Being an equestrian is an enjoyable and rewarding activity most of the time; other times, it can be a real nightmare. The nightmare comes when you have to take care of fundamental equine needs like feeding, treatment of illnesses, and establishing a safe habitation. It is here that many horse owners feel lost. Indeed, creating a safe and stable stall floor for horses can be a herculean task, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. You need to consider factors like drainage, level, and resistance to pressure if you want to create a lasting habitation for your horses. In essence, you need the best flooring for horse stalls. In this guide, we’ll show you how to do all these and more.
See also:
Contents
- Guide to Choosing the Best Flooring for Horse Stalls
- The 15 Best Flooring for Horse Stalls
- Heaviest Duty Rubber Mat Flooring
- Rubber-Cal Shark Tooth Heavy Duty Mat
- Rubber-Cal Elephant Bark Flooring and Rolling Mat
- American Floor Mats
- IncStores 3/4″ Portable Stall Mats
- Heavy Duty Rubber American Floor Mats
- Innhom 12/24 Tiles Gym and Exercise Mats
- Rubber-Cal “Diamond Plate Rubber Flooring Rolls”
- Rubber-Cal Recycled Floor Mat
- Prosource Fit Puzzle Exercise Mat
- Guardian Air Step Anti-Fatigue Floor Mat
- AmazonBasics Exercise Training Puzzle Mat
- Rainforest EVA Foam Floor Mat
- Rubber-Cal Tuff-N-Lastic Rubber Flooring Runners
- BalanceFrom 1” Extra Thick Puzzle Exercise Mat
- Our Final Thoughts
Guide to Choosing the Best Flooring for Horse Stalls
Choosing the proper flooring for your horse stalls is more than installing rubber mats because everything else about the floor is just as necessary. It is essential to choose the right flooring conditions that can provide an even surface, good drainage, and resistance to the kicking of hooves.
For this, you’ll need to create aa floor made up of several layers and materials. The floor should be between 12 to 18 inches off the ground and should adhere to the following guidelines:
Build the Barn in a Choice Location
If the stall isn’t built already, you should find an area with a dry, steady surface and good drainage. The location of your farm influences this to a large extent. For example, if it’s in a marshy area, everywhere will be wet, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Dig till You Get to the Water-draining Soil Layer
Excessive moisture in the stalls can lead to diseases like thrush, and an unpleasant stall smell. You can get ahead of this by digging to the water-draining layer of soil when you’re building the stall. This will ensure that urine, water, and other moistures are drained easily and quickly.
Add Dirt and Stone Dust
Dirt and stone dust will channel the moisture lower and lower until they are drained. After digging to the base soil layer, use these to form layers until you reach the desired 12 to 18 inches off the ground. Even though there are no strict guidelines for flooring stalls, a ratio of 2:3 (two inches of stone dirt for every three inches of dirt) is appropriate.
The 15 Best Flooring for Horse Stalls
After preparing your base layer, your stall is ready for one final floor, and in this case, that would be the rubber mat. Rubber mats are excellent choices because they are easy to install, they drain fluid through the grid between one mat and the next, and they are resistant to weight and pressure.
Here are 15 great rubber mat flooring for horse stalls:
Heaviest Duty Rubber Mat Flooring
This product’s name isn’t exactly accurate because it’s not the heaviest duty material you’ll come across. However, it comes quite close. It made of Ultra Durable Grade-A rubber that’s resilient enough to resist trampling by your equine. Varieties include a 20-pack smooth, 10-pack smooth, as well as a Diamond plate.
The Heaviest Duty Rubber Mat is quite easy to install, and even though it’s made out of recycled rubber tires, you can cut it with a razor or box cutter. Each mat is approximately 115lbs, and you can order whatever length you need to get the job done.
