Rubber Stall Mats?

The problem with our barn is that most of the floor is gravel. There's cement in about half of it, but where the stalls are, it's gravel. I don't know if this is the cause, but the fact is that the stalls get very dirty very fast. Everyone I've talked to says they only pick out the dirty parts throughout the week, then do a complete gutting and cleaning only once a week. For me, that's pretty much impossible. If I left it all week, I would be 6 hours on one stall. So therefore, I have to do a complete cleaning once every 2 or 3 days, and sometimes daily.

I was wondering if I got those rubber stall mats, would it help keep the stalls a little bit tidier and cleaner? I don't know if the gravel like, absorbs the poop and makes it bad, or what (I know it absorbs the urine, and it's a bit gross), but it's not the most enjoyable thing. And yes, the gravel is very hard packed. It's not even the work that I have to do that bothers me, 'cause if I don't muck stalls no one else will, and I want to keep the barn clean-it's just that I've gone through a LOT of straw in the past month, and I'd like to cut back on my usage.

The only thing is, every barn I've seen with those rubber mats has had cement beneath them. Is that a necessity? As long as I kept the stall clean, and scrubbed the mats off every once in a while, would it be alright? What do you guys think?

You can put rubber stall mats over gravel or dirt or just about anything.

So it won't...I don't know, leak off the sides or anything? I think I'll go out and look for a couple. Any idea how much they cost?

Well, depending on what kind/how much bedding you have, you'll probably have a little urine go in the seams or off the end (if that's what you mean).

The mats are usually 4'x6' and the last time I bought some they were around $35.

Mmkay thanks =)

Just remember to keep them leveled. You can usually hire someone to do it, or do it yourself. If they get uneven the horses can trip on them and hurt themselves.

It's about $300ish per stall to rubber mat them. I have one stall and the rest of mine are dirt covered. I have to fill them in once or twice a year where the pee spot makes a big hole over time. I'd like to eventually rubber mat them all. I don't like straw, it may be cheaper? But I prefer sawdust or pine shavings. I clean my stalls once per day and strip them about once a week or every other week depending. I do my pee spots in the dirt floor stalls every two to three days but in the rubber matted stall, I do it daily. The rubber matted stall also uses half the bedding.... it's easier and quicker to clean......

Actually, you want gravel in your stall. You don't want cement, its too hard on the horse's hooves and tendons. As long as the gravel is hard packed and creates a flat surface, just put rubber mats over the gravel and bedding on top. YOu can find some mats through Triton Barns, their website is www.tritonbarns.com. They also have a blog which has more info on rubber mats, I looked at the blog and got some mats from them. Edna