If money were no object and you could set up your stall floors any way you wanted – how would you do it?
Mats on concrete, with or without drains?
Mats on crushed limestone?
No mats, deep litter?
Peat moss?
Stall mattress?
Other?
We are going to start renovating our dirt-floor stalls, one at a time. And of course, money is an object, but since we’re not doing 27 stalls maybe we can afford to do these right, one at a time?
Would love your thoughts / insights / etc.
I personally had though a French drain system under a liner that allows liquids to pass through and shavings on top for poo would work best. I had found one years ago that warranties against puncture and such from hooves, but can’t think of the name now.
I like to bed on straw and seeing how money is no object I could bed deeply because I have really good people on the payroll to muck out.
I would use concrete beveled to a drain that had water hooked up to the high end so it could be flushed out each day.
I would top the concrete with a thick layer of the industrial strength rubber coating and hope it holds up.
While I had it torn up I would install freeze free auto waterers also.
With unlimited funds, I would be mighty tempted to install stall mattresses, although I’ve never lived with them so perhaps they’re not nearly as awesome in person as the marketing touts (say it ain’t so!)
Barring that, mats over concrete.
Mats and thick bedding over concrete, if you can live with everyone else telling you how horrible you are for having horses on concrete.
Horses tend to love to stand on harder, smoother ground, lay down on soft, ground.
In the end, any one way will be fine, there is not that much difference, horses are adaptable and make do with what they have.
If you decide on concrete, since you are only doing one stall at the time, see if that is what you really want in the other stalls also, or you may change your mind and do the others some other way.
[QUOTE=King’s Ransom;8843202]
Anybody used the Stall Savers?
http://www.stallsavers.com/[/QUOTE]
Yes, I love them. Choose your under gravel carefully. Mine has too much fines and doesn’t drain as well as I hoped. Still, it’s so nice not to have seams and I did have to pull one up to flatten out a rat warren and it was super simple.
[QUOTE=King’s Ransom;8843142]
If money were no object and you could set up your stall floors any way you wanted – how would you do it?
Mats on concrete, with or without drains?
Mats on crushed limestone?
No mats, deep litter?
Peat moss?
Stall mattress?
Other?
We are going to start renovating our dirt-floor stalls, one at a time. And of course, money is an object, but since we’re not doing 27 stalls maybe we can afford to do these right, one at a time?
Would love your thoughts / insights / etc.[/QUOTE]
Stall mattresses hands down. I got to board at one with a rescue horse and also with a older school horse. It was amazing how well the stalls treated the horses. They were definitely sounder and more comfortable for the horse. They seemed to hold up quite well.
The other commercial BNT barn that I know has them is also very happy with them. My DD said it was great for working in the barn and easy to keep stalls well.
The barn I board at has wood slate floors. They have dirt as a base (not clay), then gravel, then pressure treated 2x4s with spaces between. The spaces are filled with screenings. She beds with bulk sawdust. They drain well and are easy to clean.
The BO’s husband is a contractor so he built the barns himself. Some of the stalls have the 2 of the 2x4 as the up side and some have the 4 of the 2x4 as the upside. It is cheaper to have the 4 as the upside. I don’t think there is a difference in performance.
I would first put in a 6 inch layer (at least) of crushed/angular 1 inch stone – then a copious (10 inch) layer of plain old dirt (not clay based but sand/loam based) with small rocks in it-- as dirt naturally is when dug out of the ground. Dirt stays far more absorbent over the long haul than stone dust or other materials that soon tend to clog up and float the pee.
Over that I would put in Hoof Grid product-- wall to wall. Or wall to wall mats with those round holes in them. I would then fill pockets and top dress with a layer of sand. Over that I would put Stall Saver material – and bed deeply with desired bedding.
Then I would go and cry over my empty bank account! LOL.
Stall mattresses! We put these in at my old barn and I just loved them. We where able to do it all ourselves so saved some money that way.
[QUOTE=King’s Ransom;8843202]
Anybody used the Stall Savers?
http://www.stallsavers.com/[/QUOTE]
I just bought some and am in the process of renovating my stalls for them right now. My soil is very sandy and my stalls get dug out really fast, so I needed to put in mats. But because it’s so sandy here, liquid drains FAST. So I’m digging a pit in the center, filling with gravel, then leveling the stalls with gravel before putting in the Stall Savers. Instead of their installation kit, I’m using treated 1x4s. I’ve heard that some people have issues removing the plastic kit if they need to adjust a mat, and that it’s not very durable.
That is how my horses have been bedded ALL their lives. They NEVER have leg problems. In the UK they were bedded on quarry tiles and straw. (Really old place).
Just visited the website for the stalls savers and think I’m sold. We are going to be putting in 20 new stalls and was just assuming I’d be going with the mats but seeing the end price on the ol’ calculator wasn’t much fun. If anyone has any downsides to them, I hope you will share. Tiffani B you had good tips…
[QUOTE=King’s Ransom;8843202]
Anybody used the Stall Savers?
http://www.stallsavers.com/[/QUOTE]
the only barn I know with them has them over dirt floors and that barn REEKS of ammonia. it’s awful. The floors are level, that barn is meticulous otherwise, but the pee has nowhere to go. If there’s a gravel leech pit under there I don’t know- I don’ t have the heart to ask the owner about it.
ETA- we have really hard soil here, not sandy.
There are some older threads about those stall/savers/skins:
Not sure they are better than other, just different to live with and maintain.
Packed deep litter pine sawdust over dirt. We dug up part of the bases once a year or two when the packed base would begin to bulge up a bit in the middle. Super easy to clean, super dry, excellent padding, no smell, looks nice, no wear and tear on the base, super cheap.
[QUOTE=jdobbs64;8845862]
the only barn I know with them has them over dirt floors and that barn REEKS of ammonia. it’s awful. The floors are level, that barn is meticulous otherwise, but the pee has nowhere to go. If there’s a gravel leech pit under there I don’t know- I don’ t have the heart to ask the owner about it.
ETA- we have really hard soil here, not sandy.[/QUOTE]
They do say to test your ground by pouring a bucket of water on a bare stall floor before putting them down - if the liquid doesn’t drain fast enough, you’re supposed to dig a pit. I would do that regardless just to get the pee gone as fast as possible.
My stalls are also fairly low from years of not being maintained (by the prior owners LOL), so I probably have 8" of gravel in the center and tapering up to about 4" on the sides. I would think if you put the mats right over dirt, or over just a couple inches of gravel, you’re going to have odor issues - especially if your floors don’t drain quickly.
An exit door on the outside wall of the stall as well as the interior aisle door. Pretty much your best/only chance of your horse(s) surviving in the event of a barn fire.
[QUOTE=eastendjumper;8845654]
Just visited the website for the stalls savers and think I’m sold. We are going to be putting in 20 new stalls and was just assuming I’d be going with the mats but seeing the end price on the ol’ calculator wasn’t much fun. If anyone has any downsides to them, I hope you will share. Tiffani B you had good tips…[/QUOTE]
If I was doing that many stalls I’d go ahead and buy the geotextile material. There’s a thread on this forum where I compare the different weights to stall savers and stall skins. Since I was only doing three stalls it didn’t behoove me to buy a huge role of geotex.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
