Stall Flooring

[Rae89]

Hi all

I am moving into a new place soon, and can’t decide what to do with the stall floors so I have come for advice.

There is 7 stalls, I certainly won’t be using all 7 this winter, but definitely a few of them. Currently there is wood planks in the stalls. Underneath is a gravel sand base I would call it. The boards are getting old and some of them are rotting.
Options

1. I could just replace the rotten boards and bed directly over the wood.
2. Replace rotten boards and put mats over top of boards. (not going to have the cash to do all the stalls but could do some)
3. Take out all the boards and just have the sand gravel as the stall floor.

Ideas thoughts?? Is wood plank okay for horses to stand on? Is wood plank better than just straight dirt floor? What kind of plank, and was size is best? Should I 4x4 down, then put the planks on top for better drainage??

TIA

[Bluey]

If you are going to keep horses stalled for more than eating for a bit, where they will live in there, move around, etc. for several hours, anything will beat plain dirt or clay or sand and gravel, anything at all.

Boards, mats, pavers, concrete, any that will be fairly firm and level.

Dirt and clay and sand and gravel or any that can develop uneven ground or holes will develop uneven ground and holes, which are bad for horses when standing around most of the time, they do better on fairly level ground.
In one stable we had boards over concrete, that sloped slightly into a channel in front of the stalls and you could hose down to clean and disinfect if necessary.
Those boards were still in excellent shape and had been there a good 50+ years.
We bedded with straw in those days.
The only bad part to wood, it does soak urine some, so you will have ammonia smell you may not have with other.
In the same stables we had others bedded directly on concrete and we didn’t have that smell there.

If you can get by replacing boards, why not try that first, see how that works with your management?

[khall]

I would take out the boards and put in M10 aka screenings aka rock dust as flooring then mats over that. Or just mats over the gravel. I would not use boards for many reasons!

[Garythesquirrel]

I would pull out the boards and install something like Stall Savers or Stall Skins. I love my Stall Savers!

[csaper58]

The purpose of the wood floors is to drain urine away from bedding and the horse. If they are done right they are wonderful. Think of how wood floors work in horse trailers.

What type of wood is used?

What is the support system under the wood planks?

If keeping the wood floors is not viable can you compact the base you have and put down mats?

[Rae89]

@csaper58

The purpose of the wood floors is to drain urine away from bedding and the horse. If they are done right they are wonderful. Think of how wood floors work in horse trailers.

What type of wood is used?

What is the support system under the wood planks?

If keeping the wood floors is not viable can you compact the base you have and put down mats?

Thanks for the reply. Right now the boards are just laid on top of the base. I have read that you should/could put 4x4 underneath to raise the floor of the ground and this helps with drainage. Is this what your referring to for a support system? Is that what I need to do?

[csaper58]

@Rae89

Thanks for the reply. Right now the boards are just laid on top of the base. I have read that you should/could put 4x4 underneath to raise the floor of the ground and this helps with drainage. Is this what your referring to for a support system? Is that what I need to do?

Yes, there should be air circulation under the wood between it and the base, 4 x 4 (treated for ground contact) would be fine. Base should be compacted and as level as possible, 2 x 6 rough sawn oak is what was used for the flooring in the barn we visited. 1 x 6 could break.

[shakeytails]

The wood floors I have known were simply rough cut 2x10 or whatever laid over some sort of base that would afford some drainage.

[Hermein]

The best stall flooring imo is 4x4s set level in stone dust and topped with 2x6, 2x8 planks. You need to dip or paint the wood with some sort of water repellent–just like you do to the boards on your trailer floor. Leave a little space in between the 2x boards for drainage, but not so much that your bedding will disappear down the cracks. And use screws, not nails, to secure the planks to the 4x4s The wood is softer than cement, so easier on their legs, but stays flat so is easier to clean than any sort of dirt or gravel floor.

