# redoing stalls surface preparation



## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

Or would pdz stall freshener work better than lime?


----------



## 40232 (Jan 10, 2013)

I'm assuming the mare will be in the matted stall? I honestly think it would be more worth saving up for additional rubber mats instead of lime, dirt and shavings.

After working in a 40 stall, dirt floored barn, there is nothing more that I hate than dirt floors. You can never fully get the urine smell out, everything molds more easily (dropped grain, hidden hay, etc), and it is just a pain to clean out. The barn I worked in always had a cloud of dust and a mustiness about it - and that was only when there was maybe 15 horses. 

I don't know what your situation is, but if you could put rubber mats in after a bit of saving, I definitely would. Can you tell I HATE dirt floors? :lol:


----------



## Shosadlbrd (Nov 3, 2013)

KylieHuitema said:


> I'm assuming the mare will be in the matted stall? I honestly think it would be more worth saving up for additional rubber mats instead of lime, dirt and shavings.
> 
> After working in a 40 stall, dirt floored barn, there is nothing more that I hate than dirt floors. You can never fully get the urine smell out, everything molds more easily (dropped grain, hidden hay, etc), and it is just a pain to clean out. The barn I worked in always had a cloud of dust and a mustiness about it - and that was only when there was maybe 15 horses.
> 
> I don't know what your situation is, but if you could put rubber mats in after a bit of saving, I definitely would. Can you tell I HATE dirt floors? :lol:


I am totally with you on the dirt floors. After dealing with dirt floors in stall all my life and my current runway being dirt and quite dusty, my new barn is ALL concrete. Very excited about that. Now shopping for mats for he stalls.


----------



## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

I would love to do mats in both stalls, but money is tight right now, plus I'm trying to save money for whatever medications my mare needs. I hear the inhalers are very costly if we have to go that route.

Either way the trench needs to be filled in! So stall sand is a must. I was just wondering about lime (and what lime is best?).


----------



## Horseychick87 (Feb 5, 2014)

4horses,

the lime you have shown is not safe in small areas and not around animals or humans. I'd go with this one: Waukesha Lime Barnlime, 50 lb. Bag - Tractor Supply Co. If you do go with lime. Sweet PDZ gets mixed reviews, it seems to work well for some, but not for others. I think it's all in how it's applied honestly.

For the sane, make sure it's angular/rough sand, not round/ soft sand. Some types of play sand are rounded granules and it makes the sand slippery. I'd go with gravel if at all possible, it drains better and lasts far longer than sand.

Best wishes for you mare.


----------



## 40232 (Jan 10, 2013)

4horses said:


> Or would pdz stall freshener work better than lime?


I would not use the pdz for filling in stuff. It would get awfully pricey to keep it level with that being around $10 a bag. I only ever use it on pee spots on mats or dirt floors, but never for filling in areas. 

I do recommend it for helping with the dirt floor smell though, it does seem to help mask the odor a bit.


----------



## Horseychick87 (Feb 5, 2014)

I'm assuming you'd want to mix the lime or Sweet PDZ into the sand to keep it smelling fresh, correct? If so the 'safe' lime would probably last longer.


----------



## sig1946 (Dec 22, 2012)

4horses said:


> Now that my mare has been diagnosed with heaves, I'm redoing the stalls.
> 
> I stripped both stalls. I will be putting stall mats in the first stall which is already level. The second stall is more of a problem as it is uneven. It needs some sand added to the trench at the front. Lowe's sells lime in 40 lb bags for soil ph. Will that work for the stalls as well?
> 
> ...


We use a 6 inch deep limestone drainage base of 1 inch gravel topped with two to four inches of lime dust. All from a local quarry. Put some sand on top, cheap river sand, to get mixed in with urine, dropping, hay and so forth. More or less to protect the line dust from being thrown out into the compost pile. Replace some sand at something over a year. The big but is our stalls have free access outdoor runs. WE have one horse that urinates/defecates only outside. The others mix both locations. The end result having the outdoor run is much less work inside the stalls.


----------

