Choosing the Right Stable Mat for your Horse

Check with your veterinarian to see if Horse Mats are suitable for your horse's barn before making a purchase. Even though rubber mats in stalls are generally thought to improve joint health and comfort, there is some evidence that rubber mats, especially in horse trailers, may increase impact, which could cause additional joint pain for some older or arthritic horses.

Before you buy horse mats, you should also ask the manufacturer about the material they use to make them because some rubber formulations can be toxic. Imagine attempting to sleep on a stinking rubber mattress!

Cheaper alternatives to horse mats

When our farm was in Southwest Missouri, a region where mineral mining is still very much alive, conveyor belt mats from mining were frequently resold as horse mats. These alternatives were cheaper. These large, heavy, threaded rubber mats, which were sold at a fraction of the cost of horse stable mats at farm stores and online retailers, provided the same cushioning. In order to keep the mine running smoothly, the wide conveyer belt rubber mats had to be taken out and replaced on a regular basis, despite not showing any signs of wear. If you're open to other mats like these, you might be able to save money on the installation of your barn.

The cost of shipping rubber mats to your location is frequently the most expensive part of purchasing mats for stalls. To save money on installation, locate a manufacturer in your area or nearby and arrange to pick up your Rubber Stable Mats directly using your horse trailer. If you need a lot of mats to line multiple stalls in your stable, eliminating the middle dealer is a great way to save money.

Rubber Mats For Stables

How to deal with odors from stables mats

In the long run, using horse mats should improve the smell of your barn because they prevent more urine from getting under the stalls. However, newly installed rubber stall mats may initially produce an unpleasant odor for some horse owners.

The best way to get rid of the smell is to let new Rubber Horse Mats off-gas outside for at least a week before installing them. To expedite this process, you can leave your new mats outside in a single layer.

The smell of rubber mats that have already been installed can be reduced by mixing activated charcoal with your bedding for a few weeks. The millions of tiny pores in activated charcoal molecules enable them to bind with odor-causing molecules. Odors can be removed by cleaning stalls.

Horse mats typically stop smelling in a noticeable way after a few weeks.

How to deal with odors from stables mats

One of the worst things about having rubber mats in horse stalls is how hard it is to move them when you need to clean a stall thoroughly or move the mats around. Some mats on Certain surfaces may shift when horses lie down and stand, requiring regular repositioning.

You can purchase tools that make it easier to grasp the heavy, difficult-to-hold horse mats because moving them takes so much time. But you don't have to buy a special tool if you have a basic hardware kit. High-quality toolboxes typically include a C clamp. C clamps, like this 6" C-clamp, attach to a thin surface like a stable mat, making them easy to move. You are able to drag the mat wherever you need it because the large arm in the shape of a C creates a handle that is easy to hold.