[Bluey]

@Hermein

The best stall flooring imo is 4x4s set level in stone dust and topped with 2x6, 2x8 planks. You need to dip or paint the wood with some sort of water repellent–just like you do to the boards on your trailer floor. Leave a little space in between the 2x boards for drainage, but not so much that your bedding will disappear down the cracks. And use screws, not nails, to secure the planks to the 4x4s The wood is softer than cement, so easier on their legs, but stays flat so is easier to clean than any sort of dirt or gravel floor.

Not necessarily, depends on what we want to use to measure what is “best”.

Best for many is concrete, properly drained and/or matted and/or bedded.

Those concrete floors in european horse barns were there for decades and working like the day they were put in.
Many horses lived in those stalls, many practically 24/7, some in tie stalls, for decades and were contented and sound and working hard, as part of a good general management, suitable for those horses and conditions there.

Wood, you have to eventually replace it and, no matter how you seal it, the seal breaks down after so long and needs to be re-sealed and wood used in stalls smells and the barn tends to smell more than other barns without wood floored stalls.

That doesn’t mean wood stall flooring is not good, is excellent, but maybe not “best”, all other being equal.
I spent years with horses in both, can compare both from experience managing horses in both kinds of flooring.

For the OP, we don’t know, in her situation, with wood already there, repairing where boards need to be replacing may be the best, at least for now.
That would give her time to decide if to do any other and what that would fit her best.

[ToTheNines]

The best floors IMO are stall grids over a nice stone dust base. Then, on top of that, the heavy interlocking mats that TSC sells. Expensive, but I did mine this way and they are perfect. Flat, they drain, mats stay put.

I started out with just the stall grids, but I had to use a lot of shavings or otherwise they seemed a bit slippery.

[FreshAir]

@ToTheNines

The best floors IMO are stall grids over a nice stone dust base. Then, on top of that, the heavy interlocking mats that TSC sells. Expensive, but I did mine this way and they are perfect. Flat, they drain, mats stay put.

I started out with just the stall grids, but I had to use a lot of shavings or otherwise they seemed a bit slippery.

I had the stall grids and they were best with mats over them, otherwise, they were very slippery and rough on the horses unless really bedded up. They did keep the floor level, until one pawed the edge and broke the grid. Now we have mats on concrete. I hate hearing them stomp to get rid of flies on that though! Can’t win.

[Spotless]

@ToTheNines

The best floors IMO are stall grids over a nice stone dust base. Then, on top of that, the heavy interlocking mats that TSC sells. Expensive, but I did mine this way and they are perfect. Flat, they drain, mats stay put.

I started out with just the stall grids, but I had to use a lot of shavings or otherwise they seemed a bit slippery.

Was just going to suggest this! My barn has two barns, one with thick shavings over the grids (with fine pea gravel in them) and the main barn which is the same with mats over it. I really love the stalls without the mats. The stalls stay more dry and the shavings last a lot longer.

[SonnysMom]

@IronwoodFarm

You can pull the boards, put down gravel to be sure it is level, then use a draining mat system like Stable Grid and fill it in with stone dust. I love draining mats. This system is easy to install and lasts forever… My current stalls have been matted this way for 15 years and have only needed a couple of shovels of extra stone dust to stay level. We also use it in run ins and around gates. Great stuff!

The Stall Grid system is what is in the stalls at the current barn I board at.

The previous barn had the wood planks with spaces between them and stone dust between and below the wood planks. There was gravel below the stone dust.

For the wood planked barn the BO’s husband would occasionally have to add some stone dust between the board, especially right under the feed bin where the horses sometimes would paw.

He was a contractor. As they added stalls over the years he has done different types of boards and different orientations. The stall Finnegan was in were 2x6 with the narrow side up. He also has used 2x4s the other way. There has only been one stall that he pulled the flooring out and redid it after about 5 years. He did the base differently and the wood differently than any of the others but I don’t remember the specifics. The main barn is 20 years old with the original wood.