Mud control mats

[MrA]

Finally should be getting mine Sunday. Originally I ordered them to use on the gateway between Ales 2 fields but at the moment due to the wetness of his daytime field I'm thinking about using them to give him somewhere dry to stand when he has hay in the mornings

I'm only getting an area 4m2 which I know isn't huge but will at least allow me to pick his feet out and check his legs easier than currently.
I can't imagine he will stand on it of his own free will without there being hay available but at least there will be the option I guess. Can always move them to the gateway if I change my mind but wondering what you would do?

If they are good and find them useful then my Christmas bonus is going on a load more for next winter!

 

[Jessey]

Are you putting any hay out for him? I'd be inclined to put them wherever you/Ale will use them most and having a dry spot to pamper him and feed, if you are, will be useful and he has the option to stand on them then too. If you use electric fence to divide the field could you move the gateway periodically to minimise the mud there instead?

 

[MrA]

Are you putting any hay out for him? I'd be inclined to put them wherever you/Ale will use them most and having a dry spot to pamper him and feed, if you are, will be useful and he has the option to stand on them then too. If you use electric fence to divide the field could you move the gateway periodically to minimise the mud there instead?

Yes he gets a couple of sections AM at the moment and half a section PM with new grass. The gateway is the only bit I can't move as its wooden posts. I have two fields fenced on the outside with posts and electric tape and then I make my fields etc inside them with plastic posts and tape.

I think I'll set it up so he has a square he can eat his hay on and then stand on if he wishes. Very excited to get them at least

 

[Trewsers]

It's always useful to have somewhere amidst the mud / squodgy grass to do what you need to do like feet so if it were me they'd be going somewhere like that rather than the gateway. With regard to the gateway, (I'm just trying to imagine your set up) but could you get some straw to put down if it's really bad and you need to bring him in and out? Or fence it off inside with poly poles? One year at our old house we ended up having to make a sort of corral out of electric tape just to keep them away from the actual fenced gate. (Hope that made sense). Hope your mats are fab btw! They are so useful at times.

 

[chunky monkey]

Are they the actually mud control mats that are plastic and lock together as called mud control. Two trains of thought, Id put them in the field for an area to feed on, but the area surrounding them will get cut up quickly so id probably be thinking about maybe moving them in a few weeks time to a new area.
Are you putting your hay still on that mud pool area you showed in your photo the other week or are you putting it onto the strip graze section you give. If your putting it on the strip graze bit then my second thought would be more inclined to put the mats in the gateway.
As trewsers suggests id also think about taping off the gateway to stop ale standing immediately there. I have done this with my boys. When they fence walk that line move the tape back a bit further. Even if only a few feet. I know it sounds barmy but theres nothing worse than wading through mud. It puts so much strain on you carying hay through and also on the horses joints if they stand in it. By moving it if youve got the ground and dont churn it up so much it recovers so much quicker.
Its easy to suggest i guess without seeing your field completely and the layout.

 

[MrA]

It's always useful to have somewhere amidst the mud / squodgy grass to do what you need to do like feet so if it were me they'd be going somewhere like that rather than the gateway. With regard to the gateway, (I'm just trying to imagine your set up) but could you get some straw to put down if it's really bad and you need to bring him in and out? Or fence it off inside with poly poles? One year at our old house we ended up having to make a sort of corral out of electric tape just to keep them away from the actual fenced gate. (Hope that made sense). Hope your mats are fab btw! They are so useful at times.

I don't think I dare put straw down it'd all be munched! It's not a gateway to bring in but between fields so he is now on his muddy field during the day with hay and his drier field overnight with a new section of grass. I haven't really seen him standing there but it is beginning to get churned up because he likes to run between the two fields haha. Thanks for the advice

 

[MrA]

Are they the actually mud control mats that are plastic and lock together as called mud control. Two trains of thought, Id put them in the field for an area to feed on, but the area surrounding them will get cut up quickly so id probably be thinking about maybe moving them in a few weeks time to a new area.
Are you putting your hay still on that mud pool area you showed in your photo the other week or are you putting it onto the strip graze section you give. If your putting it on the strip graze bit then my second thought would be more inclined to put the mats in the gateway.
As trewsers suggests id also think about taping off the gateway to stop ale standing immediately there. I have done this with my boys. When they fence walk that line move the tape back a bit further. Even if only a few feet. I know it sounds barmy but theres nothing worse than wading through mud. It puts so much strain on you carying hay through and also on the horses joints if they stand in it. By moving it if youve got the ground and dont churn it up so much it recovers so much quicker.
Its easy to suggest i guess without seeing your field completely and the layout.

Yes, they are the 50cm square mats that are really well reviewed and good in all mud apparently! In a couple of weeks it is likely that he will be on his drier nighttime field full time so they may not be needed. It's just until I can graze him onto that that he has to remain in the muddy field for some of the time. Majority of it is not deep mud, he's not wading through anything and I can easily walk along it, just looked bad in the pictures! This winter has taken us all by surprise and I'm trying my best. Thanks the advice is appreciated.

 

[MrA]

This is where he stands currently to have his hay and where I pick out feet etc on the drier end of the muddy field took this Sunday. This is where I'm thinking of putting the mats for a few weeks until he is on his other field full time

 

[chunky monkey]

I reckon putting them there would be good. That bit still looks green.