HELP ! I have nice matted stalls at my farm and do pretty thick shavings in weather like this (we have had single digits and below zero for several days now which is completely unlike our area. usually we have it for a day or two and then it thaws out - not so much this year). It’s really nasty so the kids haven’t been going out, and as a result the stalls are dirtier than normal. With a bunch of mares, there is alot of pee and our barn that normally stays above freezing in the teens has succumbed to the cold. Water buckets freeze (have heated buckets so not an issue), barn aisle is sawdust so can pick the poop or urine out of it as well as the aisle. However, we have two significant stall walkers (I mean they can trash a freshly bedded stall in five minutes) so they don’t have deep shavings where their pee is and it freezes ! And I can’t get it up. So frustrating because I worry about them slippping on the ice ! Any suggestions. Right now I have been putting shavings over it in a vain attempt that when it thaws enough they will be absorbed and I can get it up, but any ideas ? I’m not used to this cold extended weather. Had it in Chicago, but we had heated barns so didn’t experience this problem !
May want to take a look at the frozen poop thread. The trash bag filled with warm water solution that buck22 posted. It should work for your problem spots.
[QUOTE=fire_911medic;7395345]
However, we have two significant stall walkers (I mean they can trash a freshly bedded stall in five minutes) so they don’t have deep shavings where their pee is and it freezes ! And I can’t get it up. So frustrating because I worry about them slippping on the ice ! [/QUOTE]
I’m confused why you don’t just bed more deeply to prevent the ice formation???
If it’s about time/cost of sifting, surely shavings are much more economic than the possible alternative consequence should horse slip … especially as this is just a temporary cold snap.
I second the deeper bedding, I have 2 mares and have only had a slight problem in one stall with frozen puddles, however, there are enough shavings to make it a “thick” puddle and I am able to pry it up with a little effort and my fork. The other mare it hasn’t frozen, at all.
Other than that have you tried a metal ice scraper like someone would use on their driveway/sidewalk and tried to gently break it apart, I say gently as to not damage your mats, but it is stronger than trying to use a fork.
You don’t say how many horses/how big barn, but maybe it’s time to close it up at night and see if body heat can keep it a little warmer and help with the freezing.
Maybe someone with a little more knowledge can chime in as I have never used these, but if it were me this is something I would try.
Start with a small spot because I don’t know how or what it may do to the rubber mats, but what about an animal friendly ice melt. When horse is out of stall of course. Clear the area apply the ice melt and check it often so that you just get it loose enough to remove, clean it up, sweep then use a warm rag to wipe off the residue of the ice melt, reapply bedding, reinstall horse???
Could work:)
I’m guessing OP means the stallwalkers spread their own shavings so the peespot is not deeply bedded.
Short of stationing someone outside their stalls to redistribute the shavings, I don’t see that deeper bedding will fix this.
How about sprinkling some sand on the frozen peesicles?
I do this on the mini skating rinks formed outside my service door so I don’t fall.
Once the ice melts you can just scoop up the whole mess.
Bed deeper, clean more frequently. In other words, don’t let the kids skip a day or days.
[QUOTE=fire_911medic;7395345]
However, we have two significant stall walkers (I mean they can trash a freshly bedded stall in five minutes) so they don’t have deep shavings where their pee is and it freezes ! And I can’t get it up. So frustrating because I worry about them slippping on the ice ! [/QUOTE]
I have one piggy mare that is very lightly bedded as I have to strip her stall every day.
We have had very low temps here and her pee spot does freeze some, but even with light bedding it is not smooth enough to be slippery.
How light is your bedding that it is actually slippery? I just can not imagine how that would happen if they are piggy since there is manure and bedding tossed everywhere, which when it freezes in the pee makes it not slippery.
That aside, the only real way to fix this issue is more bedding.
Disclaimer - before people panic about my lack of bedding; this mare is never closed in her stall. She has 24/7 access to a paddock. She just chooses to use her stall as a litter box.
How about putting a layer of sawdust then cover with shavings? That way when they pee it gets absorbed and when they scatter it, it shouldn’t be as bad. If that doesn’t help you might want to pull the mats until it starts to warm up. I’ve always hated cleaning stall walker’s stalls.
What Spotted Draft x Filly suggested. And clean daily.
Barn Dri!
Call around to a farm supply place and ask for Barn Dri. It is lime chips and as long as it is applied to frozen water (ice) it will provide traction for walking. Harmless to the horse/pony, helps keep odors down and can be reapplied as necessary to frozen areas. It won’t work if you throw it on wet areas–it must be frozen.
This stuff is wonderful and I never heard of it until someone on COTH suggested it years ago. Had to laugh when I read the bag–this stuff is made just up the road from where I live and I never knew… :lol:
I bed deeply but I have one horse that digs until he is down to the mats, and then pees right on the mats. Subsequently, his pee freezes sometimes.
