Looking for any feedback from people who’ve tried a bedding blocker (basically the head of a push broom) as a barrier to keep bedding inside stalls. (Two of my four horses drag out huge amounts of bedding every day every time they go in and out of their stalls.) Trying to decide making our own (using a push broom) vs. buying the blocker (which comes with all the parts needed).
Thanks.
I used a cedar 4 by 4 to make a threshold between my stall and the paddock runout. Bedding still gets kicked out but much less.
I have never even heard of this item.
It looks like it is meant to work differently than just having a threshold to step over (which I have in all my stalls and I still end up with bedding everywhere), but more of something the horse casually rubs their hoof across as they go over it and that knocks the bedding off back into the stall.
I too am very interested in hearing people’s experience with this.
is guaranteed to save you valuable time cleaning and money on wasted shavings
shouldn’t that be Unwasted shavings?
also rather than saying predrilled they say “established holes for mounting”
just so odd statements that seem from another land
I just sweep the shavings back into the stall (along with what other debris is in the aisle) and on windy days shut the stall door
I use a 4x4. Works fine.
I used leftover 2X4 synthetic decking like @Scribbler & @Simkie described.
Not inside, but at the threshold of the Dutch doors at the back of the stalls.
Those doors are open 24/7 & horses go in & out multiple times daily.
While it has helped some, they still manage to drag out enough shavings to create a morass in back that requires a tractor blade to scrape down annually.
A mat or two just outside the door can help prevent the bedding that does track out despite a threshold from mixing with the dirt and turning into muck.
I’d have to stake mats to prevent them moving.
Many years ago, I had the area behind stalls slightly graded, thinking this would help.
The swamp extends at least 10’ from the back of the stalls 
Also interested in people’s experiences with the bedding blocker. I have a very high threshold for them to get outside and copious amounts of bedding still escapes. I have tried the mat right outside, which doesn’t seem to help that much. The 3/8 gravel mixes with the bedding, so then I’m sweeping up gravel. And in the winter, they ice over right where the horses need traction the most.
That is what I did with the mats outside my stalls (meaning from the door going to the outside, not the door going into the aisle).
Yep, I do that, too. Those stall mat klips work great!
I second / third whatever the use of a 2x4 or similar. What also makes a big difference is keeping the shavings pulled/ swept back from the door (the barn I worked at that had runouts swept the shavings back with each cleaning - I think they also used a blower on the runouts once a week to remove the flake shavings).
Thanks for the feedback. I already use 2x4s inside the barn (I have stall gates that don’t go all the way to ground). They do the job (mostly) but I’m now working on the openings of stall doors that lead out to the individual paddocks. There’s a very slight step down (barn is on a concrete pad) so paddocks are a few inches lower. I have mats outside each opening. The main reason I’m doing this is that bedding has become so expensive and my minis and ponies ALL drag tons of it outside and when it’s raining, I often end up with soaked bedding outside.
Truthfully, I also think that I would eventually trip and break my neck if I had a piece of wood to step over going in and out, pulling a muck bucket or feed or wheelbarrows. Much easier inside for whatever reason.
My bedding has gone from $5.99/bale to $8.99. I keep my stalls very deeply bedded (over rubber mats over the concrete floor).
But you’re going to have to step over the brush, too. And pull your cart out over it?
The 4x4 I use picks right up. When I take the cart outside, I pick up the 4x4. When I’m done cleaning, I put it back down.
I used to use 2x4s but the brackets would bend over time. A 4x4 is more stable.
I think a brush barrier would be safer (for me, nearing 70)!
Could you try it in one stall and see how it goes? It seems like it could help for your needs. If you end up with the bedding blockers or similar (broom heads) please report back!
Maybe rig it up with a piece of scrap wood, first, to see if the height will even accomplish what you want? A hundred bucks a stall is a costly experiment if it doesn’t.
I find a dimensional 4 by (so 3 1/2 inches tall) to be very helpful but I bed pretty lightly and have zero bedding right up to the dutch door. If you’re bedding heavily, the brush doesn’t look sturdy enough or tall enough to make much difference. Would it even extend past the top edge of your bedding?
This is my thought as well - getting the wheelbarrow in and out is critical. I don’t have a barrier in my stalls and do lose bedding…I like this idea because you could drive a wheelbarrow through it.
I think a 4x4 set in brackets that you could lift out the board would be fantastic.
I’m not sure the brush component is doing much. I don’t see that much bedding stuck to the walls of my horses hooves. I think the bedding gets scuffed out
Yes, but I don’t want to have to lift the 4x4 out every time I clean stalls. I think the brush probably keeps most of the bedding from getting dragged out. I know my horses drag it out of the Dutch doors.
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