How to Prepare a Floor for Horse Stalls

A stall with bad flooring can be a headache for everyone involved. Your horse's feet and back may be sore from standing on an unyielding floor, or you may be tired of having to strip your stalls and readjust your stall mats. Proper preparation can eliminate some of these problems.

Things You'll Need

  • Stall mats
  • Bedding
  • Stone dust, concrete or asphalt
  • Shovel
  • Ground tamper
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Instructions

    • 1

      Break up the concrete or asphalt if that is your stall's current flooring, then dig out several inches of the ground beneath.

    • 2

      Lay down stone dust or sand to be the stall's base. Stone dust is a better option if you want to use stall mats, as sand will cause your stall mats move around too much.

    • 3

      Tamp down the stone dust or sand so that it is level across the entire stall; otherwise, you will have problems with your flooring on top.

    • 4

      Choose whether you want to install stall mats, stall mattresses or a stall grid system. Stall mats are the easiest to find, and may be the cheapest flooring, but they can move out of place and bedding can build up underneath them. Stall mattresses and grid systems can be more expensive, and may require professional installation, but they also may provide more cushioning for your horse's feet and don't shift over time.

    • 5

      Cut the stall mats to size, if you choose to use stall mats. If you leave any overlap in the mats, you or your horse will be tripping over them and lumps will develop as shavings get worked underneath the mats. Stall mattresses and grids should be sized to your stall before installation.

    • 6

      Find an anchoring product for stall mats to keep them from shifting. Stall mattresses and grid systems don't need these products. Some of these resemble large tacks that you hammer down through the mat into your base beneath.