Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Much quicker to muck out, cheaper in long term . |
| Disadvantages: |
Expensive initial outlay . |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
I have two horses, one of my stables is rubber matted, the other isn`t.
My mare was very messy, mucking out would be time consuming and I would spend a lot on bedding. I tried a variety of different beddings. Straw was really messy. Shavings were much better but they worked out very expensive. I tried different types of chopped straw. I tried one called medibed which was quite expensive and I had to order it. When it was first put down it looked fabulous. When the horse had been in it for afew weeks (obviously being mucked out every day) it was not as nice and it took a while to muck out. When some other people in our DIY livery yard decided to have rubber matting, I thought I would too.
It cost us about £200 each at the time from memory but we have had them for 10 years. I cannot remember how long the guarantee was for. My friend had the same recently and it was £400, I was shocked at the increase but it was a long time ago. The mats in my stable are horse mats and were fitted professionally. I knew at the time that it was possible to buy cattle matting for less money than horse mats but it would entail fitting them yourself. I could not be bothered with this, I am not into DIY (except DIY livery) and I wanted it to be fitted well and I did not consider that I would do a very good job.
We found a reputable company and the man came out to fit our matting really promptly. I was glad that he was doing it as the mats were about an inch thick (at least) and very heavy. I realised at that point aswell that I would not have had all the necessary cutting equipment required for fitting the mats. He also had a mallet type thing to knock them into place securely. I felt relief that it was him doing it and not me. Watching him fit the mats, he was obviously very skilled and knew what he was doing. I was very impressed with the result of what looked like a very professional job. The mats were fitted really tightly and were flat and wall to wall. We were advised that we did not need to lift the mats at all as they were fitted so that nothing would get under them. This sounded good to me but would they live up to this.
From the start my mare appeared happy with the matting. The stable appeared warmer and more inviting than concrete. Obviously it uses much less bedding which is an advantge when it comes to cost and time. Mucking out times are slashed, it hardly takes any time at all. Being in a DIY livery yard , just under half have rubber matting so we still have a fairly large muck heap, but I should imagine that it is much smaller than it would be if none of us had matting. It really is an advantage when it comes to time. In summer when the horse is in during the day it is not necessary to use any bedding at all whereas in a stable without matting bedding is still required as a horse cannot be expected to stand on concrete all day as it is cold, hard and slippery. The only disadvantage that I have come across, except the initial outlay, is that in winter the horses rugs get dirtier. This suggests that the horse still lies down though so I am happy that she in content. Some people don`t like rubber matting as it does not look as inviting as straw and I can accept what they are saying but I I do think that my horse is happy.
Why do I only have one stable rubber matted? Well at the time I only had one horse. My other horse that I bought later is a dream to muck out. He is on straw and he is very clean. It still takes a bit longer to muck him out though but not much and I don`t mind doing it. Also I frequently find him lying down in his stable, I like him having straw to lie on. This sounds a bit unfair on my mare but she does still lie down and she is happy. If she was not so messy than I may not have her on rubber matting. I think the individual needs to assess whether their horse would be better on rubber matting than other bedding as there are lots of considerations.
Rubber matting is better for horses with dust allergies. A lot of horses cannot bed on straw due to the dust content. Shavings can work out expensive and rubber matting can be the ideal solution. Rubber matting is also good for horses who are lame. If is softer for them to stand on. Bedding on top of concrete needs to be thick to make the floor soft and this can create some resistance when moving around which would not help the lame horse. Imagine yourself walking around in a thick bid of straw with a sprained ankle in comparison to walking on rubber matting. I know which I would find easier.
After the 10 years that I have had the rubber matting, I have not once regretted it. It has done as was promised. I have never had to lift the mats, there has never been a smell. There has been no wear at all, horses weigh 3/4 of a tonne and wear metal shoes, I am very impressed. It is very easy to clean, just throw water over it and brush it away or disinfect if you wish.
In comparison afew of the others in my yard have cattle matting which they fitted themselves. It was much cheaper. When looking at them though I consider it to be false economy as there are gaps, they frequently need to lift the mats to clean them. This is exactly what I wanted to avoid which is why I paid more for professional fitting. They are still pleased with it but I know which I prefer.
With regards to saving money on bedding, again it is dependant on the individual. I always thought the point of matting was to save bedding. Some people in my yard use almost as much as if they did not have matting. Again false economy? It would not save as much time either using lots of bedding. I have found shavings to be very good used in conjunction with rubber matting as they are very absorbant and you don`t need to use many. This said, I do use a small amout of straw, purely because I buy big bales for my gelding so have an abundance of straw.
I would recommend rubber matting for horses with COPD or a dust allergy or for those on box rest due to lameness. I also recommend it for horse without any of these problems but it depends very much on the individual horse. For my mare it has been perfect but I do not need it for my gelding. What I do recommend though is for those who have decided on rubber matting, find a reputable company who will fit them really well. It also depends on the individual owner. If you like giving your horse loads of bedding then I don`t think that it would be worth it because to be cost effective, bedding really needs to be reduced although it can still be used as banks to help prevent the horse getting cast. Whether or not to have matting also depends on how long the owner is going to stay where they are. It would not be worth having mats fitted perfectly into one stable, only to move afew months later. Whilst they can be moved, they are heavy, it is not easy and they would not fit as well in another stable. It is not the perfect world where all stables are 12 by 12.
I do not regret for one moment having rubber matting and I recommend it to others if their horse warrants matting. I am not going to spend money needlessly on having my lovely, clean geldings stable matted. I know if my mare was still on conventional bedding I would be feeling very frustrated at the waste, cost and mucking out time. I have made the right decision having her on matting and the gelding on bedding. I would be reluctant to spend £400 on rubber matting but if necessary if I had another horse as messy as my mare, I know that it would be worth it in the long run.
