Advice needed - what do I place in a barn stall floor?

[RussMan]

I am building a small 2 stall horse barn. I am ready to consider what type of material I should put down in the stalls. They are just dirt as of now. Do I put down a fine gravel to sort of give it some "base" as it works into the ground or just leave dirt, or sand or ???

 

[shvl73]

I used a hardpack material, something like fine crushed stone w/stone dust. It packs real well. I put rubber stall mats over that. Seems to be ok.

 

[Mike_Kanzer]

We also put down fine crushed stone dust which was leveled, compacted and than black rubber stall mats were placed over that. The stall mats make it easier to muck out the stalls though they do add cost to the barn.

 

[RussMan]

do you recall the thickness of the rubber mats? (Looks there are some 1/2" and some 3/4" on the market)

 

[Rusty]

I used a hardpack material, something like fine crushed stone w/stone dust. It packs real well. I put rubber stall mats over that. Seems to be ok.

Ditto! 4' X 6' X 3/4" stall mats from TSC, laid on crushed stone. Has worked very well for our horses.

 

[QRTRHRS]

The thicker the better in my opinion. Do not butt them tight together when you lay them. Leave about a quarter to half an inch gap. If you butt them tight, they will lift from expansion during warm weather. The gap will quickly fill with debris. Some horses tend to work on the mats with their shuffling and lift the edges. The thicker mats help limit the lifting but do not prevent it. When they do, debris gets under the mat and you must pull it out, level the base and put the mat back. Having that gap helps make it easier to replace the mat. A couple of vise grip pliars will aid in moving them as a 4x6x3/4" mat weighs 100 pounds. One side of the mat will have "striations", ie; grooves at a forty five degree angle to the length of the mat. That is the bottom side. With mats, if you bed with sawdust, you can tailor the depth to the needs of the horse and cleaning is a breeze compared to dirt floors.

 

[czechsonofagun]

Crashed stones, that's what we use in our neck of woods too. Than wood shavings, the crap gets scooped 3 times a week and eventually shavings are replaced.

 

[thl]

RussMan,

We finished refurbishing our 14 stall barn last year. Used sand to fill in the stalls and then topped that with 6 inches of a clay mixture. That was compacted and then we put down rubber stall mats. It was alot of work and up front expense however the investment pays off with regard to easy cleaning and maintenance.

Best Regards,

Terry

 

[cbushrun1]

I would agree w/ the rubber mats. We bought a house w/ a 7 stall horse barn and the stalls had 1" rubber mats laid over dirt. We dont have horses, but we do know the previous owners raised and boarded horses for 10+ years. HEAVY SUCKERS!!