# How much bedding do you use on rubber matting?



## silverstar (16 May 2011)

My horse is in 24/7 at the moment and Im just wondering how much bedding to use. Ive been putting down a bale a day at the moment. So how much bedding do you use on a stable with rubber mats?


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## naza (16 May 2011)

We use shavings, and literally just a sprinkle, because you've got rubber matting i wouldnt say you need to put as much down as you are!


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## Miss L Toe (16 May 2011)

silverstar said:



			My horse is in 24/7 at the moment and Im just wondering how much bedding to use. Ive been putting down a bale a day at the moment. So how much bedding do you use on a stable with rubber mats?
		
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A bale a day>>>>>>>err  one to two per week
Use your shavings fork to select poo and reject wood, I think you need a wee lesson!


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## claireandnadia (16 May 2011)

Blimey, with prices of shavings at the moment I could never afford to put down that many.
I started off with 6 bags and I deep litter Mon-Fri and do a big muck out saturday and Sunday. I use 1 bag every other week. I've only tried this method so far when she's been out for at least 12 hours a day. 
Winter could be a different story but even then in the past I've only ever used 1-2 per week.


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## SuperCoblet (16 May 2011)

A bale a day! *faints* that must cost you a fortune! 
With rubber mats we put about 2-3cm deep across the back of the stable about 3-4ft


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## ladylady (16 May 2011)

My horse is only out of his stable for about a 3-4 hour turnout each day, but as I like his bed to be thick and clean he still gets 3-4 bales per week even with rubber matting. Depends on your budget and how much you spoil your horse - I don't think there is a hard and fast rule I just like my horse to have a big comfortable bed. However his stable is 10ft x 16ft which does make a difference.  It took 10 bales to make the bed in the first place.


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## woodlandswow (16 May 2011)

i give my boy half a bale every two days.. so only like 2mtre x 1mtre rectangle in corner


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## tinap (16 May 2011)

Shavings on rubber matting, I use a sprinkle too. Bout a bale every 2 weeks!


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## Luci07 (16 May 2011)

Our yard puts down between 2 to 3 bales per week onto full rubber matting. I don't adhere to the thought that says you only need a sprinkle of shavings as the horse is not as comfortable and is lying down in muck.


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## Elsbells (16 May 2011)

My girl has straw on thick rubber mats. I bank it up and lay it double thick. She loves it and rolls every time she comes in even with me in there!

What my girl wants, my girl gets and I just follow orders


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## HollyWoozle (16 May 2011)

I'd been wondering about this too. All ours usually live out 24/7 and we just keep the stables open as a field shelter. Now Noah is on box rest after his bone spavin surgery so is in all the time... having to muck out a stable is a bit of a shock, not done it since pony club really. We had some rubber matting put down in his stable but I'd never dealt with it before so not sure how much bedding to use. Have been using a bale maybe every few days but he is extremely messy (will only eat his hay off the floor and swirls it all around into his bed).


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## Tnavas (17 May 2011)

AS much as I wouold put down if bedding the horse on concrete.

Somewhere over the years people have developed a misguided idea that rubber mats replace the bedding. 

The rubber provides a non slip, cushioned surface so that the horse is not standing on concrete all day.

The bedding keeps the horse clean, prevents his feet standing in urine and dung that will cause damage to his feet, and to protect him from draughts. 

If he is in 24/7 then he really does need a lovely comfy bed to lie down on. There are many horses that will not pee on rubber as it splashes and also will not lie down.


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## diet2ride (17 May 2011)

NAS gets a bale of shavings once a week sometimes I can eel it out until the next week, depends on how vigilant I have been skipping him out.

I agree a little bit of bedding on rubber mats isn't appealing ESP if you have a grey horse. 

The key to my bed now is it's just deep enough to let the wet settle on the bottom and then I can just remove the worse of it every other day. 

With a thin bed it's got to be so fthin you take the whole lot out everyday. My friend has a straw bed and she keeps it thin but tries to muck it out like normal... it's a right mess...


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## teddyt (17 May 2011)

I have rubber mats and still use a standard bed. I would never use just a sprinkling because despite people saying that horses aren't nesting animals all my horses would choose to sleep on the bed, not just on the rubber mats alone.

Also, bedding soaks up the wet from poo and wee so the horse isnt standing in a puddle. A sprinkling is not enough imo especially as some horses wont wee unless they have a thicker bed.

