I’m looking for a little advice. We will be taking our horse to a 4 day show with concrete floors. I planning on bedding heavy but he always seems to dig hole and stand on the concrete. I know how I feel after being on concrete for multiple days and he has been stiff after only a 2 day show on concrete. I have been looking at portable stall mats and the soft ride boots. What do you think would be better? Also for the soft ride boots would I need to get 4 or would 2 for the front be sufficient?
I always just bedded really deep. Not just heavy, but really heavy.
Has your horse used Soft Ride boots before?
He has never used the softride boots before and I am minimally concerned about him chewing/getting them off. He chews off Velcro bell boots. If I went the soft ride way, i would start early and slowly getting him used to them. The show is also a 6 hour drive so he could use them in the trailer also which is appealing.
Portable mats would be my preferred choice.
ETA - You can get EVA foam mats in 1/2" and 3/4" on Amazon for much cheaper than the “horse specific version,” and there’s no difference.
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Absolutely not on boots. They are a riding aid, not an aid for use in a stall. If bedding material gets in the boots your run the risk of problems. If wet bedding material gets in the boots you WILL have problems.
Put mats down if you want to. But maybe if your horse is digging through bedding to get to concrete to stand on he’s trying to tell you something?
G.
Thanks. I was going to say the same thing.
I would go for mats.
Boots won’t make laying down any more comfortable if he digs up his stall. I would get mats.
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I stand corrected on the purpose of the boots.
Sadly, they have all the faults of any other equine boot I’ve yet seen.
If the horse has a veterinary issue and these are for a short term, closely managed situation then maybe. But as a routine item, no.
And, as noted, they won’t make laying down any more comfortable for the horse.
G.
I would bed heavily. Start with 4 bags, in a 10 x 10 see how it looks. You might need more. Add daily. Keep fork at the door, and move shavings as needed. Yes, this might mean many times each day. Hand walk every couple of hours.
Those stall mats are a brute to drag around, and nasty when you pull them up. I would much prefer to bed to the eyeballs.
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Coming from the ASB world when we bedded on concrete we either took mats and added 5–6 bags of shavings or used 10-12 bags minimal in the stall with no rubber mats. We would pull up the rubber mats, hang them, hose them and pack them when dry.
Many western shows will rent stall mats and install and take them back out for you.
You may want to ask management if there is someone providing those.
The portable light stall mats are not heavy, easy to move around by a child, really, if you want to carry your own:
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I’d go for mats and then moderate bedding, or maybe try different bedding even?? I’m not a huge fan of dressing up horses if possible because horses are a walking disaster!
Bluey, I have not seen those mats before. Thanks for the information. Something else for my wish list. I want !!!
I bring the lightweight, interlocking mats, which are easy to move and not nasty when removed IME.
Don’t even need the entire stall floor to be covered, as the horse won’t be standing its entire body/weight right next to the walls, so a smallish gap all the way around has worked fine IME. For instance, if the stall is 10 x 10, then six 3 x 4 mats can cover an 8 x 9 area.
Our floors in Belgium and Holland and various shows are concrete. I prefer bedding. Lots of straw or shavings. Nothing else is needed.
I agree with using mats. Deep bedding can annoy some horses: unless it is really packed down, it can actually be tiring to stand on deep bedding (like standing on your own mattress), which may be why your horse is pawing for firmer ground. In the past though, I have put a layer of straw and then shavings to help keep the shavings in place.
My horse wore SoftRides 24/7 for 3+ months stalled on rehab and they were great! He didn’t get them off and his feet were clean and dry. That said for the purpose of bedding I’d go with mats so he can lie down more comfortably.
