 

If anyone knows anymore than I have said, please let me know. I've been researching this in great detail and it seems this is the best solution so far.

Thanks,
Dona


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## Maverick101 (Nov 8, 2009)

I have wood as my barn floor, and dont use rubber mats on top.

I have no issues w slippery floors (in fact find rubber matts slipperier)
I dont have an issue with rotting boards either, but my management practices are better then maybe some others may be...meaning my stalls are picked and cleaned thoroughly daily 2/day.
I also use lime to whisk away oder and moisture, and my boards are treated for added protection.
I also use wood shavings not straw, and I bed quite deep.

My barn is 5 years old, and I have had to replace only 3 boards


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## robfnk (Dec 17, 2020)

I had 4x6 stall mats for years and they were okay except they would occasionally curl up on the corners and would be a pain to pull up and clean out. About 10 years ago I went with interlocking mats and will not use anything else again. Love them. You can order 12 x 12 mat kits at Tractor Supply or you can order custom mats at Great Mats .com .If you do make sure you talk to your local rep other wise the shipping can be a killer.


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