Mats are just to absorb some concussion from the concrete and make the floor non slip, they are not to replace bedding


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## Milanesa (17 May 2011)

Evelyn said:



			AS much as I wouold put down if bedding the horse on concrete.

Somewhere over the years people have developed a misguided idea that rubber mats replace the bedding. 

The rubber provides a non slip, cushioned surface so that the horse is not standing on concrete all day.

The bedding keeps the horse clean, prevents his feet standing in urine and dung that will cause damage to his feet, and to protect him from draughts. 

If he is in 24/7 then he really does need a lovely comfy bed to lie down on. There are many horses that will not pee on rubber as it splashes and also will not lie down.
		
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<<THIS!>> 

I bed down exactly like without rubber matting, it isn't a bed, its just a non slip surface for them to stop scuffing hocks etc, they still need a big bed IMO.


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## Sanolly (17 May 2011)

I deep litter on shavings/pellets. I use a bale of shavings between 2 every 2 weeks


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## jokadoka (17 May 2011)

OP you don't say what kind of bedding you use. If you're on straw I would say one bale a day is good. I keep mine on rubber matting and use the same amount of straw I would use if they weren't on rubber mats.


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## Faithkat (17 May 2011)

Agree whole-heartedly with pony person, teddyt and Evelyn.  Rubber mats are a flooring, they are NOT a bed and where on earth this ridiculous notion of just putting down a sprinkling of shavings came from, goodness only knows.  Bedding is to sop up the "bodily fluids" and a sprinkling won't do that.  Would you like to have to lie in your own mess?????


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## cptrayes (17 May 2011)

I used to get through a bale of good shavings  a week. I put a full depth bed of half the size that I would use without mats. I absolutely loathe stabling horses on mats with a sprinkle of shavings:


no horse would choose to lie on a rubber mat if you gave him the option of a bed. If you doubt me on this one, try it, put half a bed in a corner of your stable and watch where your horse lies down. No, they DON'T lie on flat hard fields if they have a choice, they dig a hole for their bellies and lie in that. Check any big field with horses in and you'll find the bare holes.

no horse would choose to lie in a pool of his own piss.

people and dogs of people and rugs and horses stabled this way STINK

Did I mention, I don't agree with keeping horses on mats without a bed  ?


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## Echo Bravo (17 May 2011)

I like a nice thick bed of straw for my lot, even though I've put rubber mats down. A thin layer and not only do their rugs stink, and they get washed more often at £9 per wash.They are not happy to lie down and the mares didn't like the pee splashing up their legs.
If your horse has to be 24/7 a nice thick bed is what he needs.


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## Damnation (17 May 2011)

A bale a day?? That must cost an arm and a leg :O My very messy mare gets a 1/3 of a stable of bed (A strip across the back). its about 1-2cm's deep and I keep most of the clean stuff in the banks and drag them a little bit each day.


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## tinap (17 May 2011)

Damnation I'm with you. Pony is very messy however much bedding I put in. So the sprinkle I use is about the same size & depth you use. 

Pony is very happy, doesn't stink & neither do me or my dogs!


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## cptrayes (17 May 2011)

tinap555 said:



			Damnation I'm with you. Pony is very messy however much bedding I put in. So the sprinkle I use is about the same size & depth you use. 

Pony is very happy, doesn't stink & neither do me or my dogs!
		
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2 cm is not a sprinkle it's nearly an inch, which is probably why you don't smell so much. But before you pat yourself on the back about your happy pony, I challenge you to give her a 4 inch/10cm deep bed in one part of her stable and a 2cm bed in the rest and then report back to us later in the week about where she chose to lie down.

I am always amazed at the picture which one of the mat manufacturers uses to advertise their product. It's of a pony curled up in the corner of a matted stable - trying desperately to lie on the only piece of bedding available, right in the corner.


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## muddy_grey (17 May 2011)

I use almost a full bed too.  My mare is very wet and her stable would be a lake without it.  However the mats do allow be to start the bed a bit further back as I don't need to worry that she is stood on concrete by the door if that makes sense.  She still has a full size bed, just not right up to the door and hay bar.  My mare is wet, but I still only use 1bag of shavings every 3 days (probably works out to one bale of shavings a week)


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## Dizzle (17 May 2011)

Evelyn said:



			AS much as I wouold put down if bedding the horse on concrete.

