Stable / hay storage build

[dave1949]

Hi Mike,

Concrete would allow you to get exactly the brush or ?? surface texture you want. A little more flexible than stone paver surface choices.

 

[WM75Guy]

Hi Mike,

Concrete would allow you to get exactly the brush or ?? surface texture you want. A little more flexible than stone paver surface choices.

We went with a brushed surface in the wash rack as it is sloped and the put two 4'X6' mats in it. The aisle is smooth finish, it's a lot easier to keep clean. I bought a B&D 18V blower that I keep in the stables. I sweep up the big stuff and then blow out the aisle. The mats don't sweep well but the blower cleans them off where they look like new.

 

[Mike476]

While easier to clean I'm a litle concerned a power trolled smooth surface might prove dangerous for footing during winter months. Something between that and a broom brushed surface would be my preference I think.

I have to make some calls next week to make sure winter weight restrictions on the rural roads to my location won't prevent me from being able to do this.

 

[tcreeley]

Cement in the washroom- it works. Cement in the aisle- while attractive is not so good an idea. I have yet to deal with a horse that didn't scramble at some point, and that's when you have a problem. Cement is slippery - brushed or not. Steel always slips on cement- and most horses are shod in steal. Barefoot horses even slip.
Stone pavers- same problems.
Pretty in a barn is nice, but function should come first.
In my 20's I was at the Ohio State fairgrounds in Columbus for a morgan show. The aisles were cement- that was scary- moving the horses around. Not something I would recommend to anyone to experience.

- My vet was by one day for shots and he saw my rings I had in the doorway to clip the nylon webbing to - just like your temporary ones in your 2 stalls. I had to politely listen to a lecture on horse safety. The horse that feels crowded or chooses to rush out of the stall beside you hits those rings and does some real damage to itself. -tear its skin, catch a rib, etc.. He said they don't belong in a barn with any animal that might choose to rush through the doorway. Having the web rings mounted flat on the face of the door posts instead of on the inside edge might help. If they rush straight they will slide along the wood. A horse that rushes in or out on a bend might still catch themselves. I'd hate to have a horse knock me into those rings, hard to survive that.

Horses are perfect until something goes wrong - simple as a vinyl raincoat (last time my wife was thrown). It is planning ahead that makes the difference between a slight or serious injury.

Your barn is very attractive!

 

[Mike476]

Agree with the concerns over concrete, I'm not too sure there is a work-around other than to leave the floor dirt (which has its own issues) or move to wood, which is something I want to stay away from, I've been replacing wooden floors in stalls every few years for the last 15 years.

That said, most barns my wife and I have travelled to with the kids for competitions have walkways that are concrete, although very few were actually garage floor smooth there was never an incident regarding their footing, but we were extremely careful and probably a little fortunate, there were others who did (horses unaccustomed to other animals will spook easily). There have been issues with rotten wooden floors in stalls, stall dividers that were rotten enough that they posed a threat to the horse as a spear etc.

Your point about the rings is worth considering as well, while we spend a lot of time with our horses de-sensitizing them the last time my wife was thrown (and broke her jaw) was over a porcupine that appeared unannounced on the trail. Even the most sensible animal that won't typically spook will someday just be in a hurry, they are big and powerful animals. After 15 years they still surprise me on occassion with their behaviour.

 

[tcreeley]

More opinions and an interesting pdf on stall/barn floors.

http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/ub036.pdf

Favorite Barn Aisle Flooring? [Archive] - Chronicle Forums

Good luck!

 

[Mike476]

Thanks, I've read a lot of similar product reviews and opinions from those who, like me, have used dirt and wood and even rubber mats.

Each of them have their benefits, I find that rubber mats are often given a positive review when in fact, as was documented in one of the forum posts, they can be extremely dangerous as a mat over concrete, I've seen a similar situation to the one referred to in that post.

From my experience dirt is the best for footing but most difficult to clean. Concrete is the easiest to clean but is hard on the horses legs and can be dangerous when wet, even more so during winter months. Rubber mats are better to clean, easy on the horses legs but can be as dangerous as concrete when wet. It should be noted there are different types of mat floors, some are constructed of much softer rubber and provide much safer footing than the harder rubber mats.

I had written in another post here some time ago how happy I was after replacing our run-in floors with poplar. Used in the flat-beds of trucks it is rot resistant and takes the wear of horses hooves over time. It was three years ago now I believe, 12' 2.5" X 8" boards supported every 6' by a PT 4X4 and after we sweep the sand and crud off them we are amazed how well they have stood up. If we choose to go with wood it will be a poplar floor again. Thankfully there is lots of it on the property and it is a rapid growing weed tree.

The more I write about it the more I'm convincing myself wood may be the way to go.