# My stalls are flooding



## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

We've had horrible rain for three days straight here in palm beach county Florida, and its showing no signs of stopping. My pasture is a lake, my ring is under about eight inches of water, and my stalls are slowly starting to flood. All my stalls are matted, and the water is starting to pool underneath and float them. It's not coming in from the roof, but from underneath. My horses have no dry place to stand. The shavings are completely soaked, the mats are starting to shift around from floating on top of the water. The stalls with runs have sand in the back, and I've dug out a ditch so there's no standing water in them, and the mats are held in place by the framing so they're not shifting around, but the one stall has a leak in the roof and water is pooling in the corner of the stall. I can get some quick dry in there, but it'll fill up again with the next big cell we get. The other stalls with runs are on better shape, but one has a mud spot in it that I'm going to have to add sand to. 

I'm just at a loss. My horses have to dry place to stand. I have their hay in bags, so their hay is dry at least, but I can't get a new round bale out to the pasture because there's no dry ground to drop it on. The truck is 4x4, so I'm not worried about that. 

What can I do to help my horses feet in all this water?


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

Use some lime in the sand. It will firm it up. Dig channels
To lower ground


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## jamesqf (Oct 5, 2009)

churumbeque said:


> Dig channels
> To lower ground


Is there any lower ground in Florida?

Can you frame in the stalls with 2x4 or 2x6, and build up the insides with dirt?


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

rebar 8x8s or railroad ties around the perimeter, backfill with crushed granite (or whatever you use in Florida for road beds), stall mats on top. Dig drainage channels to lower ground. If there is any!


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

its my understanding your weather isn't going to let up.

The quickest fix would be if you could put your horses someplace else for a few days. Is that possible? Maybe a boarding barn with empty stalls that would help you out, or your county fairground?

Once the rain stops, then focus on fixing the water issue.

Good thoughts coming your way


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

If the water is coming up from underneath the ground is saturated to the point it can't absorb any more water. Do you know of anyone with much higher ground who would board temporarily?


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## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

Problem is, I am a boarding barn. I would have to move my boarders as well. I'm thinking about getting a truckload of gravel, pulling my mats out, framing in the bottoms of the stalls and throwing in six-8 inches of gravel in each and then laying the mats back down. The horses would have to stand in the flooded pasture while we do it, but it would keep this problem from happening ever again. 

There really is no lower ground out here. I dug a ditch out behind my stalls with runs so that they wouldn't fill with water, it also keeps those stalls from "floating" like the other half of my barn is currently doing. but I don't have that option with the other half of my barn where there are no runs.


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## HombresArablegacy (Oct 12, 2013)

Unfortunately, the water table is so high in Fla that when you get the kind of rain you've described, the ground becomes saturated. I remember one summer in Plant City where we had so much rain for a few weeks, that even though my barn was on higher ground, every time my horses planeed a foot in their stalls, water would seep up. 

It was horrible, all my horses had tender feet because there was virtually no dry place for them inside or out.

The description of your stall mats floating is really terrible. I hope theres a way to build up your stalls to prevent it happening again. Tough situation.
I will say watch out for fire ants around your barn, as they will be seeking any place to move to. I've seen it rain so much in Fla that the fire ants were floating in nests on top of the water! Thousands of them all holding onto each other, I'll never forget that.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## LilyandPistol (Dec 2, 2014)

Wow, I don't know what to tell you but good luck. Prayers for you.


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## gssw5 (Jul 30, 2013)

I have no suggestions, but I sympathize. 

We are in Martin County and getting slammed with all the rain too. Hopefully the rain will stop soon.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

I remember a panicked BO running in during a rain storm shouting "we need to build "moats" so the barn doesn't flood!!" at the time I thought it was really funny and proof she was insane. Scary to think of that actually happening (though your circumstances are clearly different and much more real than a quick spring downpour!)

If you can "fix" it than I would throw the horses out and fix it.

You said half the barn is dry.. worst case can you swap the horses from the dry to wet so they get shifts?

Otherwise I think you just need to pull things apart and rebuild short of blocking up the outside, sounds like you've done as much as possible there.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

I think you need to put in wood floors. Depending on the size of your stalls, lay two or three in each, stall then add planks crosswise. Leave 1/8 between planks to allow urine to run thro. This will raise the floor a good 12". You don't need to use matts on a wood floor but you will need to add bedding, same as with the mats.


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## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

The problem with wood floors would be that they would have to be replaced every few years, which with as many stalls as I have would be very expensive. Wood rots fast out here, especially when you add urine and poop. The gravel wouldn't rot and would still keep it above water level (hopefully) and allow for proper drainage.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

Building up your stall floors would be the quickest fix. I'd do a good bed of gravel then put lime screenings on top of that or if that's not available in your area then sand. Lime screenings seem to get called different things but it is about the consistency of sand but absorbs and packs better.


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## Rain Shadow (May 1, 2014)

Saddlebag said:


> I think you need to put in wood floors. Depending on the size of your stalls, lay two or three in each, stall then add planks crosswise. Leave 1/8 between planks to allow urine to run thro. This will raise the floor a good 12". You don't need to use matts on a wood floor but you will need to add bedding, same as with the mats.


Wood can't survive Florida. Heck, we had the stairs leading into our house built out of very nice pressure treated pine five years ago. I fell through the top step last month. That was wood that was under an overhang and had never touched the ground. 

Our humidity murders wood.


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

As said, if the water table has risen because the ground can take no more water there is nothing you can do about it. Adding lime or anything else is just going to make even more of a mess. 

Their feet will survive, might soften them a bit for a while but they will soon harden of when the water goes.


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