Somewhere over the years people have developed a misguided idea that rubber mats replace the bedding. 

The rubber provides a non slip, cushioned surface so that the horse is not standing on concrete all day.

The bedding keeps the horse clean, prevents his feet standing in urine and dung that will cause damage to his feet, and to protect him from draughts. 

If he is in 24/7 then he really does need a lovely comfy bed to lie down on. There are many horses that will not pee on rubber as it splashes and also will not lie down.
		
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Hummm, not strictly true, I have thick soft EVA rubber mats in my stable (like the gym mats you get at school) so they are lovely and cushioned to stand on, my horse is rather messy so he gets a square of bedding at the back of the stable, big enough to wee in and lie down (although the whole stable is soft enough for him to live down anywhere).

If I was to fill his stable with shavings it would be carnage, hed be stood in wet pooey shavings no matter where he was in the box and it would cost me a fortune.

As it is Im using 0.5-1 bales of shavings a week.


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## tinap (17 May 2011)

cptrayes said:



			2 cm is not a sprinkle it's nearly an inch, which is probably why you don't smell so much. But before you pat yourself on the back about your happy pony, I challenge you to give her a 4 inch/10cm deep bed in one part of her stable and a 2cm bed in the rest and then report back to us later in the week about where she chose to lie down.
		
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For 1: 2cm is a sprinkle to me

2: Please don't patronise me regarding patting myself on the back! The thread was started as a general question on what people do, so i replied, then more or less got told i stink for not doing it someone elses way!

3. I'm not going to waste money that could be better spent elsewhere on extra bedding that he is just going to drag all round the box. Yes he has had a bigger bed before but was reduced.

3. I will be patronising now, the pony is a he.


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## YasandCrystal (17 May 2011)

tinap555 said:



			Shavings on rubber matting, I use a sprinkle too. Bout a bale every 2 weeks!
		
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Ditto


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## Maddie2412 (17 May 2011)

i think it depend i can understand some people putting less down as a pony on our yard is ridiculously messy and will dirty as much bedding as he can so he gets decent banks and a straw bed as cheaper long term
my boy lies down as soon as he is in until the moment he leaves, literally throws himself on the floor so he get a bit straw bed with massive banks as hes a bit special and soppy! however for standard rubber matting i do think a normal bed should go down for day OR night in but not full time i would put 3 bales a week if u can afford it more for 24/7


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## tinap (17 May 2011)

YasandCrystal said:



			Ditto
		
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## SavingGrace (17 May 2011)

IMO it depends on the mats you have!  The thick EVA 'spongy' mats are much more comfortable for them to lay down on than proper tyre rubber mattiner!  I use approx one bale of shavings a fortnight for my youngster.


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## MrVelvet (17 May 2011)

i have rubber mats and use hardly and bedding, my stable is fully equiped for rubber mats and has drains at the back so all urine runs straight out so he is not stood in his own excrement!! it depends whether your stable has these drains!!


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## TGM (17 May 2011)

Hollysmum said:



			IMO it depends on the mats you have!  The thick EVA 'spongy' mats are much more comfortable for them to lay down on than proper tyre rubber mattiner!
		
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I agree with this, as matting varies so much - I use the Fieldguard mats with rubber 'legs' underneath, which provides good drainage and makes the mats springy to lie on.  I know because I tested them myself and feel if they are comfy enough for me to lie on then they are fine for the horse!  However, I have seen other types of matting which are very thin and hard and I wouldn't use those types without significant bedding on top.

Other factors to take into account is the amount of time the horse is stabled, what the stable drainage is like, how often the animal is skipped out and the horse's dunging and urinating patterns.  Different circumstances dictate different amounts of bedding.


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## lara b (17 May 2011)

Faithkat said:



			Agree whole-heartedly with pony person, teddyt and Evelyn.  Rubber mats are a flooring, they are NOT a bed and where on earth this ridiculous notion of just putting down a sprinkling of shavings came from, goodness only knows.  Bedding is to sop up the "bodily fluids" and a sprinkling won't do that.  Would you like to have to lie in your own mess?????
		