I scrape up what I can, then I just re-bed heavily on top of it (its not thick ice).
It seems to come up after a few days of him walking on it/breaking it up, and so it hasn’t been a major problem (mostly just gross!)
I would just bed a bit deeper, and make sure to cover up the icy spots well with bedding. Once they are walked on a few times it should break up enough to not be a slipping hazard (and the added bedding will keep it from being slippery in the meantime).
It dropped below 0 F here and two of my stalls in a well ventilated (old wooden) barn froze solid, pee, you name it. I had to use a pickax in the doors as the poop froze the doors closed. Heck, the sawdust pile INSIDE the barn even froze.
I gave up, waived the white flag, and bedded both stalls down with straw over the frozen bottom. I’ve been having the stall cleaner pick the poop out, any of the wet that isn’t solid and tossing in more straw. The horses have something snuggly to lay down in and they are up off of any wet spots in the event that we actually get a wet spot that doesn’t freeze immedietly.
I HATE STRAW with a passion but it was the only solution I could come up with and when it thaws out (if ever) I’ll just strip the entire stall.
bed less… we don’t have frozen pee to deal with but we do have one TB mare who may have been a pig in prior life. (our stalls are matted also)
The only way I can ensure that she pees in the corner is to not bed her stall deep… seems the little missy doesn’t like to have pee splash on her hinny legs; and she isn’t as dumb as she wants me to believe she is
The best thing for a messy horse is to add pellet bedding. I scrape the stall down to the mat, pour the bag of pellet bedding where they pee the most and spread it out. Then put the normal shavings over it. You don’t need to wet it down their pee will do it for you and it will keep their messy stall much cleaner longer. I’ve never had frozen pee.
First, it’s great you are concerned about this. And, great your horses are drinking so much in this weather.
Secondly, please don’t take this as me accusing you of exaggerating, but I have had horses or cared for horses in the 70s (with newspaper for bedding, cement floor with no mats - it was different back then) and then the 2000’s (large equestrian facility with dirt floor or mats) and have a small farm now. I have a run - in with only three sides where I have some temp stalls set up (dirt and one matted). Temperatures dip to -20 here and while the barn I worked at usually stayed near freezing, it did not after many days of -0. Now, with the three sided shed, the temp in the stalls is -20. I’ve also been a boarder at various places in this climate with varying care.
I have never encountered the situation you are speaking of, and I have stall walkers, one mare that hated shavings and made the known, geldings, you name it. We usually turned them out no matter what, but they were in stalls for longer periods than we liked with ice and had some 48 hour stints. They drink like camels and pee a lot.
The only places we have frozen pee is in the snow and paddock areas and in the main fun in when the dirt gets low and ALL THREE mares pee in the same spot!
I am wondering if it’s the material you are using?
Note that I also have never had poop frozen down to the ground in a stall. That again happens in the snow.paddock area where the warm poop hits the ground and freezes.
Sorry to ramble, but just interesting that I have not encountered this. Maybe because its usually just plain F’ing cold here all the time in the winter, or its usually 30+ fall/spring and perhaps the melting/freezing cycle does it.
(One exception - runny poop does create a problem).
To dig pee/poop spots outside we use a spade shovel.
Good luck!
I know this thread is old, but the problem continues with freezing pee in stalls! I was hoping someone had thought of something I didn’t…I live in MN. We get below 0* to -30* temps on and off all winter. My horses come in at night to a stall in an unheated barn. I keep the barn doors shut at night. It does help. However, from my long experience with this, there is no way to keep the pee from freezing. I don’t care what type of bedding you use or how deep you bed your stalls. The pee freezes almost instantly. And if you have a lot of bedding, you just get a bigger mound of frozen mess. I wait it out until it warms up and then between a pick axe and a good flat shovel, I can usually break it up and get it out before the next frigid blast of Canadian air reaches us. It’s a bummer but it’s part of living here unfortunately. 
I’m terrible at searches and couldn’t find this. Can you tell me what was said? TIA! Diane
Put some rock salt on it. It’ll melt the ice, and salt definitely wont poison your horse, since most of them live with a big ol block of it in their stall. It’s probably not as effective as commercial ice melter, but I haven’t done the research to establish that as safe. Even if the salt doesn’t melt all of the ice (it sounds pretty cold there!) it would rough up the surface so the bedding could stick better and give some more traction. Be aware though that salt will kill your compost pile and grass if it builds up enough, so keep that in mind when disposing of waste from that stall. And frozen pee is the worst! And stall walker stalls are also the WORST! Good luck this winter.
Interesting enough, Good Morning America had a segment on melting ice. Basically, it works the same as salt (down to 10 degrees F). They tried coffee grounds, epsom salt and sugar. Sugar actually worked the best!
