Right. Absolutely not those.
Installing stall mats properly (by which I mean very, very tightly) is so grueling and time-consuming that skimping on quality makes very little sense. You really don’t want to do that kind of job twice!
I flip mine over every couple of years.
Sounds like the good Kraiburg mats from Germany. I don’t think they import them any longer. We have some that are at least 25 yrs old.
Ugh, I just put those down in two stalls in a little used shed row barn last weekend. Wish I had read this thread first!
I did put Gorilla tape over the seams in what I’m sure is a vain attempt to keep shavings out. But honestly the horses are only in them when I’m having work done on the main barn, so I’m not going to worry too much about it. 
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I expect you’ll be fine.
I’m in Maine, and only have one barn, so I always go for the most rugged option. For conditions like yours, I’m sure the TS mats will be perfectly adequate.
How about these? https://dazzlejoycee.com/products/stablemat-seam-connector?fbclid=IwAR2rHJ2xKsbUL_31BzJiTqJUY_UXBqKrIMBTDVCcCRc_J37XzPEfIKue8VY
What do you have? I have the TSC mats and while I know they could be fitted tighter, I don’t think they are inadequate.
I am curious to those who have said that there is no difference in the thickness of their mats - how do you know? Do you flip them and can see/feel the thickness in the middle? I know that mine are slightly thinner in spaces because mine do not fit tightly in some areas and in one stall they only cover 2/3 of the stall. So I can see the edge, which is definitely thinner (as expected, of course, as it is getting uneven wear.)
This is a cool product. I wonder if it works as well as it looks in the ad?
I don’t know what brand they are; I bought them at my local famers’ union many years ago, and I don’t think a brand was ever stated. I know they’re better than the TS version just because I’ve looked closely at the TS ones, and they’re much flimsier and more brittle than mine, if that makes sense.
Well, I don’t know down to the last molecule - they’re much too heavy and tightly fitted to lift - but I do walk on them every single day when cleaning stalls, and it’s obvious that they’re essentially the same all over, as the sub-floor is cement. The ribbed pattern isn’t worn, and the mats are too heavy to curl, even if they were ripped out by force.
Honestly, though, I don’t think there’s anything very special about mine. I just think that TS mats - like so many things at TS - are pretty low quality. That doesn’t mean they’re useless - just that they probably won’t last you 20 years.
Boy have I learned a lot about stall mats… the hard way, buy doing everything wrong, in a stunning variety of ways, over the years. Our current system costs the most and takes the most time initially… but is close to bullet proof.
We keep 60 horses in Southern California on 5 acres (yes, it’s a horse kennel, that’s how it is done around here in the suburbs… it works but of course not ideal.) All of our box stalls and pens and aisleways are completely matted, which does really help with keeping things clean and tidy… although we use a truly amazing amount of shavings, too. Our horses are on the mats ALL the time. They help with concussion but you need to use A LOT of bedding because the mats prevent any urine from getting to natural soil to drain. The urine has to get sopped up by the bedding, in our case shavings. Lots of shavings, lots of labor to clean stalls, lots of disposal costs, but pretty clean/dry/safe stalls.
The idea is to prep your surface, then fit the mats in as tight as you can, and do something to hold them down. If you don’t make them stay in place, the horses will move them around by pawing or just tromping around on them, bedding will get underneath the mats, and you will spend the rest of your life trying to fix them… breaking manure forks all along the way when they get a tine stuck under a little lift in the mats, and having dangerous bedding- bumped bubbles erupting in the mats at every turn that your helpers and horses will trip over, and urine will seep under and make the dreaded pee pits.
Mat tricks:
Prep- critical. Whatever you do, do it to the best of your ability. We use decomposed granite, about 6", and use our own (got tired of renting) vibratory plate (yep, a thousand bucks) to compact it into place. Use a level or laser level. It’s a huge job. You’ll have to experiment and practice to figure out what prep/base works best for your horses/soil/bedding/time in stalls.
Stall mat Klips are OK if you have a couple stalls, but very expensive. They also will bend when they hit very hard compacted footing. I have a box of bent mat klips… sadly. If you are putting mats over an existing sub-surface that has had horses standing on it, it can be harder than concrete which will bend the Klips. And don’t expect something harder than concrete to drain.
We use 8" galvanized spikes from the hardware store to hold down mats, and drive them in around every mat edge about 12-18" apart. Yes, like 50-100 spikes per stall. I buy the spikes by the box of 100 and have used thousands of them at our place in total over the years. Drill starter holes in the mats then use a sledge hammer to drive them through your compacted base and into the native soil. (The spikes will go through compacted material where the wider/flatter Klips will bend) This works pretty well to keep horses from pawing up the mats but some still will! Get after any little hump in the mats right away by leveling and adding more spikes. You’ll find the humps because your manure forks will break tines on them!
