Has anyone ever used roll out rubber mats down a concrete barn aisle? Likes/dislikes?

[vxf111]

The barn aisle and wash stall are being poured as we speak. HURRAH!

The aisle is 12x48 and the wash stall is 12x12 sloping down to a drain across the back. Even though the concrete is going to be broomed/roughly finished to make it less slippery, I still wanted some non slip surface down the center of the aisle and in the wash stall.

My original plan had been typical 4x6 stall mats…

http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/rubber-mat-black-4-ft-x-6-ft
(which can be bought “experienced” at the local feed store for about $20 each)

I was going to set them side by side down the aisle covering the whole aisle. My plan was to totally cover the floor of the wash stall, leaving the back area open so the drain is uncovered. So that would take 24 mats for the aisle and 6 for the wash stall.

But then I saw this product (I think it’s a conveyer belt type material that rolls out)…

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/grd/5573144129.html

Which is intriguing because it would be all one piece. And maybe less likely to get kicked up? It’s 5 foot wide, I could do two strips side-by-side down the aisle and cover the center 10 feet, with a foot of open concrete on either side. Which is probably fine, and covers the area the horses would actually walk on. I could do the same thing in the wash stall-- 2 pieces side-by-side covering the middle of the wash stall.

Anyone ever seen/used this product? How does it wear? Do the edges curl up? Is it easy to clean? Very non-slip? Likes/dislikes?

Price difference= $600 for the traditional stall mats, about $812 for the roll out mats.

[Calvincrowe]

I have it down my barn aisle–about 60 feet in two long sections. It works great! It is surprisingly heavy and it hasn’t moved significantly in 10+ years. It does come in two thicknesses. No curling edges, wearing well though my horses don’t walk on it daily (though I do with wheelbarrow, hay, dogs, etc.). Very non-slip. My floor is smooth concrete (not my choice, already in the barn when we bought it) and the mats stay firmly in place. However, 4x6 mats slide on it, especially when a horse is on them. I have one stall (my temp one) on concrete and the mats in there moved. A lot. Especially with a horse who liked to turn around frequently (slow mo spinning I swear!).

Some observations:
No tripping over edges. Easy to sweep along the length. No spaces to collect dust/hay. Comfy to walk on. Easy to move (roll up and lift–lighter than you’d think). Heavy enough to stay in place (heavier than you’d think…what a conundrum!). Easy to cut compared to 4x6 mats.

[trubandloki]

I can not comment on the difference in the mats, but I can comment on having 1’ on either side of the mats. My 10’ wide aisle has 1’ on either side of the mats (the thicker mats in your first link) and it is annoying having to sweep that small 1’ area. Small stuff does not sweep up over the edge of the mat so I have to sweep to one end or the other (on the side that does not have stalls).

[Pennywell_Bay]

I have roll out mats, with about 6 inches on each side, so right down the center.

I got a lighter weight and it has worked, but I’ll be upgrading to the heavier version when I get the barn redone this summer.

[vxf111]

I think I need to go see these to see how thick/heavy they are.

Appreciate all the feedback. I hadn’t thought about sweeping the edges. Though, frankly, having had a DIRT floor for a year-- I am excited (for now) about sweeping

[horsepoor]

The roll out stuff is probably fine in the aisle, but I don’t know that I would want it in the wash rack. With horses moving around (on cross ties) and pawing, the lighter stuff will move. It also will get more crap underneath – even my regular stall mats, very closely fitted, will get muck under them. Yes, you can move them easier, but who really wants to deal with pulling mats and cleaning under them on a regular basis?

Do check on how slippery that stuff might be. It can be great when dry, but is it ok when wet? I have some thinner mats in one area in front of my tack room where no horses should go, and they are there because I found they were fine when dry, but any wetness made them super slippy – I’m talking, just having wet feet from being freshly hosed off, horses would slip when they hit those. I think the thicker mats give more grip as they kind of squish around the hoof to hold better.

