My outdoor run in shed just has a dirt footing. I would like something better than that and wondered about rock/chad. How do I go about doing this? Or is there something better?
Ours are matted. Makes cleaning very easy. Some people bed them, I do not.
When I was in Colorado and boarding, the barn owner put down milled asphalt in the run in. It was GLORIOUS. Drained well but was firm and stayed put.
Stone dust or screenings are also an option. Whatever they’re called in your area. You just call up your local quarry and have a truck load delivered. Then move it all into your run in with your tractor or skid steer. Maybe tamp it with a vibrating plate tamper, depending on material and how well you can get your tractor or skid steer in there (driving around on it may be enough to tamp it down!) If you don’t have the heavy equipment, you can rent it. Or just pay a guy to do it. Someone who does rockwork–like driveways or patios or whatever–should be able to manage that for you.
Our vet likes pea gravel, said is best for horse’s hooves.
They have a sample jar in their reception room to show people when they ask what to use.
They have several clients with that and said is working great.
I like a hard packed dirt/clay floor. But it has to be raised so that roof run-off drains away from the building. Gutters or subsurface drainage help keep the mud managed
Rock and stone dust etc are not available here. Gravel move around too much.
I have rubber mats right now (yay craigslist watching friend!) and day dream of using some sort of hoof grid but that is way in the future.
My run-in is on a slope and we dumped mixed gravel and sand (it’s called ‘crusher run’ around here…) to get it somewhat level. I raked and raked and packed it with a flat stomper thing (quite a workout!) and then put in rubber mats from Tractor Supply. No bedding. Occasionally one of the corners of the mats gets peeled up and I go out there with a small garden trowel to dig out the edge and level it again. It’s been great for several years now – granted there’s only one horse in it. -Wendy
But WOE if you have a horse that likes to dig. Pea gravel won’t pack at all and my gelding will tell you it’s the most AWESOME THING EVER to dig great big holes in anything that loose.
I guess awesome on the horse entertainment front, but seriously crappy on the maintaining your surface front… :lol:
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True that.
We have one place with what here is called road base, non-spec, that is small gravel and sand mix, that we think is better than pea gravel because it does firm up some.
Most anything that is easy to get locally and maintain should be fine.
We are putting a floor into a shed with an overhang. We first placed a base of #57 gravel, then covered it with Horse Grid draining flooring, then filled the grid with stone dust. We use system in our barn and the flooring is easy to maintain, drains well, and there is NO MUD.
Here are my experiences with different run-in shed footings – 2 to 3 horses in each shed – 24/7 turnout.
STONEDUST
Pros: Wonderful when just put down. Drains well. Easy to clean. Easy to keep level.
Cons: Very dusty when dried out – needs to be hosed down; can’t in winter because it will freeze solid. Compacts to rock-hard eventually = not good when horses stomp all day from flies.
PEA GRAVEL
Pros: Wonderful when just put down. Great for feet. Comfy for horses to stand on.
Cons: Will eventually get clogged with manure, hay fines, mud clods from feet, etc. – no matter how dilligently you clean, and your once nice surface turn rock hard with individual errant stones floating on top that are VERY ouchy to feet.
IMO - Unless you have a way to regularly harrow stonedust or pea gravel in your sheds, you’ll eventually have to pick axe them to fulff them up. Harrows – even pulled by a small 4 wheeler – usually can’t fit/pass through a shed that’s 3 sided. I have pretty big sheds and I can’t get in there with a harrow at all.
HOOFGRID filled with stone dust.
Pros: Beautiful inititial surface. Stays level. Perfect.
Cons: Grid pockets eventtually clog up, become hard plugs and drainage is compromised. Constanttly have to add fresh stonedust on top.
DIRT
Pros: Again, nice when new. Good drainage. Most natural footing.
Cons: Pee spots will eventually stay wet and will stink and will hollow out from cleaning the muck = uneven hard/soft surface eventually. Dirt needs to be replenished fairly often – and unless you have your own dirt supply, buying and trucking in clean/safe fill starts to get pricey.
MATS
All cons IMO. Slippery, become uneven, lumpy surface eventually with pooling pee spots. Big mess.
SAND
Pros: Fabulous all around. Drains well. Low dust, doesn’t feeze that much. Super easy to clean. Horses love it.
Cons: Possibility of sand colic if you hay your horses in the shed.
I have yet to find THE perfect footing solution. I don’t think it exists. But maintenance is key no matter what you use.
If my horses didn’t live outside 24/7 …and didn’t need to have hay in the sheds (impossible in winter and hot summer) I would use angular SAND.
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Thank you so much, THAT ^ really, really helps.
Interesting run down, danacat! My goals are different in a run in–I WANT the surface to pack hard. So stonedust or screenings or milled asphalt work great. They can all be raked level and compacted for a solid surface that drains well and isn’t slippery.
Mats also work fine for my needs as long as the surface underneath is level (or slightly sloped for drainage), and compacted. If the subsurface has been prepared properly, pee should never pool on the mats. I’ve never had any particular problem with them being slippery–if horses are doinking around, they’re doing it outside of the run in! 
I’d hate to use angular sand–would wind up on the bottom of my own list.
Guess it all depends on what you’re looking for 
I have a wooden floor in my current shelter, easy to clean and spaced every so slightly apart that the pee drains through! I think the floor is about 6 years old now, only needs one board replaced sometime soonish. I’m not going lie and pretend it’s kept clean all winter either (poop freezes solid) so the boards have taken a beating.
If you decide on pea gravel try a mole crab rake. They are easy to make DIY or order one. You can get most of the poop out of the gravel with it. I find pea grave sticks to the mud in the hoofs and gets tracked out of the shed and the little things are ouchy on the flat ground surrounding the shed. It’s like stepping on a Lego Block barefoot
If rice gravel is available I like that better than pea gravel.
Sand depending on the particle size gets very dusty. The mole crab rake works well in sand too. If the sand is eventually overcome with poop, it is wonderful for the garden.
I like hard packed dirt/clay, raised a foot or so above grade, best.
YES ^^^ this. Ouch! :eek:
I love our matted run-in… no mud, easy to clean --no urine pools, no poop getting mixed in with sand/gravel. I can even hose it out easily. Our run-in in’s set up so we can ‘close’ it into 2x shed-row-style stalls, and so it’s nice to be able to bed it, which is easy with the mats. I have zero issues with them being slippery (though my horses aren’t galloping with sliding stops into it) and it’s pretty much zero maintenance. I also like the mats for feeding in there… less hay or grain wasted since it’s not getting mixed into the footing.
I just had 5 new run in sheds delivered…all have crush run base with stone dust on top…we also did same on apron area outside shed to facilitate draining…My farrier loves the stone dust for their feet…my mini donkeys love the ability to take a dust bath…Once it packs it really isn t that dusty…it also helps dry the manure up and makes it easier to clean sheds…Mats a big fat NO…slippery shifty uneven…
