Rubber matting - good idea?

M

myhorselovesmud

New Member
Jan 28, 2009
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I've just moved yards. We had straw bedding in the old yard which I've always used and have gotten used to cleaning out quickly.
The new yard is shavings only which I'm struggling to clean out at any speed.
Lots of the other liveries have rubber matting down under their shavings so have a less thick bed than I've put down but I was wondering if rubber matting was a good idea?
Some people say that is saves money and effort on bedding, others say they wouldn't touch it since all the pee goes down under it and runs out from underneath? Is it as comfortable as a nice thick bed?

One of the other liveries is leaving so I have the opportunity to have her rubber matting at a cost. It's a year old and she said she'd scrub it for me.

What should I do?
 
I would grab matting if you have to use shavings (weird rule and gonna cost you lots!). Also, buy a plastic fork, great for shavings. You can reliably put a minor amount of shavings on if you have mats or have a fab fluffy bed with lots of bales, whatever you prefer. Most people I know on shavings have mats, too.
 
a plastic fork, and a flat shovel. Put the mats down as they really help, and in the long run are less expensive then extra shavings. Then put the shavings ontop, first you may get leakage but that just means you didn't put enough shavings in. (I know one person who doesn't put shavings in at all) I love shavings more than straw as it seems more absorbant, and you can reuse alot of shavings depending on the horse.

Use the plastic fork to just pull the poop out of the shavings, then the shovel for big messes like a big poop, or an absorbant amount of pee.
 
I personally hated mats. I used them with shavings but my mare is far to wet and it used to be like a river underneath.
Got rid of them now and am back to shavings on the concrete.
 
I'm in the Claire camp too - bought new matting for a ridiculous sum, and the pee pee underneath kept draining into the next stable and when you life it - EEEWWWW........ now on Aubois (see if your yard owner will let you have that instead of shavings!) - we love it, it's similar, but heavier so doesn't spread, you pick the poo off the top daily and clear out the wet weekly and it's cheap once you are up and running - I run mine on about £4 a week each..........
 
I love mats - Jack's stable is 12' x 24' and would use a ridiculous amount of bedding if he didn't have mats. The secret is to make sure that there are no gaps, butt them up really close together and if they don't fill the entire box then a six inch strip of deep litter on the edge catches the 'run off'! ;)
 
i think if you are going to use rubber mats then you should make sure the stable has a slight slope on it so that the pee runs out easily. if it sits under the mats then it stinks and can actually cause more problems than not having any.
2 stables on my yard have rubber mats, one is a basic stable and the pee sits under the mats, when we pick them up to wash them it stinks of amonia, it's foul and kills our lungs!
the other one has really good drainage so the pee just runs out before it has a chance to settle under the mats! ;)
 
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