# Wet stalls



## BWolters (Oct 14, 2010)

Put in a french drain?


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## tempest (Jan 26, 2009)

A little cheaper method you could use is buy bags of Kitty litter and spread the litter on the bottom of the stall underneath the shavings. This isn't a cure for flooding though, you'll need a drainage system for that.


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## Tymer (Dec 28, 2009)

How packed is the dirt? At my barn we have a dirt floor, but it is packed really well. No dust or anything. Might have to do with the age of the barn though. Otherwise, it might be cheaper in the long run to do rubber matting.


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## Woodsy (Jun 25, 2010)

Our dirt is pretty packed too. But a faucet broke about a week ago and wet those two stalls pretty good and I just can't seem to get them to properly dry out. 

It isn't rain drainage or anything so if the faucet does not break again this should not happen again. 

It is just difficult for me to get them dry again.

I do like the kitty litter idea!

And also, I do intend to eventually go with mats. It is just not an option for me at this very moment. I don't want them to have wet stalls in the mean time.


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## Amblin Cowgirl (Apr 27, 2010)

We have a dirt floor in our stalls too! We put down heavy duty rubber floor mats over the dirt floor, and then shaving on top of that. In the spring we take the mats out and let the stalls dry REALLY good!


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

So, you are saying that the stalls are wet from a broken faucet and they are just not dry yet?


Put straw, in flakes, under your bagged shavings bedding. It will keep the horses feet from sinking in the mud.


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## apachiedragon (Apr 19, 2008)

You can also pull all the bedding out of the way when they are not in the stalls, and point a box fan on the wet spot to help it dry quicker. 

If it isn't all from the faucet, you need to check to be sure it isn't water seeping up from the ground. Even if you can't see it running in somewhere, it could be coming up from underneath.


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## Woodsy (Jun 25, 2010)

I just took everything out of both stalls. Stripped them both down to dirt. (phew big job)

I am going to let them sit for a few days and them build them back up. 

I am looking at sometime in mid-October for nice rubber stall mats. 

Thanks everyone for all the replies so far!


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## ScharmLily (Nov 23, 2009)

Check craigslist for used stall mats. When I built my barn, I was able to get enough to do over one full stall for very cheap off of craigslist. Of course, I had to clean them which was a dirty job, but if you're on a limited budget it is certainly the way to go. Some factories will also give you their old large rubber conveyer belts for cheap or free-- I know someone who used these for a 20 stall barn. They are thinner though, but for only a few hours use per day, they should be more than fine.

Before I built my barn, my horses were at a barn with dirt floors, and installing the mats was a first priority for me before they came home-- sooooooo much cleaner and nicer!


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## Buckcherry (Nov 18, 2010)

A barn I used to work at just had dirt floors and no mats, when the horses would pee in them we would use this powder stuff called stall dry it works really good heres a link to one brand 
Stall Dry Deodorizer - 40 Pound


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## candandy49 (Jan 16, 2011)

Something you could do is have some pea-sized gravel hauled to your barn lay down several inches of the gravel on top of the dirt floors then rebed the stalls. The gravel will help some in wicking the moisture away from the bedding. When you can manage getting rubber stall mats just put them on top of the gravel. When my DH got our barn built we put down gravel then bedded the stalls. It does help.


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## Woodsy (Jun 25, 2010)

We do have some access to pea gravel. I will also check craigslist for mats. Sounds like those are the way to go. If I can find them for relatively inexpensive I would go for it today.

Until I can the gravel sounds like a good idea. Probably a job to get back out though. :-D


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## Palomine (Oct 30, 2010)

Were the stalls graveled under the dirt? So they will drain and dry properly? Or is it just dirt only?

And are you putting lime down?


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Woodsy said:


> I just took everything out of both stalls. Stripped them both down to dirt. (phew big job)
> 
> I am going to let them sit for a few days and them build them back up.


If you have some fans (like simple box fans), put them in there while they are stripped out. Good ventilation will help dry them out a lot faster.


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## candandy49 (Jan 16, 2011)

We put the gravel down on top of the dirt floors. There really is no need to remove the gravel when the mats are put down, just put the mats on top of the gravel. If we had went with the French Drain it would have been far better to do, though. A French Drain, as I recall, is a trench dug in the stall to about 3-4 feet deep then fill it with gravel to the level of the stall floor. Then bed the stall as usual. The moisture and urine will flow into the gravel-filled trench. Putting powdered lmne down on the floor of a stripped stall is a very good idea. It sweetens the smell of the urine.


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