Horse stall mats are becoming progressively well-known, owing to the rewards they supply above other stall floor surfaces:
Yielding. The standard concrete flooring is really challenging. Unless you provide a thick layer of bedding, this hardness can anxiety joints, possibly injure feet, and result in sore factors exactly where the horse lays down to relaxation or snooze. Mats offer a softer and a lot more yielding surface which is much more comfortable for horses and significantly less most likely to result in effect tension injuries.
Warmth. The materials utilised to make horse stall mats are normally insulating. This is the two much more cozy and more healthy for horses, especially in winter season.
Traction. Concrete and wood flooring can be slippery when soaked mats provide greater traction and minimize this danger to horses.
Clean. A lot of mats have a clean area, which is considerably less difficult to thoroughly clean than concrete or wood surfaces.
Ultimate mats . Stall mats can be easily sterilized with a disinfectant, which is challenging with absorbent surfaces this sort of as wood or earth. Particularly in the situation of a horse contraction a contagious ailment, the capability to sterilize the stall ground is critical.
Drainage. Not like concrete, mats let urine to drain off. Usually this takes place at the joints between mats, even though a handful of sorts of mats enable the urine to drain by way of the mat by itself.
Bedding. Numerous homeowners uncover that considerably less bedding is essential with stall mats, partly since the mats execute the operate of bedding (insulation, comfortable and cozy surface, shock absorption, traction) and partly simply because the potential to drain off urine indicates that much less bedding is soiled. This will save not only on bedding costs, but also in conditions of the time and income connected with stall cleaning.
A mat ground can be laid on leading of any difficult, non-relocating floor this kind of as concrete, asphalt and picket flooring. As this sort of, mats are much more a floor covering, rather than a stand-by itself flooring. Some mats (the thicker and more robust kinds) can also be laid on compacted stone, provided that that stones do not exceed a certain dimensions (big stones can cause bumps or even tears in the mats). Gentle surfaces, this sort of as earth or sand, are unsuitable as they can shift underneath the mats, ensuing in depressions in the mats. Eventually, this can lead to separations among the mats or even tearing of the mats.
Stall mats fluctuate in types, good quality and efficiency qualities. For that reason, selecting a stall mat for individual specifications demands thought of a number of factors. The important variations amongst various stall mats are in conditions of:
Substance. The most typically used materials is rubber, despite the fact that there are distinct sorts and attributes of rubber utilized (largely dependent on maker). There are also non-rubber mats, made out of high-tech resources this sort of as EVA. Large high quality rubber tends to be far more expensive, but is a lot more durable. High-tech supplies this sort of as EVA have a tendency to have fairly different functionality attributes (e.g. much more shock absorbent) and have a tendency to be lighter for a given size.
Dimensions. Mats normally differ in size from about 30cm sq. (a square foot) to about two square meters (three square yards). Even so, we have seen mats up to 12 ft by 12 ft (practically four meters by four meters), created to cover an complete stall with a one piece (which weighs 600 lbs . or almost 300kg). Massive mats are heavier (the larger kinds weight a hundred Kg. or two hundred lbs each) which make placement more tough. Nonetheless, their fat and dimension is an edge in that it helps make them less most likely to transfer as soon as place in place and also less probably for edges or corners to curl up. More compact mats are less complicated to function with. In the function of a tear or other hurt, it is more affordable to replace a little mat than a massive one.
Thickness. The thickness differs from about 1 centimeter to more than 2 centimeters. Thicker mats have 4 rewards: have a tendency to be more resilient, are significantly less very likely for the edges to curl, much less probably for the mats to go, thickness is normally an indication of quality. However, as thickness increases, so do equally price and excess weight.
Weight. The excess weight is dependent on the type of materials (EVA is much lighter then rubber) and the thickness of the mat. Hefty mats are much more very likely to remain in area, while lighter mats are handy if you are typically travelling with your horse (e.g. in between horse displays and competitions) and like to get a portable mat with you. 1 of the rewards of a mat created from EVA instead of rubber is that it weighs only about a quarter as significantly as rubber, so is far more ideal if you need to have to transfer it typically.
Interlocking. Some mats interlock, even though other individuals have straight edges and depend merely on their bodyweight to keep them in spot. All else becoming the same (size, weight, thickness), the interlocking mats stay in place far better and are significantly significantly less probably for edges to lift. Some mats are designer to lock and unlock simply (for effortless transport if you shift locations with your horse often) even though other individuals are developed to lock firmly in area (creating transportation far more challenging, but providing greater efficiency in static installations).
Quality. Like any product, quality may differ. A lengthy promise (five to ten years) is an indicator of good quality. Thicker mats are generally of better good quality than slim kinds. Provided 2 rubber mats of the same dimensions, if 1 is considerably heavier it is probably of much better high quality (the lighter a single is probably not pure rubber, but alternatively rubber blended with inferior and lighter resources). None of these is an complete mark of top quality, but normally they are excellent indications. It is also value checking if the manufacturer has a popularity for producing good quality merchandise. Also request if the rubber has be revulcanized (which is excellent) or if the rubber has been sure with urethane glue (lower top quality).