I’ll also agree that the gap on the sides can be annoying. My cross tie area used to have 6" of unmatted area on each side and that drove me nuts trying to clean up (I do not like to blow when horses or people are in). We matted “wall to wall” now and it makes things so much neater and easier. Well worth all the cutting to fit.

[Jarpur]

My barn has a concrete aisle, and I used the TSC rolled rubber mats in the area of the aisle, in front of the stalls, where the horses are groomed and tacked-up. The mats are each 4 ft. x 8 ft., and there are two side by side, making an 8 x 8 pad that’s enough room for my small, cooperative horses. These are the mats that are slightly pebbled on one side.

They’ve been in place for several years - no problems with the mats sliding around - and they’ve held up to barefoot horse foot traffic very well. The horses haven’t slipped on them, but it’s not a wet area - only time the mats get wet is after the horses are bathed and are walked across or tied there.

Due to their relative thinness, I can easily roll them back, half at a time, to sweep underneath, or remove them entirely when we pressure-wash the barn, and the edge hasn’t been a trip hazard.

I consider them well worth the money, for my situation, but I don’t know how they’d hold up to shod horses.

[ASB_Stars]

Many years ago, I knew someone who had conveyor belt material in their stalls. It was very, very slippery, and also wore into the interior- which was “fibrous”. She had several stalls with holes in some spots, and it was nasty.

This may be a different kind of material, and it definitely is newer. I would still be very wary of it getting damp- from condensation- or wet, as in the wash stall, and being slick as hell.

I put regular matts in my grooming area, where my blacksmith works, and I love them. They’ve been there about 20 years, and look great.

[Guilherme]

If your concrete has sufficient “roughness” to give adequate grip I don’t see the need for mats of any type.

We’ve had experience with mats over wood floors in stalls and it was not a good one. There were two issues. First, the mats hold water against the flooring and that caused the wood to rot. Second, the mats hold water against the flooring and that can cause build up of bacteria which will cause noxious odors. Since we’re talking about concrete the first issue might not be relevant. But the second one is.

Applying the KISS principle I don’t see much chance of benefit and a significant chance of a burden. I’d pass on them altogether absent some unusual circumstances.

G.

[goodhors]

Darn, wish I was close enough to get some of that conveyor matting!

[trubandloki]

[QUOTE=goodhors;8658743]
Darn, wish I was close enough to get some of that conveyor matting![/QUOTE]
I think they sell something like it at Tractor Supply or Runnings.

[vxf111]

I have one very very stupid (although unshod) and sometimes unpredictable horse who has many physical issues and is not always 100% steady on his feet. I would like his path in/out of the barn to be as non-slip as possible. No shod horses.

I don’t think I would very often get the aisle/matting wet-- although obviously if it’s raining or the horses are coming from the wash stall, there will be some wetness.

There won’t be any mats on top of wood. The stalls are hard packed base stonedust with regular stall mats on top. The aisle and wash stall are concrete. No wood flooring of any type where horses go.

I am fairly convinced that while this rolled belt matting may be ok for the aisle, it’s not ideal for the wash stall. I do want to see the matting to see the thickness/quality/softness/slippery factor before committing. I appreciate head’s up about it sometimes being slippery/wearing through. I will want to see this stuff before committing.

Is there a better material other than regular stall mats for the wash stall?

[ASB_Stars]

I only have one matt in my wash stall-up against the front wall. My wash stall has the opening (door) one third of the way across, so that the crosstied horse is facing wall (the other 2/3 of the front of the wash stall). Before I built it, I had been one too many places where I watched horses pull through the cross ties, because the door was in the middle.

The back of the wash stall is concrete- with an abrasive finish. The matt in the wash stall has texture on it, but, even so, it can be slightly slick when wet.

When it is REALLY humid, the matts in the aisle will get damp. That’s what worries me about the belting in the aisle.