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I understand what you are saying, but there are exceptions.  For example my loan horse has a huge stable with rubber matting all over and part way up the walls.  He then had a third of it with a thin layer of shavings  which is where he wees and poos (due to the drainage of the stable the wee does not come into the 'unbedded' area).  This leaves him with the remaining two thirds of dry clean rubber to lay on, which he does, happily.  In my mind this is no different to lying down in the field?  With this method he only gets through a bale a month (he is out for the majority of the daylight hours).


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## Tnavas (17 May 2011)

A good bed is needed - when a horse lies down in the paddock he does not have to deal with draughts - it may be a cold day but he can get up and run around to warm up. The moment you shut the stable door you have draughts whistling in - for the horse to be warm in a confined area where he cannot exercise himself to get warm he needs a deep bed; a draught increases the effect of cold


If a draught of cold air is capable of freezing central heating pipes - it can chill your horse. (Dad - a plumber had to defrost a house's central heating system, a gap in between two bricks allowed cold air to flow over a central heating pipe - it froze and split the pipe despite the heating being on.)


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## SavingGrace (17 May 2011)

TGM said:



			I agree with this, as matting varies so much - I use the Fieldguard mats with rubber 'legs' underneath, which provides good drainage and makes the mats springy to lie on.  I know because I tested them myself and feel if they are comfy enough for me to lie on then they are fine for the horse!  However, I have seen other types of matting which are very thin and hard and I wouldn't use those types without significant bedding on top.

Other factors to take into account is the amount of time the horse is stabled, what the stable drainage is like, how often the animal is skipped out and the horse's dunging and urinating patterns.  Different circumstances dictate different amounts of bedding.
		
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My mare just mangles the pee and poo all in together so doesnt really matter how much shavings you put it she seems to meet the shavings to poo ratio 50/50 lol!  Our stables were built with rubber matting and minimal bedding in mind as they are sloped to the back where there is brilliant drainage  I also only use turnout rugs both indoors and outdoors.


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## tinap (17 May 2011)

My gelding is the same as above, & the stables!  although I wash my boys rugs myself so do use a stablerug when needed. Xx


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## TGM (17 May 2011)

Hollysmum said:



			Our stables were built with rubber matting and minimal bedding in mind as they are sloped to the back where there is brilliant drainage 

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Same here - our stable floors slope to either the rear or the front and then into a drainage gully.  That and the design of the mats means there is little wet left in the stable, so not a lot of bedding is needed to soak it up.  Plus our stables are very sheltered so not cold and/or draughty either.


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## Kateyb33 (17 May 2011)

I have a fully matted floor but still have big deep bed. I take the poo out daily, the wet every other day and lift all banks weekly. I used to put in 5 a month but recently went down to 4 as i found the bed started to get dusty.


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## Spotsrock (17 May 2011)

BALE A DAY????

I have 4 and use 2 bales a fortnight when they are in a lot in the winter between all of them!! 3 on rubber, 1 not as she is very wet and it sits under the rubber and smells bad. 

I do top up with shredded paper which I get free from work every couple of days.

The 2 'normal' girls have about a 2 inch bed across half the stable, my princess has a good 5 or 6 inches across half as she has very sensitive skin and a history of capped hocks and the mare without rubber has similar as no rubber! 

Can;t imagine how long this is taking you to muck out!!

Look at the type of rubber you have and your horse, my mare without rubber is cleaner without.


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## Kateyb33 (17 May 2011)

This is my bed at its smallest!!....


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## Tr0uble (17 May 2011)

I use wood pellets on full rubber mats. I cover the back third of the stable wi a bed a couple of inches thick.


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## cptrayes (17 May 2011)

tinap555 said:



			For 1: 2cm is a sprinkle to me

2: Please don't patronise me regarding patting myself on the back! The thread was started as a general question on what people do, so i replied, then more or less got told i stink for not doing it someone elses way!

3. I'm not going to waste money that could be better spent elsewhere on extra bedding that he is just going to drag all round the box. Yes he has had a bigger bed before but was reduced.

3. I will be patronising now, the pony is a he.
		
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So you keep your pony short of bedding to save money. Not a claim I would want to broadcast myself. Messy horses are messy horses. They cost more to keep. I've had a few in my time. It doesn't justify keeping them short of bed on non-EVA mats in my book.


