portable mats for shows

[appendix100]

Looking at a show later this summer that has cement floored stalls. They will rent mats for the 4d of the show for $120. I have rented them before when my daughter went to a championship show, but if I am going to be needing them more than the once yearly, it seems like it gets a bit expensive. Considering some form of portable mat for these shows.

questions/concerns:

1. need something easy to move. Not the standard behemoths that take 2 C clamps & muscly people. If they are too much of a pain, they won’t get used…
2. don’t want to spend a big chunk of money. I know it will be worth it in the long run, but still cringe a $700 or more initial outlay for something I’m only using occasionally.

would something like these do the trick? Would work for 10 or 12’ stall, aren’t huge so hopefully would be easy to move…

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KBSFP86/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza [h=1][/h]

[clanter]

color is correct for a Winner

for the cost, it is worth a try at least. Will you have room in the horse hauler mobile for a pile of tiles that will be 2ftby2ftby4ft?

$700? … a package of 18pcs covers 72 sq/ft so a 12by12 stall would require 2 packs at $143.48 including shipping so it says … $286.96 (most show stalls I saw were 10by10 or there abouts)

Does Dear Daughter have more than one pony she exhibits? (my youngest would take every horse in the barn if she could, but often had two with her)

[appendix100]

we only run one at a time usually. My daughter is off to college, so now it’s my turn :). Some of the “portable stall mats” I looked at were close to $700 to do a stall. Few at $4-500 & they looked heavy. do have room for the stack of 2x2’s, not so much for the 3’x4’ even if I could lift them. Another reason those were appealing.

Right now even if I treat my daughter to a show, most likely it will be at our most common venue which is on cement, but includes the mats in the stall fee. This new place I was looking at going to, they charged the same stall fee, & then mat rental was on top of it, so it was almost $250 for a 4day show, rather than the $120-$150 for a week that I am used to.

[poltroon]

You can also just consider buying a LOT of shavings. That is what we did, planned on something like 10 bags. It’s still expensive but less inconvenient to move.

[goodhors]

Have you looked at Cashmans mats? They sell a 4ft square, light weight, interlocking stall mat. It is thick, feels tough like a regular stall mat. I considered getting some, but found some regular weight (heavier to carry weight), 3x4ft mats at a tack sale at a very low price. Then our summer competitions are all canceled so I have not tried them yet.

A set of 4 mats, would give you an 6x8ft pad in the center of a stall for good cushioning and easy cleaning with geldings. You could bank the bedding along stall walls to cover matless spaces. Breaking the mats apart makes them easier to get out of the stall, carry and pack in the trailer. The cost is almost the price of renting mats once. Buying mats you only pay for your own mats the one time! If you don’t like them, someone like myself will be glad to take them off your hands for a slightly reduced price from new!!

I would not buy the linked mats because they appear VERY LIGHT, won’t hold up under shod, large horses. I bought some larger, 4x6ft foam mats, 2 inches thick. Inexpensive, for show stalls. They did not last 24 hours. Ripped, punctured by pin studs, not staying down in place under bedding. Horses were excited at being in new stalls. I am sure a bit of stall walking to see things probably did not help the mats. We pulled the mats the next morning and tossed them.

[farmergirl]

You could do something like these. Says they weigh 15lbs each
https://www.cashmans.com/product/interlocking-rubber-floor-mats-3-x-4-x-34/

[StormyDay]

I have used a similar product to what you linked for my horses OP. I got them from Lowe’s, it was maybe 100$ for the stall. One horse was shod and they lasted just fine, I still have them. Maybe not with studs in, but just put them in outside the stall if you need those.
Because they interlock and I had a hard wall they didn’t shift. I would NOT trust them in a tent stall as I feel your neighbors horse might end up with them.

[appendix100]

I don’t use studs. Horse is currently barefoot, although I cannot say we will never have shoes on.

[goodhors]

Pin studs for road traction, not removable screw-in studs. Horses have the drive-in pin studs in shoes all the time. Not sure what barefoot or plain shoes would do to those little blue, square mats as horse moves around the stall.

[mvp]

I had a set of 9 of these:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMASTER-Black-36-in-x-36-in-Rubber-Anti-Fatigue-Comfort-Mat-KFTRM9191-1/206355967

This created a 9’ x 9’ square that would work fine in any stall, provided I bedded deeply.

These mats were light and soft. The pee drained through them and it was never a problem that I couldn’t get the soaked shavings out of the holes while I was cleaning that deeply bedded stall for a just a week. It was a one person job to take them out of the stall at the end of the show. I’d spray out the shavings (a brush helped) and stack them in the bed of my truck for the ride home.

I was very happy with this set up for years. I did have shod horses on them.

[Atlas_Shrugged]

I bought the small sections at Tractor Supply and use 4 or 5 in the stall at shows

[buck22]

TSC has started carrying a larger “wash rack” style mat that is awesome
** edit, crap these are the 1/4 thick ones, that won’t hold up for a shod horse… they have 1/2" thick ones, I’ll look for it…**

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/pr…t?cm_vc=IOPDP2

They’re light, easy to move, super durable and super cushy. And not bad on the wallet.

[BEARCAT]

I would stay away from the foam mats in the op and get some sort of rubber mats instead.
I use foam mats for dog training and workouts, and those would get shredded by horses in no time. I would worry about them ingesting foam pieces also.
I have used the mats from my trailer before, but those are heavy!

[Leather]

I’ve used these in my barn with a cement floor in both the stalls and run-in portion for about 2 years. They’ve held up very well, especially for the price.

https://www.rubberflooringinc.com/interlocking-tile/foam/portable-stall-mats.html