Yeah, I find it to work very well. So did the 2x4, mostly, but horses would occasionally stand on the top edge, causing the brackets to bend and the board to lay flat. Then I’d have to bend everything back. The 4x4 eliminates that problem.
Yeah, for me too. Which is why the board isn’t actually attached to anything, and lifts right out.
I think this only works if the horse runs its hooves THROUGH the brush, rather than just stepping over it. My worst offender is my 29 y.o. I bed deeply as well, and when she steps out (either into the aisle or into her attached paddock), she kinda pushes bedding out with her – even with the high threshold (~10 inches) to the attached paddocks. So I don’t think height is the key - it has to be the brush.
I find height to make a huge difference in amount of bedding tracked out into the run. The act of stepping over prevents bedding from getting “shuffled” out.
I see zero advantage to a brush, though.
I’m sure. I considered this when I bought my farm, but having something to step over means driving over it with the wheelbarrow too (or not being able to drive over it). It stopped me in my tracks because even with only 3 stalls to clean, I don’t want to mess around trying to get a board in/out if it’s frozen, raining, or pooped on.
I guess that’s why the brush seems useful - the horses might step over it or walk through it, and it wouldn’t be perfect. But it would be better than nothing there at all, and you can drive through it. I suppose the one downside is that you couldn’t easily sweep bedding back in without removing it.
Oh well, I probably won’t add anything…it’s been 18 years without it so far. But if they just magically appeared in my barn I would like to try it.
if installed as it is supposed to be it is not removable, it is secured the to the floor by screws
So I hear your concern, but in the years I’ve had to pull a board before taking the cart out, this has all been an issue zero times. It’s not like the board is so wedged in there that it’s challenging to remove; you literally just bend over, close your hand over it, and pick it up. Yeah, from time to time a horse does manage to land a pile on it, but it’s not like that’s the full width of the board, or that the entire thing is buried under manure. I kick off the poop, or use a shovel to give it a little scrape off in being fancy, and pick it up. Raining has never been a deal, I guess it does get wet if rain is blowing in? And it’s never once been frozen.
I’m not trying to talk you into doing something you don’t want to do 
But I do think you’re picturing the set up as far more complicated than I’ve certainly ever found it.
I find the cost of these horse specific floor brushes just bonkers for something that can be accomplished with some scrap wood probably nearly every farm has lying around. Or repurpose a door sweep:
https://www.tmhardware.com/Door-Sweep-Aluminum-with-4-Angled-Brush.html
Which is still kind of $ but less without the “it’s a horse thing!” branding.
Garage door bumpers are also kinda interesting for this use, I wonder if they come tall enough to be useful?
What if you put a hinge on one side so you could fold it back against the wall?
I just don’t bed my entire stall… I concentrate the bulk of it in the area where they lie down and then whatever gets dragged or otherwise relocated I scoop or sweep back in
We have the 2x4s permanently in place inside the stall doors. Been there MANY years and help keep sawdust in the stall. Does nothing about cleaning a hoof full of sawdust when exiting into the aisle. Seems there is always a bit of sawdust in the aisle after putting horses out. It gets swept up after stalls are done, hefted into a stall with other aisle sweepings. No outside doors in stalls, horses all exit via the aisle.
What we have done with wheelbarrows (all two-wheeled) is to put bigger tires on them and tires are kept fully inflated. I push wheelbarrows into the 2x4 and lightly bounce it over into the stall. I replaced the muck tub cart with slightly larger tires so it also is quite easy to “bounce” over the 2x4 for stall cleaning. Do remember to go wheels first with the wheelbarrow, handle first with the muck cart, going in or out. Bigger tires have made my life MUCH easier getting inside for cleaning stalls.
We are also in the group who keeps the door area inside stall, swept clean to prevent tracking sawdust out. Can’the see the benefit of broom bristles at doorways.
I’m so so close to buying the bedding blocker for a couple reasons - first, my lazy guy will absolutely continually hit his hooves off a 2x4 in the doorway. How do I know? He did it at a previous barn…drove me nuts because his hooves were already brittle. He just never seemed to care.
Second, I have a toddler that lives to help with barn chores and I want to encourage that. The bedding blocker has a ramp shape to aid in wheel barrows going over it. There’s no way his adorable little wheelbarrow is getting over a 2x4 or brush heads without help every single time…and he’s very much the ‘I do it’ type of kiddo.
However…I’m still me and looking for a cheaper solution 
So far I’ve gotten samples from a company that makes the brushes that go on the outsides of garage and barn doors to keep out birds/drafts/etc. The brushes slide into brackets that are pretty close to the ground. The only reason I haven’t purchased yet is because the sample brush I got fits very very loosely in the bracket. I either need a better fitted bracket or a way to fill the gap in the existing brackets.
I definitely think it’s useful if having something like a 2x4 isn’t feasible - I asked in a FB group and the people who did spend the money said they loved them!
I’ve been thinking of a bedding blocker solution too and just today saw these at TSC. $15 a piece. The brush can be detached. Seems to me you could set the head in a piece of wood and it would work.
They are each 24" long so two of them would be $30. Pretty thick head of bristles and didn’t measure but seems the bristles were 4" long?
Thanks! My only hesitation about broom bristles is their height, as most of them are three-four inches tall (maybe not tall enough)?
I’m still debating, especially as I just had to start treating a mare for ulcers and Gastroguard is so expensive, other “projects” are gonna be delayed.
Good point on the height. Oh I hear you on all that. I just laid out $2500 for dental extractions.
There are long bristle brooms out there.
It looks like the bedding blocker is just one row of bristles. You could toss this on the table saw and cover a 4’ doorway with one brush head.
You’d need three of these heads at 16 inches each, right? But it’s compelling. How would you set the brush in the wood? I’ve got a workshop next door - DH. Make a cut deep enough and that width in what sized piece of wood?
I do need a solution and want to use the mats I have laying over the threshold currently. I’m motivated and could then post pics.
The bedding blocker is one row of bristles. This is three. Run it through the table saw to make 3 one bristle wide sections. Or, sure, use three entire brush heads. I’d think it would be harder to drag a cart over three rows of bristles vs one.
How you install it would depend entirely on your existing set up & what you have available to mount to.
Same concept, different execution: Dura-Tech® Sawdust Saver | Schneiders (sstack.com)
(I have no idea whatsover if this would work, OP - just saw it on sale today and thought of this thread.)
Thanks for the link. I started to get excited and then read the reviews. I suspect my horses would destroy this, although probably not in 12 hours. Well, one of mine would probably do it in 60 minutes. I’m stuck with lots of sweeping. I don’t mind the bedding that goes in the barn aisle but when it’s raining and the horses drag out very expensive mini flake bedding, I want cry! I try to repurpose the wet stuff elsewhere on the property. Makes for good footing on paths.
Thanks again!
I’ve seen these called a “Strip Brush” before in other forums. If you google “Strip Brush” you can find them in loads of different bristle length, material, overall length, and with all different type of attachment methods. They are used across a variety of different industries. Most that I have seen are under $30USD.
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