# Barn flooring?



## Spiritandjuniper4711 (Apr 12, 2014)

What flooring is best and easiest to maintain for a barn? The horses will be in at night and if there is nasty weather. I've heard concrete - even with mats - can be hard on a horses legs. I've also heard that dirt can get uneaven. What is your opinion on this?


----------



## squirrelfood (Mar 29, 2014)

I prefer packed aglime with mats over. Drains pretty well, and helps keep odor down. Mats keep it from getting dug out. As long as the mats are fitted pretty tightly so they aren't shifting, it works well.


----------



## twolucid (Jan 14, 2014)

Where I work we have an asphalt aisle way, with gravel in stalls for drainage as bottom layer, with clay packed on top, probably 3 or 4 inches, and 6-8 inches of sawdust on top of the clay.


----------



## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

_Lots of differing opinions and controversy on this one....
here is my opinion..
_ 
Concrete for ease,* is* the way to go...once down you are done.
Mats...OK if you like them.

You make mention though of concrete & mats and hard on legs...
To my mind....those who use stone dust, rock layers and compact the base then put in mats...what makes that "softer" on the legs? *
Nothing* in my mind...it _*is*_ as non-forgiving.

I look at animal emergency hospitals...they have concrete floors and mats...yes, for sanitary reasons, but do you really think that million dollar racehorse is going to stand on a surface for sometimes months if it was doing such "damage"?? :?

Personally, I like concrete in the right situation, properly bedded and maintained.
I _don't_ like mats for those that paw and pull them up, get caught on the upturned edges getting injured.
I _do_ like my stalls bedded in deep shavings as a cushion because those floors are harder than just dirt.

If using mats, be kind to your horse and bed them same as any other stall would receive... mats are darn hard to lie down on.
I see so many that do mats then _forget_ what shavings are because "matted stalls aren't supposed to need as much bedding"....poop on that!!
Go sit your tush on a hard mat for an hour...then go find a stall with a nice generous bed of shavings over that mat...you tell me which one you would prefer.

Oh...my barn. 
We have dirt floors with _many_ inches worth of shavings on top of it. My horses are out most of the time...they have the freedom to come and go from their stalls as they wish. They do get locked in for bad weather though...

_stall floors and adequate bedding is a pet peeve of mine...sorry._
_of course....this is just my opinion!_
_.._


----------



## squirrelfood (Mar 29, 2014)

I don't have a problem with "non-forgiving" with concrete, just with the lack of drainage. If a horse pees a LOT in the stall, no amount of bedding keeps it from getting soggy.

Oh, and properly fitted and maintained mats seldom get pawed up. I have some that haven't shifted in years, unless I drag them out. And stallion sometimes paws and spins around like an idiot.


----------



## Spiritandjuniper4711 (Apr 12, 2014)

Thanks guys! If I put dirt, then mats to keep the dirt from moving around would that be ok? Also, how would you clean a stall like this. Not the bedding but the actuall stall. And what bedding is best with rubber mats?

Sorry, I have a lot of questions


----------



## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

I've done straw, shavings and pellet bedding...

Straw...well, not many do this so not going there.

Shavings...I prefer small flake to medium flake only... don't like large flake nor "chips" appearing stuff.
You clean this type of stall like any other...
Take out what you see easily visible. Search for a wet spot, remove it.
Myself, I turn my stalls everyday. 
I scoop carefully, dump then scoop and gently toss on the wall, pick up what rolls out. Now the entire floor is uncovered you can see any more wet spot you missed {if you hit one as tossing pick it out!}, I sprinkle powdered lime for odor control {works well and cheap compared to anything else you hear about}... now pull done the bedding from the wall area where you placed it...pick-out any more manure or debris left...
You're done....once you form a routine/pattern, learn your horses "spots" you can do a stall in about 10 minutes with minimal excessive loss of bedding material, a dry clean stall left behind. I refer to doing a 12'x12' box with 8"- 10" of shavings.
With the right muck-fork you can actually remove only the manure and wet spot and save much of your bedding. I use to use a average wheelbarrow and do 2 stalls where horses were in 24/7 basically and still had room left over...the horses were not terribly clean nor messy, just average amount for what they consumed and excreted..
I have never had a issue of "burns" from lime either as it is completely covered by the stall bedding...

As for pellet bedding... many love it. I don't.
I have a issue of spraying water in the stall to moisten the pellets so they become absorbent....something about making wet the area I wish to be dry just bothers me...that and the fact the pellets look like my horses feed not consumed...again, just bothers me.

Well, your topic sort of goes together why I answered as I did.
You must occasionally remove those mats to clean out from under them and re-level and somtimes add more material...
Horses are heavy creatures and they do stand in favorite spots in their stalls so compacting does happen and the stalls do sometimes stink because you do get urine seepage that then festers under the mats....so periodic removeal of out, wash the mats, clean and deodorize the floor, add material...then re-make the stall...whew...tired just thinking about it.

Good luck.
:wink:


----------



## Kristyjog (Nov 11, 2013)

We have dirt and stall mats over. We only use bedding in bad weather. Our horses have 24x60 paddocks connected to their stalls so they aren't in their stalls 24/7. I cleans stalls twice a day.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Spiritandjuniper4711 (Apr 12, 2014)

Thank you for the replies!


----------



## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

I do not like cement for all the negatives stated I have a horse that would stock up in his cement stall, no matter how deep his shavings. He was only three and had never been injured. I was in a boarding situation and moved him as soon as I could find a place that didn't make him spend most of his time in lockdown.

We used limestone crush, a/k/a "1/4-Down" and "cat litter" by a few:shock:

I have regular mats in the barn aisle and grid mats in the stalls. 

Grid mats have holes in them. Yes the holes will fill with shavings but the urine still drains.

If you living on clay, dig the stalls down, if you can, then refill with base driveway rock and top off with the crush.

If you can't dig down, you can only get away with laying down about 4" of crush and you might get away with not having to re-do the stalls for five or six years. I know this from personal experience:-|

If you can do it right the first time, believe me, when six years gets here tomorrow, you will be glad you spent the extra time and money when the barn went up


----------

