http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?455116-Geotextile-stall-mats/
I’d have mats over concrete. That’s what I had at my last barn and it worked out just fine. The floor was firm and level for the horses to stand on and they did their lying down outside. I don’t even know what my current stall flooring is but I hate it. I don’t think it is cement. I think it is just dirt/sand covered by holey stall mats and it is uneven. The horses spend most of their time outside anyway. None of their ground is really level, as there’s a gentle slope from the barn/stalls to the turnouts, and we live in the desert so it is all sandy.
Not entirely related to the OT, but I agree with the person who said doors to the outside of the barn also.
We have screenings (like stone dust but a little less fine) with stalls mats on top and we’ve had no problems over ten years. I bed with shavings.
bluestone base. Interlocking stall mats overtop. If your stall walls? (interior between each stall) are removeable? Level whole run and run your interlocking continuous.
I’m wondering what is the affect of climate/weather patterns in determining favorite stall floors. It might be that some installations work better or worse depending on wet, cold, variable weather, humid, hot, etc. I realize that the stall is mostly protected from wet conditions because it is in a barn, but perhaps there are factors which influence your decisions?
In Southern California, it is very dry and dusty. The natural ground runs from clays to sandy decomposed granite depending on the area. We have little or very light frosts in the winter. Gophers and burrowing bugs are ubiquitous here (but I don’t know if they tend to burrow inside of a barn). When there is rain it can be torrential and extreme.
How does the weather/climate/critters figure in to your choice of flooring, or does it?
I have matts over cement. Do some thoroughbred rehab (tendons mostly) and seems to be the best set up for them. Deeply bedded with shavings and all wet spots cleaned daily.
If money was no object I would have stall mattresses. I boarded at a farm with them and LOVED them. I hope to replace what I did buy with them in the future.
Since money is a factor I bought Stall Savers, and I am quite happy with them despite me screwing up the base and using a poor choice of material. I bed with straw which is massively cheaper than shavings in my area, and find that even with my less than adequately draining base as long as I pull the straw back for half the day and expose the pee spots to air there is no smell. If my base was done correctly I think they would be amazing.
From an old article on The Horse magazine:
—"Whatever the choice, the floor needs to be level.
A flat floor avoids stress on the forelegs.
Jan Pearson, of Groundmaster, said, “Leg and back problems can be the result of a horse standing on an unlevel floor.
Think about it–for you, it’s like wearing a flat shoe on one foot, and a high-heeled shoe on another.”—
If a horse has to stand in one small space for long time, keeping it flat is best.
Then, have a place to lay down that is soft and cushiony.
Hard to have a small stall that provides for both.