Permeable. The mats need to not be permeable, which is to say that urine must not be capable to enter the surface area of the mat. If the materials or creation methods are of low quality, the mats might be partly permeable, resulting in urine moving into the mat and making odours.
Porous. Some mats are porous, enabling urine to grain by way of. Even so, the bulk are not porous, even though urine can drain via the joins in which the mats meet. With smaller sized mats, there are far more joins, so the urine tends to run through more. This can both be an gain or a downside (see discussion underneath).
Flat, grooved or footed base. A lot of mats have flat bottoms. With flat bottoms, any urine that will get beneath the mats (for instance, draining via at the joints amongst mats) can be trapped there. If you have a permeable surface beneath the mats (e.g. compacted stone) this could not be an concern, but if you have a non-permeable area (e.g. concrete) beneath the mats, you do not want to have trapped urine releasing ammonia and odours. With groves or ft, these kinds of urine may be capable to drain off (whether this transpires in exercise will rely on factors this kind of as the slope of the underlying floor and regardless of whether there are dips in the underlying surface area).
Portable. Some mats are designer to be moveable, other folks are not. Factors to evaluate when considering portability incorporate: fat, dimension, ability to roll up. If they are interlocking, examine that they can be locked and unlocked effortlessly and without specific instruments.
Reversible. Some stall mats have a leading side and a base side, while others can be reversed (flipped above). The gain of the latter is that when a single side displays dress in, you can flip them above to extent the lifespan.
Flat or textured leading. Some mats have a flat and easy best, even though other folks have a textured prime. Clean tops are easier to thoroughly clean (the groves or bumps on textured mats are likely to entice dust), although textured tops supply horses with greater traction. Some people buy mats with a grooved bottom and then flip them in excess of so that the grooved aspect is up this is specifically done for large-site visitors locations this kind of as corridors or washing places (the place the h2o and cleaning soap would or else make a slippery surface).
Reduce to suit. Stall mats come in a wonderful variety of dimensions. Even so, to get a near fit, you might need to have to lower the mats. In this case, prior to acquiring the mats, check out that they are made to enable this.
Price. Costs vary, but as a rough sign look at twenty-forty euros for every square meter.
For images of diverse sorts (interlocking, textured), see horse floor mats.
Drainage
If the urine drains through the mats rather than resting on prime of them, the sum of bedding which is soiled is tremendously lowered. This reduces the sum of time required to clean the stall, lowers the sum of replacement bedding necessary, and lowers the sum of storage space needed for dirty bedding.
Even though all of these are critical benefits, a single must contemplate what transpires to the urine right after it has drained by means of the mats. If the area underneath has great drainage (e.g. thick layer of crushed stone), then the urine can drain off. However, if the surface area underneath is impermeable (e.g. concrete), then the urine merely builds up beneath the mats, where it can launch ammonia into the air (which is harmful for horses stabled there, in particular for their lungs) and make disagreeable smells. Although one particular could from time to time elevate up the mats and thoroughly clean beneath them, the truth stays the cleansing urine under the mats is far more hard than cleaning urine on leading of them.
For that reason, relying on the fundamental flooring surface you could choose that urine drains via, or you could favor that it does not. Dependent on your choice, you should selected mats appropriately: tiny mats drain more than larges ones (joins are closer with each other and there are much more of them), straight edge mats drain more than interlocking, porous mats drain far more than non-porous.
If you choose to use mats that very easily allow urine to drain by means of, you should take into account the subsequent:
Decide on a mat with grooved or footed bottoms, so that the urine can movement off relatively than becoming trapped.
Try out to have a floor with excellent drainage. If this is not possible, let the urine to operate off by making use of a flooring which is flat (no dips exactly where urine can pool), easy (so that liquids operate simply) and with a slant so that liquids run off.
Contemplate selecting mats whose layout and fat enable them to be easily lifted out, permitting periodical washing down of the floor beneath.
Cleansing
A stall with rubber mats is cleaned out in considerably the same way (hay fork and/or shovel) as any other stall. Several folks also periodically use a water hose to wash them down periodically. If the mats have feet or groves underneath, this can also help to flush out urine that has drained by means of between the joints (see over dialogue about drainage).
One can also use a stress jet. Although this is quite powerful, be careful not to maintain the stress jet right away from the mat floor as this could injury the mat (your stress jet manual must condition the minimal length to hold the stress jet away from surfaces getting cleaned).
If your mat need to be totally clean, other cleansing equipment that may possibly be valuable are a scrub brush, cleaning soap and disinfectant. Just before utilizing any chemical product on your mat, just the directions offered with your mat to make confident that the chemical will not damage it.