Rubber mats in paddock?

[Gwyneth]

One of my horses makes a mess with the footing in her paddock. Her paddock is about 30X50 feet and has a base of drainage rock and is topped with crusher. This works well for all of our other horses. This mare, however, really only stays in the first 10X30 feet of her paddock. This is a problem because any manure that is in that area gets ground into the footing, making it nearly impossible to get out, and turning the gravel into mud. I’ve replaced the gravel in that area, but she’s already turned it into mud again.

Has anyone put stall/ rubber mats in a paddock before? My only concern is them getting slippery, but one of our feedstores has stall mats that are textured with raised buttons (I have them in our barn), and they never get slippery with water. Is this a bad idea? What would my other options be? If my mare just used the entirety of her paddock this wouldn’t be a problem, but she likes to hang out at just the one end.

If I were to do this, I would grade the gravel so that the mats were on a slope, allowing water to run off. And maybe I’d drill some holes into the mats as well, just to get rid of any potential standing water/ to prevent ice from forming on it? The mats I’d get are super heavy 3/4" rubber. I have them in our stalls/ in the paddock shelters, and so far none of the horses have been able to shift them.

[Simkie]

I have mats just outside of each of my stalls, in the runs, and it works great to keep manure and bedding from being ground into the screenings there. Depending on the horse, it’s one mat to several. One horse has a whole “outside stall” worth of mats.

Do consider where the water is going to go when it rains, because it’s not going to be able to soak into the ground anymore. And mats on a slope will slide down the slope. Stall mat klips (https://stallmatklips.com/) are great for nailing them down.

[Gwyneth]

@Simkie

I have mats just outside of each of my stalls, in the runs, and it works great to keep manure and bedding from being ground into the screenings there. Depending on the horse, it’s one mat to several. One horse has a whole “outside stall” worth of mats.

Do consider where the water is going to go when it rains, because it’s not going to be able to soak into the ground anymore. And mats on a slope will slide down the slope. Stall mat klips (https://stallmatklips.com/) are great for nailing them down.

Thanks for the link! Those look like a good idea. I live in Canada though, so I’m thinking that with the exchange and the cost of shipping, they’d probably be fairly expensive. Wouldn’t large metal spikes (I’m thinking landscape tie spikes) work as well?

I’d love to see a picture of your paddock with the “outside stall” amount of mats, if you have a picture/ would be willing to share? Just so I can see how it turned out.

[Simkie]

@Gwyneth

Thanks for the link! Those look like a good idea. I live in Canada though, so I’m thinking that with the exchange and the cost of shipping, they’d probably be fairly expensive. Wouldn’t large metal spikes (I’m thinking landscape tie spikes) work as well?

I’d love to see a picture of your paddock with the “outside stall” amount of mats, if you have a picture/ would be willing to share? Just so I can see how it turned out.

You could certainly figure out something–just make sure that the end is flat, or hammered in VERY well. You don’t want something pokey for the horse to step on.

I’ll try to remember to snag a pic when I go outside, but it’s really not very exciting. Just a few mats outside a dutch door

[Cameraine]

@Gwyneth

One of my horses makes a mess with the footing in her paddock. Her paddock is about 30X50 feet and has a base of drainage rock and is topped with crusher. This works well for all of our other horses. This mare, however, really only stays in the first 10X30 feet of her paddock. This is a problem because any manure that is in that area gets ground into the footing, making it nearly impossible to get out, and turning the gravel into mud. I’ve replaced the gravel in that area, but she’s already turned it into mud again.

Has anyone put stall/ rubber mats in a paddock before? My only concern is them getting slippery, but one of our feedstores has stall mats that are textured with raised buttons (I have them in our barn), and they never get slippery with water. Is this a bad idea? What would my other options be? If my mare just used the entirety of her paddock this wouldn’t be a problem, but she likes to hang out at just the one end.

If I were to do this, I would grade the gravel so that the mats were on a slope, allowing water to run off. And maybe I’d drill some holes into the mats as well, just to get rid of any potential standing water/ to prevent ice from forming on it? The mats I’d get are super heavy 3/4" rubber. I have them in our stalls/ in the paddock shelters, and so far none of the horses have been able to shift them.

These are excellent for mud issues. https://www.amazon.com/DeWitt-DPGG-5…130143&sr=8-15