How to Use Stall Mats

Stall mats serve to guard the health of livestock and to make stall upkeep easier for their caretakers. Farmers and ranchers use stall mats to augment various types of floor surfaces. Dirt floors, for example, are prone to retain odors and are vulnerable to digging. Wood floors may splinter and crack with time. Concrete floors are the most durable, but can be hard on an animal's limbs and joints, and can be slippery. Stall mats, constructed of rubber, can help alleviate these concerns.

Things You'll Need

  • Tape measure
  • Razor knife
  • 2 by 4 board
  • White chalk line or paint pen
  • Yardstick
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Instructions

    • 1

      Utilize stall mats to eliminate odors that normally would be present with dirt or wood floors. These surfaces can become smelly because they are porous and absorb moisture, in this case from urine and dung. Stall mats generally come as single sheets or as interlocking sections. Measure the stall and transfer the dimensions to the stall mat using a paint pen along with a yardstick for a straight edge. Lift the mat and slide the 2 by 4 board under it. Use a razor knife to score the top side of the mat. The board underneath will allow you to bend the mat downward and to cut through the remaining layer. Get a helper and have them help you drag the mat into the stall.

    • 2

      Measure the mat and cut it to size for an area such as a stall with a concrete floor or main hallway in a stable area. Stall mats are good to use on slick surfaces to provide traction. Concrete floors, though durable, are slippery when wet. The rubber surface of the mat gives slightly when stepped on and shoe soles adhere to it more easily.

    • 3

      Place stall mats in order to help preserve the health of your livestock. Stall mats are useful in preserving the health of an animal's joints and limbs. Hard surfaces do not give, and create tension in the joints and limbs of horses or other animals that stands on them for extended intervals.

    • 4

      Use stall mats to protect wood surfaces from splintering and dirt surfaces from digging. Horses, in particular, tend to scratch the floor of their stall with their hooves. The constant abrasion this causes results in the surface degrading over time. Placing stall mats on the floor can greatly alleviate, if not altogether eliminate, this problem.

    • 5

      Place stall mats on wood and dirt floors to make cleaning much easier. Concrete floors are easier to clean than dirt or wood surfaces. They are also more costly. A great many stalls still have wood or dirt floors as a result of this. Because the stall matting is made of rubber, it is not porous like wood and dirt. They are thus easier to scrape, sweep or hose down.