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## cptrayes (17 May 2011)

lara b said:



			I understand what you are saying, but there are exceptions.  For example my loan horse has a huge stable with rubber matting all over and part way up the walls.  He then had a third of it with a thin layer of shavings  which is where he wees and poos (due to the drainage of the stable the wee does not come into the 'unbedded' area).  This leaves him with the remaining two thirds of dry clean rubber to lay on, which he does, happily.  In my mind this is no different to lying down in the field?  With this method he only gets through a bale a month (he is out for the majority of the daylight hours).
		
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Lara it doesn't compare with lying down in a field. In the field the horse will either find, or create for itself, a dip, and it will lie with its belly in the dip. If you check any field where horses have lived for long enough out full time you will find these areas, which are often patches of mud with no grass on them. Rubber mats are dead flat and the non-spongy ones put pressure on the ribcage. 

I really don't think it's possible to say a horse lies "happily" on minimal bed or on bare rubber unless the horse has the alternative of a decent thickness of bed and then chooses to lie on the mats instead. Try a test and see what your horse does.


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## Tnavas (17 May 2011)

TGM said:



			Same here - our stable floors slope to either the rear or the front and then into a drainage gully.  That and the design of the mats means there is little wet left in the stable, so not a lot of bedding is needed to soak it up.  Plus our stables are very sheltered so not cold and/or draughty either.
		
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All stables are draughty - unless the doors are fitted with draught excluders! 
Try this experiment - Choose a door that has no draught excluder, close the door and lie down beside it - you will feel the cold air which because it is channelled will feel more than just cool.

A deep bed keeps your horse warm and comfortable.


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## tinap (17 May 2011)

Well that's in your book isn't it!! Come off your high horse!! Yes I do it to save money, AS HE IS PERFECTLY HAPPY & HEALTHY!! i would be doing different if needed.
 I'm not ashamed to say I have to save money, I work bloody hard to keep my daughters pony.  Why feel the need to slag people off if not doing it your perfect way??? 

OP, I apologise for your thread turning into this but I will defend myself to self righteous numptys who feel the need to attack peoples methods, when all I did was answer your original post!!


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## sundance (17 May 2011)

Good grief, I bury my rubber matts and only use 2 bales of shavings a week. I did have a cushings horse (eg wee'd for England) and he had 3 max every other week in a 12x12 box


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## Tiffany (17 May 2011)

2 bales of shavings a week with rubber mats


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## Tiffany (17 May 2011)

cptrayes said:



			I used to get through a bale of good shavings  a week. I put a full depth bed of half the size that I would use without mats. I absolutely loathe stabling horses on mats with a sprinkle of shavings:


no horse would choose to lie on a rubber mat if you gave him the option of a bed. If you doubt me on this one, try it, put half a bed in a corner of your stable and watch where your horse lies down. No, they DON'T lie on flat hard fields if they have a choice, they dig a hole for their bellies and lie in that. Check any big field with horses in and you'll find the bare holes.

no horse would choose to lie in a pool of his own piss.

people and dogs of people and rugs and horses stabled this way STINK

Did I mention, I don't agree with keeping horses on mats without a bed  ?
		
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Totally agree.


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## Ebenezer_Scrooge (17 May 2011)

tinap555 said:



			Shavings on rubber matting, I use a sprinkle too. Bout a bale every 2 weeks!
		
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This ^^^^^


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## sundance (17 May 2011)

In fairness, I did say that I bury my matts and overdo do it completley. By rights I would guess that a bale a week would more than enough in a corner


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## Sadiemay (18 May 2011)

My girl has a full very thick shavings bed and big banks on top of the rubber matting.  

This is for two reasons a) its just my personal preferance for keeping a bed and b) because she is an old lady with stiff joints so I want to keep her as warm and comfy as possible.

Sadiemay


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## Persephone (18 May 2011)

I have the nice soft green jigsaw mats for my mare. When she is in for the day she has about a 3' strip across the back of the stable around 6" deep. Being a mare she wees out the back so that works.

Overnight when she lays down she has around a 12 x 12 bed about 6" deep.

I use my mats as a protection from the concrete for her hocks. If there was no matting she would need a much thicker bed not to get through it.


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## K27 (18 May 2011)

Mine have rubber matting but i keep thinking i may as well not bother with it as you can't see it underneath their beds apart from at the front of their boxes near the doors!- i like my huge deep beds and big banks I do! I use 2 to 3 bales of paper on average per week per horse, and one gets 2 paper and 1 shavings bale per week.


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