Straw, sawdust, wood shavings, shredded paper and rubber mats are just some of the bedding materials horse owners and stable managers use to help horses stay dry and comfortable. Comfort without dryness can breed disease and odor, while dryness without comfort results in an unhappy horse.
The problem with bedding for both dryness and comfort is dealing with excess amounts of bedding, specifically removing and disposing of it, as well as hauling out the mats, cleaning and re-leveling the stall base, and re-installing the mats.
Using a mat system with a waterproof top cover helps reduce the amount of bedding and odor, while also reducing disposal costs. A wall-to-wall top cover creates a “moisture tray” that allows for waste to be trapped on the stall surface and easily removed with the bedding. Overall, a waterproof cover can help to reduce the amount of additional bedding materials, labor to muck out the stalls, and disposal costs.
Recycled memory foam mats like SuperStall®, and rubber-filled mattresses like Equisoft® by IGK Equestrian, include a waterproof top cover constructed of tough, woven fabric that can custom sized to fit everything from a standard 12’ x 12’ box stall to a 12’ x 24’ foaling stall. They really help to keep “stall stench” down to a minimum.
One caveat: a customer has brought to my attention that she is reluctant to install SuperStall® because it would ruin her “social life!” She and her friends make it a point to periodically get together and work on re-leveling their stalls. The women have even designated this time as their ladies “wine night” and actually look forward to completing this task with one another. However, with the addition of SuperStall® there is no re-leveling, and mucking is much less than with other bedding techniques.
What strategies do you use for reducing the amount of bedding in your stalls?
Carolyn's Footing and Bedding Blog 
April 12, 2012 at 1:42 pm |
My husband owns a tractor dealership and has a customer who recently bought a compact tractor. While delivering the tractor the customer proceeded to go on and on about his new barn, his new SuperStall Mattress Systems and wanted him to go in and see how great the SuperStall
is. Since I have worked for North Brook for 19 years, my husband already knew about the benefits of the stall system and has seen it numerous times. It was nice to hear about a customer raving about our product, totally unsolicited. My husband told the customer to spread the word!
April 22, 2015 at 4:24 pm |
[…] your horse is eating his bedding, one obvious solution is to reduce the amount of bedding in the stall. The SuperStall™ Memory Foam Mattress by IGK Equestrian features a waterproof woven top cover […]
March 23, 2018 at 8:20 pm |
[…] discussed the benefits of using stall mats to help reduce stall odor and cut back on bedding. But, when is the proper time to retire or upgrade those […]
March 26, 2018 at 5:56 pm |
[…] Cutting Back on Bedding. Replenishing materials and mucking out stalls can be a hassle. This post suggests using a mat […]