Sometimes people worry about the spikes but- they are about as big around as your pinky finger, and very dull… I don’t think we’ve every had a horse have a problem with one, but that’s also because if a spike starts to work loose, we drive it back down or move it a few inches and drive it back down again right away. The trick is to use enough of them that the horse just can’t get started lifting the mats by pawing at them. They are not maintenance-free but it’s not frequent unless the horse is a stall-walker or paw fiend.
If you’re rich or plan to live a long time, order custom fitted mats from mats.com (used to be called Linear Rubber). We have these in some of our stalls and all of our aisles and they are so massive, with interlocking fingers, they they really stay in place. They are horrifyingly expensive and the freight from Wisconsin to California will bring on a coronary… .but boy do they work well when you only have 2 mats in a 12 x 12’ stall. And really they will last forever and ever and ever. If you can swing it- buy custom giant mats. We do use some spikes on the custom mats, in corners and doorways, but other than the fact that they weigh about as much as a dead whale, they are easier to install than the standard 4 x 6’ mats from TSC or similar…
The most important part of doing a good job on mats is your labor. Our ranch foreman is a super-genius with mats because he has done dozens of stalls over the years and repaired every possible damaging thing a horse can do to them. He (and I) have learned a lot over the years. He and a helper can do the base and new mats on a 12 x 12’ stall in 8 hours (yes, that long!) and that’s with us knowing what we’re doing and having all the tools on hand.
Add the cost of materials including railroad ties to edge the outside paddocks, decomposed granite for the stall base, the vibe plate, chainsaw for RR ties, 3/4" rebar to stake the RR ties, small and large sledge hammers, spikes, mats, etc. and add in labor at $50/hour (two man team remember, so they can move the mats safely and help each other drive the spikes and yes, we pay worker’s comp, payroll taxes, and far above minimum wage to keep good helpers in this competitive labor market) and realistically we spend at least $1,000 in mats, materials, and labor to do a great job on each 12 x 12’ stall. And it’s still not a perfect system, but far and away the best we’ve found in our circumstances.
Unless the horse is a dedicated digger, the stall might need an hour’s repair in a year once it’s done, though, and my wonderful employees never have to dig out the dreaded pee holes because they never form when the mats are installed like this. The mats stay flat and safer for horses and stall cleaners, you don’t get urine trapped under them that stinks… it’s a pretty good system.
There are a million variations on mat installation, for a lot of different purposes, but our method, with horses stalled on the mats about 22/7, is worth the initial cost and effort to keep the horses and employees safer over time.
There is nothing cheap or easy about trying to run a good barn.
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I’m wondering if those are just truss/mending plates that are being re-branded for $$$?
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Absolutely flat, hard base. More bedding than is currently fashionable so that the horse is up at least 4" off the mats. If the horse’s feet are not touching the mats, the mats will not move.
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This is exactly what I do. 8” stakes with washers.
A ton of initial hard work but definitely worth it. And k think cost savings in the long run and sanity saving when stall cleaners won’t pull the shavings out from under a mat that’s been flipped up.
Often when doing installations if the stall is slightly larger than the mats, we’ll put a 2x4 or 2x2 around the edges so that the mats literally have to be pounded in. Proper surface prep and absolute tight fit will solve a lot of problems.
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So lucky for you - your horses don’t paw at the shavings at dinnertime.
Management, not luck 
Hay always available in stall and she doesn’t have a set dinner time but eats her main meal after I work her. Rest of the barn is handled by usually having feed in their stalls when they come in. Keep a horse wanting for nothing and many “bad habits” go away. Also, ulcer meds as needed
Cheap mats and pawing horses. If I do it over again I will get it right I promise!
bless your heart. I guess I know nothing about horse management.
Perhaps one day you’ll read posts for what they’re worth instead of getting bent out of shape when someone says, hey, this works for me and doesn’t bother to include “ymmv” or a cute little smiley face to ease the upset of someone else figuring out a way to manage their horse/horses that doesn’t involve luck.
- My horses paw at the feed tubs in the pasture. So hay in front of them in the stalls isnt the solution. It’s not a “management” issue.
- My horses are fatty Iberians. Another reason hay 24/7 in stalls is not the right solution (even in slow feed bags).
- Purina Outlast and a forage-based diet keeps their tummy happy.
- For the most part, my horses are out 24/7, only coming in when weather or vet/farrier etc require it.
Perhaps, some day, you will realize that insulting someone’s management when you dont know the details of the horses is not the best move - especially for a “greenie” on these forums.
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