What to Use on Horse Stall Floors

When building a horse stall, it is important to consider what type of materials to use for the floors. Since a horse will be spending the majority of his time in the stall, you want to install flooring material that is comfortable for the horse to stand on and provides good traction when the horse lies down and gets up. At the same time, you also want to utilize materials that will allow the horse's urine and waste to drain properly. Horse stall flooring usually consists of a base, an intermediary layer and bedding.

  1. Base Materials

    • Base materials for horse flooring can generally be divided into porous and non-porous materials. Non-porous materials do not allow for drainage while porous materials allow waste and moisture to drain through. In either case, good drainage is important to keeping the stall odor-free and dry, contributing towards your horse's health and comfort.

    Non-Porous Bases

    • Non-porous bases consist of materials such as concrete, brick, asphalt, or stone. Non-porous bases are the most durable and require very little maintenance. However, horse stalls built with non-porous bases will need to be designed to allow for proper drainage. This may consist of installing gutters on the sides of the stall or having the floor slope towards a drain.

    Porous Bases

    • Porous bases, which allow moisture to seep through the material, generally consist of materials like decomposed granite, clay, or topsoil. Porous bases tend to be slightly softer and allow for better drainage since water and moisture can soak through them. However, they require more maintenance since they are not solid materials and may shift unevenly based on wear and tear.

    Intermediary Materials

    • Whether you decide to use a porous or non-porous material for your floor base, you should consider using an intermediate layer of flooring between the base and the bedding. Generally this intermediate layer consists of some shock-absorbing material such as rubber or flexible plastic polymers. This intermediate layer also provides the horse with traction when moving about in his stall and eases the strain of standing in place for extended periods of time. In addition to increasing the horse's comfort, rubber mats help protect the base from wear and tear, and in the case of porous materials, allow porous bases to maintain a level surface.

    Bedding

    • Since horses do like to sleep lying down in their stalls, using suitable bedding is important to your horse's health and comfort. Horses that are kept in stalls without proper bedding may develop painful hock sores, or blisters, on their hocks. You want something that is going to provide proper cushioning and traction for your horse, while soaking up excess moisture.

    Types of Bedding

    • There are many different types of bedding available for horse stalls. Common materials include shavings, straw, or sawdust. Each material has its own advantages and disadvantages. For instance, while shavings provide good cushioning for your horse, they tend to be bulky, making it difficult to discard. Straw is cheaper, but can be flammable when dry and slippery when wet. When deciding what type of material to use as bedding on a horse's stall, consider its ability to soak up horse waste, the amount of trash the used bedding might generate, flammability, and whether the horse has any allergies to a particular material. Price is also an important consideration. Horses go through bedding quite quickly and it can be expensive to keep the stall floor properly covered.