Stall mats and alternatives for them?

Question

I know stall mats arent cheap.. you can buy them for like $50 bucks for like a 4x6.

do you know any alternatives other than more bedding... that i could use instead of spending almost $100 on stall mats?

alternatives like something durable.. maybe rubber flooring that doenst soak up the pee and stuff.. but still works.

thanks!

Answer 1

I have conveyor belting that I use.  I was also lucky enough to get some 2x2 low impact playground tiles that I LOVE in the stalls.

Answer 2

We are researching the same thing. We just built a new barn and the mats are quite pricey. We ended up getting some rubber conveyor belts from a company in Jacksonville that replaces them when we did our horse trailer but we found they are too narrow and thin for the stalls. I have never seen the pine pellets mentioned above but I think I will give them a try as well. I have a foal shut up in a stall awaiting surgery later this week and even cleaning her stall (lined with 6" deep shavings atop builders sand and red georgia clay) everyday doesn't seem to be enough. Our stalls are 12x12 so the mats are closer to $200 per stall for us and we have 6 stalls in our new barn so we may just have to do them one at a time.

Answer 3

i dont use rubber mats; i just put a thin layer of pelleted pine bedding underneath my shavings, and it soaks up the pee nicely. but if you have concrete floors, you can use the spray on RhinoLining truck bedliners. you can also spray the inside of your trailer if it doesnt have mats on the walls. it works really well. if you have regular dirt floors, you can put down a layer of gravel, then another layer of finely crushed gravel, roll it flat, and then maybe do the spray-on liners. i would talk to a specialist at your county extension office to see what might work.