Do you use one? We have stall mats and I clean the stalls every morning after the horses are turned out. I remove the wet shavings, try to soak up the urine puddles with shavings, and then let the mats air dry. That works somewhat well, but the ammonia smell is stronger now that it’s warmer. I was thinking about using Sweet PDZ on the wet mats after taking the clean bedding away and scooping the wet shavings. Does it work well? Is Stall Dry better?
My absolute favorite is Standlee’s Horse Fresh. I just need to once a week, but I semi-strip the stall on the weekend, put down the Horse Fresh, and leave it for the day. I haven’t found Sweet PDZ to work that well (at least not the powder, the granule seemed okay), and Stall Dry works fine.
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We used PDZ for years, it is a very good product.
A few years ago we switched to a Standlee product call Horse Fresh …here in north Texas the Horse Fresh is up to less than half the cost of PDZ. (I see TSC now has the PDZ at $10.99 but they had it up to $18.99, the Horse Fresh we can get for $8.99)
I see no differentiation in the Horse Fresh verses PDZ both are in 25 pound bags
all of our stalls are also matted, they are over 30 years old
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If I recall correctly, the PDZ directions recommend spreading it as a base layer on the dry mats in a stripped stall in those areas which are each horses’ chosen pee spots, and then adding fresh bedding. At least that is how I have been using it. Having the PDZ already down seems for me to more effectively reduce the urine ammonia odors in the stall than adding it on top of a wet spot later.
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I’d start fresh. Mats should come out of each stall, pressure washed and left to dry. Spread Sweet PDZ/Horse Fresh before you add the mats back in, then use another layer on top of the mats. If you are cleaning daily, and you can still smell the ammonia, I’d increase the amount of shavings you put down in general, or use pellets in the pee spots, under shavings.
If you don’t have any horses with issues with dust issues, using Ag Lime is the cheapest way to go. Usually just a couple bucks for a 50lb bag. It’s just more dusty than Sweet PDZ or Horse Fresh.
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PDZ granules work great! We do put shavings on top.
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I use the PDZ as a base under my shavings. But I also make sure I have a lot of shavings in the stalls. The urine shouldn’t reach the mats. That’s the trick to no smell.
Every once in a while I have encountered a stall trasher, who will churn the shavings into a poop mess, and that’s a whole different story. But 99% of the time just deeply bedding is the best solution.
(You can also pour 50/50 pine sol and vinegar onto the urine spot before you put down the PDZ granules if the ammonia is REALLY bad)
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I just use deep bedding. Occasionally I find a spot that’s particularly gross but I just scrape up as much as I can and then will spray with either Simple Green or white vinegar and let dry before putting shavings back on top.
I also am a liberal bedding user. I like it deep and I tend to remove more than most people, I think. I generally use 4 new bags of shavings per week per horse. I did this even when I used pellets. I just dislike anything remotely smelly in the barn.
I am now being challenged with a new gelding who is a pig pen in his stall. I’ve never had to do a regular stall strip with my two mares, but I can see how that might be necessary with him. He mixes everything so much that there’s no obvious urine spots to remove. Gah! It’s driving me crazy!
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I use the PDZ granules and it works very well. One thing I can’t stand is a stinky barn.
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Our barn has rubber mats over packed limestone, with pelleted bedding. When I strip the stalls (very rarely, generally only when pressure washing the barn), I apply PDZ/Stall Dry over the mats/under the bedding as described above.
When wet spots are removed, I sprinkle a little on the area. It’s not really necessary to control smells - which are not a problem in our airy barn – but I think it helps dry out the remnant of the spot more quickly.
I also tried Bye Bye Odor when I was given a sample bottle; I think this product would be helpful for a place with a problem:
https://spalding-labs.com/products/odor_control_products/odor_control_for_horses/default.aspx
I have yet to try the Standlee Product, which is not kept in stock at our local TSC.
I use Sweet PDZ, like it much better than Stall Dry - which is nothing more than clay cat litter. I haven’t heard of the Standlee product.
I’ve never been in a barn where mats got removed for cleaning. Personally I bed well and remove the pee spot thoroughly. If the stall seems especially wet and the horse is out I will leave it uncovered all day, to dry up.
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