# Stall Bedding



## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

I would use bedding. Barn lime can be abrasive.
With only a dirt base the stalls are going to be hard to keep clean & level.


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## tim62988 (Aug 30, 2012)

my personal thought:

barn lime, stall mats, then some shavings

all of the dirt floor barns I have been in the dirt gets compacted and solid pretty quickly and any wet spots become holes. My sisters used to board at a barn with dirt stalls and it worked out pretty well to do the lime mats and sawdust on top then a few times a year we would strip the stalls, pull the mats wash them and put down fresh lime after re-leveling any spaces that might need it


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

It's been my experience that the best thing to do with dirt floors is to put a rubber mat over them and then the bedding on top of that. Doing it this way, you keep the dirt part drier, you use less bedding and the mat makes it just that much more comfortable for a horse to lie on.

If you do have to go with just bedding, then you need to use lots (as in deep bedding a stall) to absorb the urine and other miscellaneous fluids (even with lots the dirt still tends to get wet). Depending on what types of material you have available in your area to use for bedding, I think the best of this method is to use a generous layer of shavings topped with straw (preferably wheat straw) and follow that up with daily cleaning to get the soiled bits out.


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## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

I agree, rubber mats are a must, or you'll end up with huge holes which isn't good for your horse. Then I use woody pellets. They need to be wet down then they expand to 3 times the size of the bag, if not more. it makes it so much easier to clean the stall, plus there is minimal waste!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

My rubber mats which covered the clay/sand floor, were removed as the horse's didn't like them. I keep a bag of coarse diatomaceous earth handy and sprinkle some on fresh manure and the pee spots. It helps dry them out. There were no mats for years and no holes from urine. I do give it a good shoveling and raking each fall. I do add wheat straw or shavings, whatever I can get my hands on. The floor isn't level but it doesn't matter. It is fairly smooth.


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## dawnandduke2002 (Sep 28, 2015)

*Rubber Mat/Shaving/Straw*

I would say a rubber mat and shavings/straw on top


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## Bedhead (Aug 4, 2013)

these are all pretty sound advise imo; My barn personally using the pellets slidestop mentioned (about 4 bags for a 12x12 stall), and then 4 bags of fine shavings. Pair that with twice daily mucking + the occasional bag to repalce what gets taken out and my gelding (who is, thankfully, a neat stall keeper) can go months before his stall needs to be stripped again.


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## Horsecrazed (May 12, 2015)

Thanks all! I will try these awesome tips


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

Saddlebag said:


> My rubber mats which covered the clay/sand floor, were removed as the horse's didn't like them. I keep a bag of coarse diatomaceous earth handy and sprinkle some on fresh manure and the pee spots. It helps dry them out. There were no mats for years and no holes from urine. I do give it a good shoveling and raking each fall. I do add wheat straw or shavings, whatever I can get my hands on. The floor isn't level but it doesn't matter. It is fairly smooth.


You don't remove the fresh manure & pee spots daily?


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

If one horse hears me he immediately comes inside and seems to enjoy standing right in front of me. So no, it doesn't get cleaned daily. They do have one spot they prefer and the fan that's in there dries it somewhat. Last year they started using one stall, the larger one for standing in and the other for a toilet. It would be so nice if they would just go a little farther and leave it outside.


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

I really prefer straw bedding, we use oat straw. I find it very absorbent and I only clean it every other use (my horses are only in during bad weather). It stays very clean and the horses love to lay in it. They also can eat it if they wish too. I have it over stall mats.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Jan1975 (Sep 7, 2015)

Our barn has dirt floors covered in lime, with rubber mats on that, and then the pellet wood shavings. It never smells like ammonia and the horses seem content so I'm guessing it's all good.


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## Bedhead (Aug 4, 2013)

Stall mats are the best things; my barn doesn't have them but a lady pays me to clean out her barn every now and again and when she asks me to strip the stalls it's so easy because she has mats. If you can afford it, do it.


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## Chasin Ponies (Dec 25, 2013)

Sawdust is the common bedding here in the Midwest where there is a lot of lumber and tons of sawmills. You basically get the sawdust for free but have to pay the transportation.

One place I boarded was a converted cow/bank barn with just dirt in the stalls. The BO was too cheap to invest in mats so over a month's time, we had to let the sawdust compact downward, clean the top portion, then added some new. About once a month we'd have to strip the stall all the way to the bottom and throw some lime in. The compacted sawdust provided the cushion that mats would have done and was very labor intensive.

There are mats in the stalls where I board now so we can get down to a good clean surface (at least where they aren't torn) but after 13 years they are getting pretty thin and very warped. Because they built the stalls _on top of the mats_, you can't get them out to smooth out underneath. Some of them are _permanently_ warped up 6-10" high so this was a very bad idea. They thought that building the stalls on top of them would help hold the mats down but in reality, with horses pacing around the stalls they get stretched upwards and stuck into place! Lumps all over the place!

Mats are definitely worth the initial investment and they do last a long time as long as they are pulled out every once in a while to smooth down and flatten the stall floor.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

I've tried dirt floors several times with no success at all, if they're used regularly you can't seem to avoid getting a hollowed out area in the middle
I have rubber mats over the top of crushed stone here - plus bedding depending on how long they're going to be inside. Works great


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