Horse Central header graphic


Horse Matting

Many horse people will tell you that you do not need to install horse matting.  And technically, they are right.  You can keep your horse in a stall that does not have horse matting, and they will be fine.

However, a stall that does not have horse matting will require more maintenance and upkeep to keep the floor of the stall level.  Most horses tend to paw at the ground and can wear a hole pretty quickly.  Also, when you go in and muck out the stall and remove the wet, soiled bedding, you tend to dig a hole as well.  As a result, the floor of the stall quickly becomes uneven.   This can put strain on the horse’s leg joints and tendons and this can lead to lameness.

An easy fix to your horse stall flooring problems is to install horse matting.  These are thick rubber mats that cover the floor, which creates a level floor to place the bedding on. 

Another major benefit of using stall mats is that the horse bedding stays cleaner and mucking the soiled bedding is a lot easier.  And you will really appreciate having horse matting when it comes time to strip the stall bedding.  It is so much easier and takes a lot less time and energy.

Horse matting is not cheap, but it will pay for itself in a short period of time in bedding costs.  You tend to use less bedding and have less wastage when you use horse matting. 

Installing horse matting is relatively simple, but it is labor intensive.  It can be done by one person, but it is best if two or three people are working together.  The first step is to level up the stall flooring. 

Depending on available

Article continued below...


You Can Have A Beautifully Behaved Horse
In A Fraction Of The Time!

Horse Training Secrets
Slash The Time It Takes To Train Your Horse
And
Eliminate All Bad Habits!

materials, you may use sand, crusher fines, decomposed granite or other fine grain material.  You need to make sure that the material does not have any large rock or stone.  Washed concrete sand tends to have too much large rock; therefore you should specify screened sand.  This may be a little more expensive up front, but it is easier to work with and the larger rock tends to work out from under the mats which can cause stone bruises in the horse hoof. 

Use a long 2x4 to smooth the sand. Use a four foot carpenter’s level to ensure the material is level.  It is important to keep the sand smooth and level, you do not want the stall floor to be higher on one side compared to the other. 

After the granular material is leveled up it is time to install the horse matting.  If you are lucky, the walls of your horse stall are square, but most people will find that the stall is anything but square.  Don’t worry, just install the mats to the best of your ability and it will work out. 

The mats are heavy, and can be hard to position.  Try to keep the edges of the mats in the center of the stall butted up together.  If you have gaps, try to keep them closer to the wall, most horses will not get that close to the edge of the stall, but will stand in the middle.

After the horse matting is installed, place the bedding, then stand back and let your horse enjoy a nice comfortable bed.  When it comes time to muck, you’ll find it is a lot easier to keep the stalls clean than it was before.  Then you’ll wonder how you managed to survive without horse matting before. 






Here are some more horse care articles...
Free Horse Training Tips
The following free horse training tips will help you teach your horse some basic things that will keep him and you from getting hurt. Some horses will learn more quickly than others. Many elements Read more...
Basic Facts For Horse Care When Feeding Forage
The basic diet when caring for horses is the forage we are feeding them. Forages fall into two very broad categories. They are grass hays and legumes. Grass hays have a seedlike fruit, Read more...
Basic Facts For Horse Care When Feeding Forage
The basic diet when caring for horses is the forage we are feeding them. Forages fall into two very broad categories. They are grass hays and legumes. Grass hays have a seedlike fruit, Read more...
Why Does My Horse Kick?
If you have a horse that kicks, either occasionally, periodically, or habitually, it is wise to find out the reasons behind this behavior. Sometimes there are practical reasons a horse will lash Read more...

Drs. Foster and Smith Inc.