| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| josiereanna |
Posted - 16 Mar 2011 : 10:37:47 AM
Long story......i keep my horses at my parents.....they have stables at theirs which i used to keep them in...but dad had to use the stables for storage at last minute so in a mad panic just before winter i had to pay out for wood supplies and persuade the OH to build me some wooden stables on some hardcore, because we couldn't afford concrete.
(I Don't have a very horsey orientated family as you can probably tell, and the whole situation caused a lot of family feuds and tough decisions)
I have been worried all winter about their feet on the hardcore...worrying about abscesses etc etc, so I have been giving them HUGE beds of straw to pad it out and a thin layer of deep litter underneath so not to puncture their poor toes.
Do any of you have hardcore as a base? if so have you had any problems?
I'm looking at putting rubber matting on top of the hardcore to protect the horses feet....those of you that have stable matting...do you still give them beds as usual? I have heard that some people don't give them beds if they have matting but wouldn't they get cold?
Am i being over cautious about the hardcore, do they have tougher feet than i think and can handle it or should i bite my tongue and pay out for some used stable matting and still carry on with the beds as usual?
I WISH MONEY GREW ON TREES!
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| 11 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| lehla |
Posted - 17 Mar 2011 : 6:48:45 PM
hi ive pmd you re rubber mats ta lehla |
| josiereanna |
Posted - 17 Mar 2011 : 3:50:34 PM
Oh thank god im not the only one that has to figure these things out!
Everyone i know has perfect stables and they get to sweep their yard etc and they look at my little shack with discust! haha
The horses love it though and they have a nice bit out the front they can walk around on....I just leave the door open to their stables and they go in and out as they please...most days theyve put themselves to bed by 4pm! haha
I will keep an eye on ebay for some rubber mats then, if you know of any other websites that sometimes have them advertised please let me know.
Thank you everyone xxxxx |
| angelarab |
Posted - 17 Mar 2011 : 3:18:04 PM
i am on an earth floor, i have rubber matting ontop and he gets a full straw bed which i do major muck out once a week, only problem i have is that there is a gap at the front of bare earth about a feet broad and the moles make a visit now and then |
| arabesque |
Posted - 16 Mar 2011 : 10:09:47 PM
I had stables with just a hardcore floor for about 7 years. I used a deep litter bed the first year, which worked really well, and then took the bed up and put rubber mats on top of the hardcore for the next six years. The scalpings had compressed really well by then and caused no damage to the mats, but i did use the 18mm heavy rubber ones that moulded to the slightly uneven surface, I don't think EVA mats would be as good for that. I always bed down normally on rubber matting anyway, but feel that the hardcore base is probably not as rigid as concrete! I also found that the hardcore seemed to be draining away anything that leaked underneath, my stables never smelt of ammonia! I've moved recently and put the new stables up in a hurry with deep litter on bare earth, which is also working well, though we want put stone dust down as a base this summer, so it's good to find someone else is pleased with it! |
| debsnboz |
Posted - 16 Mar 2011 : 9:42:19 PM
I was lucky enough to find some local 2nd hand rubber matting for my 20x10 field shelter, and pretty much matted it out for the princely sum of £85. But i still put some bed down.
Prior to that, as it is a mobile shelter/stable with just an earth base, it was suggested to me to use old carpet upside down. I rang a local carpet shop and he said he was about to remove a waterproof carpet with a jel back from somewhere, which i could have. This was FAB straight onto of the grass, i was able to bed it down normally. It did wrinkle a bit overnite so i had to straighten the carpet before mucking out. Not many horses have wall to wall carpet in their stables!!! |
| moonlight |
Posted - 16 Mar 2011 : 3:13:58 PM
PS forgot to say some of the mats are several years old and have been moved a couple of times from when I had my old mare at livery - still just as good as the new ones! |
| Foxtrot |
Posted - 16 Mar 2011 : 3:12:45 PM
Hi there,
We have a loose barn with a hardcore base, then covered in a few inches of stonedust (much cheaper than concrete!) which we wetted down and whackerplated (can hire from a diy shop.)
They have rubber mats in on one corner with micanthus bedding for them to lie down. The stone dust has set like concrete with an abrasive layer on top so is extra grippy, drains if they pee on it as well as keeping our barefoot ones hooves in tip top condition!
Suppose your potential problem is how well the straw is draining? As if they are stood on a slightly wet bed it will soften their feet, making them more prone to injury from a stone.
Hope thats abit helpful! |
| moonlight |
Posted - 16 Mar 2011 : 3:12:27 PM
No, not at all, we have Equimats which I think are particularly flexible. The only thing we've had to do in two stables is lift one mat twice to put a piece of brick where a rat had started to re-dig his hole! But we have a lot of streams and a lake near us so good ratty territory I think. |
| josiereanna |
Posted - 16 Mar 2011 : 2:29:42 PM
Thank you, thats does help!
Has the rubber matting split atall from the road planings/hard core underneath? |
| moonlight |
Posted - 16 Mar 2011 : 2:05:11 PM
Don't panic! We moved last year and for all sorts of reasons had to convert some old sheds -soundly constructed but with earth floors. We laid road planings and then rubber matting on top and it has worked really well. I use Nedzbedz on top and still give them a proper bed - except for Ned the cob (ironically) as he trashes everything so just has a minimal bed to wee on . He seems fine with this, still lies down etc. Two stables only have half rubber mats as I ran out but both of these seem fine with the hardcore only -and all my horses bar one are barefoot. Hope that helps! |
| debs |
Posted - 16 Mar 2011 : 2:04:55 PM
So do I!!!
Wew have rubber matting on top of concrete, love it as I think it must be better for them than standing on concrete, but, I find that it makes Aubiose bedding less cost effective that bedding on concrete...
Actually I have just re read your post and I am rambling off on a bit of a tangent....
Dont think they would get colder, put bed down more because I like the idea of a bed, also my old boy didn't like splashing his legs....
I think unless I knew what exactly was in the hardcore, I would probably put matting down too...
Not much help am I ... |
