Hi - I have just managed to secure a paddock for my two mares and have managed to get hold of two really good 12 x 12 stables. They will be located on the field surface we did not intend on putting down a solid base - will this be ok? I hope there are a few of you who can give me some sound advice - I thought it would be fine but now I am not so sure. During the summer the doors will be open and they can come and go as they please, but mares are definately wetter than geldings so what should I do about a floor and should I put down any bedding or not? I just don't know what to do for the best - thoughts please asap. Tx :hot:
Flooring for mobile field stable - what is best?
- Thread starter rosieg
- Start date
Kis Vihar
Nutty Saddlers !
Putting down a solid base requires planning permission in most (if not all) cases, so don't go down that route. 
We have mud floors in most of our stables (same reason!) and with a good deep-litter straw bed, that gets well established, they are fine.
We have mud floors in most of our stables (same reason!) and with a good deep-litter straw bed, that gets well established, they are fine.
P
pinkheather
Guest
I went to a quarry and got a load of old conveyor belts [rubber material] and put them down. Only cost the price of my petrol.
Only thing with having nice beds in shelters is they tend to just use them as a toilet. Could save poo picking mind you!
I picked the highest bit of the field, let the floor dry out as much as possible, bought a damp proof membrane from b&q, and then put rubber matting down. Make sure the door faces down hill so it can drain easily 
When ours lived in their mobile shelters - we put down the recommended mats from Redmire - although I am sure you can buy some very similar to those we used. They were very good, apart from when the moles attacked them!lol, you have no idea how strong and how much damage they can do!!! We then put their usual bedding down on top, as we actually used them as proper stables for a time. The mats we used were made in Canada (but I don't know the brand name!). I am sure your local feed merchant would be able to advise - I know ours now stocks something very similar.
Our shelter is at the bottom of the field but because we are on sand it drains just fine. It is mostly just that, a shelter, with a bare earth floor. This works well. It also worked fine as a deep-litter large stable for Ziggy when he was in with colic recovery/laminitis.
My fieldmate Suzi keeps her two mares in 12 x 12 boxes made in a large shelter, on earth and a shavings bed. Her senior mare is in during the day and the stable never smells too bad despite the wee, it seems to soak into the earth and be neutralised.
Another liverymate has rubber grow-through mats and I don't recommend them other than to preserve the grass. If horse poos on them they are a nightmare, and they are very slippery in the frost.
My fieldmate Suzi keeps her two mares in 12 x 12 boxes made in a large shelter, on earth and a shavings bed. Her senior mare is in during the day and the stable never smells too bad despite the wee, it seems to soak into the earth and be neutralised.
Another liverymate has rubber grow-through mats and I don't recommend them other than to preserve the grass. If horse poos on them they are a nightmare, and they are very slippery in the frost.
Thanks that is sooooo helpful, i think i tend towards the dry natural base with shavings built up. she has always been stabled but i hope to wean her off that so if i get the stable up soon and she has the summer months she will want to be out more than in.
i know the dry earth base is best - but i just find it difficult to believe all that wee can disperse naturally in to the ground, but hopefully a few months down the line and we will have an idea about what is what.
For the winter i did think about a large rubber sheet or similar and then deep shavings mixed with straw, though she seems to eat the straw at every opportunity!
Cheers, R
i know the dry earth base is best - but i just find it difficult to believe all that wee can disperse naturally in to the ground, but hopefully a few months down the line and we will have an idea about what is what.
For the winter i did think about a large rubber sheet or similar and then deep shavings mixed with straw, though she seems to eat the straw at every opportunity!
Cheers, R
when i first moved to my field, i put rubber mats on the floor of field shelter, but i had to use it for a stable in the winter as field was totally poached (clay!) it was a nightmare to be honest, where the mats joined, water and mud would seep through and every time he moved it squelched. In the summer we put down a layer of limestone and wacker plated it down then put the rubber mats back on top, ive never looked back. its been used as a stable again this winter and no squelchy floor!.
It was hard work doing it though.
i have heard of people just having a dirt floor with mats, so if your on good draining soil you may be ok with just that.
It was hard work doing it though.
i have heard of people just having a dirt floor with mats, so if your on good draining soil you may be ok with just that.
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