[Tiffani_B]

It’s not just mats getting wet, but manure can make mats REALLY slick, regardless of whether or not the horse is shod. If the horse poops while standing in crossties or walking down the aisle, you’ll have a very slippery spot that will stay slippery until it’s completely dry. (And I don’t know why, but manure splotches take way longer to dry than water spots.) I’ve had horses slip in their own poop while standing in crossties waiting for me to shovel it up. I’m not a fan of mats in aisles or wash stalls. Rough concrete is the way to go.

[Jarpur]

Many years ago, I boarded at a facility that had installed used conveyor belt matting in the stalls, under sawdust/small shavings bedding (this was before pelleted bedding was available, at least in my area), which was not uncommon at the time. I also knew stock trailers that had this as matting.

IME (several years at this barn), it was okay when bedded, not too bad when bare but dry (at least, for my sure-footed horses), but could be slippery when wet. Personally, I wouldn’t want it in an aisle or wash stall situation, even though the price is right (as in, free).

The thin, roll-up mats I purchased at TSC are nothing like that old conveyor belting. As I posted, the TSC matting has a pebbly surface, I’ve never seen my horses slip, and there are no visible signs of something like that having taken place (no skid marks or surface damage). But, I don’t have a long run of it, and I don’t have large or shod horses.

I’m happy with it installed in my barn, find it a little easier to sweep than bare concrete, and it gives a bit of cush - I had the plain concrete floors for several years before adding the mats, so have that as comparison. Plain floors weren’t bad, but I prefer the mats there. There’s been no issue with noxious odors or anything like that. I just peel it back halfway periodically, sweep, roll it back the other way (fold the back half over the front half), sweep, and put back into place - easy.

There is a four foot gap between the free edge of the mats (opposite the side against the stall fronts) and the outside edge of the concrete aisle in my shedrow barn, but it’s no problem to sweep across the mats onto the concrete and back. In other words, the mats are thin enough not to hang the broom up, yet haven’t curled up, either. When I occasionally peel them back is when I get any little fines that may have worked in underneath around the edges.

[Calvincrowe]

Agree with Jarpur–this isn’t conveyor belting, it is a thinner version of a regular 4x6 mat, comes in a roll and can be cut to length. If you wash stall is flat, with a drain, it would be just fine in it. Any mat can be slippery when wet vs. a horse regardless of type of mat and type of wet.

OP-you are talking used 4x6 mats vs. new rolled matting, correct? Consider the condition of the used mats when weighing your decision. And not all mats are made alike: I have three different types of 4x6 mats in my stalls and overhang and boy–they do not wear the same! I have a few that have literally disintegrated in 10 years of not so hard use. But my long thin mats are holding up very well.

[vxf111]

So far the experienced stall mats I bought are all holding up great. They let you pick through and take the ones you like best

[susanne]

All mats 5’ wide. Made up from 5/8" thick reinforced recycled rubber belting.

This sounds like conveyor belting to me.

Two things I’ve heard:

1. Slippery when wet
2. Beware what was conveyed on it. Some have slivers of metal or rock embedded.

I would check it out in person, as it may be just fine. My horses were in one boarding stable that had conveyor belts from a gravel yard and they were not slippery. They were thin and beginning to fray, but they had been there for quite awhile.

[crosscreeksh]

Our experience with conveyor mats was that they were slippery as grease when wet!! Check them out to be sure there is enough ribbing/roughness. Ours were dangerous!!

[S1969]

[QUOTE=vxf111;8658341]
Appreciate all the feedback. I hadn’t thought about sweeping the edges. Though, frankly, having had a DIRT floor for a year-- I am excited (for now) about sweeping ;)[/QUOTE]

That will wear off. But nothing works better than an electric or battery-powered leaf blower (depending on the size of your barn.)

My thoughts are that the mats will be more of a hassle than a benefit with regard to cleaning/sweeping around them. So unless they are super slip-proof when wet, I might just stick with concrete. Or, try the concrete for a few weeks before making a final decision. My broom-swept concrete is pretty slip-proof, but admittedly, my horses don’t spend any inordinate amount of time in the aisle except when the farrier is there, although I’ve never had any problems. My barn isn’t very big though.