Rubber-Cal Shark Tooth Heavy Duty Mat
With a thickness/gauge of 3/4″, the Rubber-Cal Shark Tooth is the perfect mat for your horse stall. It can also be used to pad spaces where heavy machinery is being used, and that goes to show you how durable the mat can be. The product comes in three sizes, and you can purchase whichever matches your style and budget.
Each length weighs 100lbs, and its black finish surfaces offer superior grip and traction. The underside of this mat is extremely coarse, enabling it to stay in place without the need for adhesives.
Rubber-Cal Elephant Bark Flooring and Rolling Mat
This product has a unique offering in that it has multiple thicknesses. As an equestrian, it’s unlikely that you’ll need light rubber mats for your stalls. But if you do, Rubber-Cal Elephant mat is the product you need. As expected, it is easy to install and uninstall if you ever decide to use it somewhere else.
With a product like this, you get great long-term value for your money. You can use it for ages without any significant wear and tear.
American Floor Mats
Here’s a flooring mat that comes in multiple colors, including grey, green and brown. Due to the heavy-duty nature of the mat, these colors have visible grains that give you a rich perception when staring at the mat.
American Flooring Mats are very easy to install. They roll out perfectly, don’t curl, and they stay on the ground without adhesives. The mats are non-porous and made out of 100% Vulcanized rubber. The product is also available in multiple sizes, so be sure to measure your stall properly before ordering.
IncStores 3/4″ Portable Stall Mats
Mats by IncStores have a unique fray design. The edges interlock using a simple but effective grid system. The benefit is that all pieces stay in place, regardless of the trampling and weight placed on them. Interlocking floor mats are also very good for draining moisture, and that’s a very important part of stall maintenance.
Unsurprisingly, this mat also comes in multiple sizes. The product is easy to clean and maintain, and its thickness makes it perfect for horse stalls and related environments. The surface is also non-slip, making it safe for humans.
Heavy Duty Rubber American Floor Mats
These mats also have an interlocking system that’s just as effective as the others on this list. Additionally, the interlocking edges are as resilient and resistant to pressure as the rest of the mat. Heavy Duty Rubber American Floor Mats come in 3/8” thickness with several sizes available for purchase.
You can use adhesives during installation, but the mats will stay in place just as well without them. Adhesives may also be a bad choice if you plan to change the mat’s location in the future. Instead of black, the mat comes in 10% blue, giving some character to the otherwise dull flooring of most horse stalls.
Innhom 12/24 Tiles Gym and Exercise Mats
We can say a lot about this mat, but one of the best things is that innhom has excellent service. The product ships within two business days, and you’ll have it delivered in almost no time. Besides stellar customer service, innhom also offers terrific stall flooring mats.
The mats are lightweight, easy to assemble, and even easier to maintain – all you need is a damp cloth and some mild soap. The innhom exercise mats are 0.4” thick so you can expect durability, resilience.
Rubber-Cal “Diamond Plate Rubber Flooring Rolls”
These mats are called Diamond Plate because of the visible diamond patters on their surfaces. The pattern increases traction and grip while also giving an additional thickness to the mat’s overall integrity. Additionally, since they are manufactured from high-quality synthetic rubber, they are more long-lasting than many products.
You need double-sided adhesives to install Diamond Plate Rubber Flooring Rolls properly, which is more work compared to other stall mats. But considering how thick and durable the mat is, this additional installation step is understandable. Besides stall floors, the mat is also useful for treadmills, kitchens, gyms, and even residential garage floors.
Rubber-Cal Recycled Floor Mat
Another flooring mat by Rubber-Cal, this product, promises and delivers on all the points you need. At 1/4″ and 3/4″, its thickness is exactly what you need for a stall flooring. Additionally, it is available in multiple sizes, making things much easier for you to install.
The mats are made of 100% abrasion and wear-resistant rubber, and they provide superior comfort for the feet. Running, exercising, walking, and trodding are all welcome on this durable and unyielding rubber mat. The installation is as easy as rolling out the mat on the desired surface, with no need for adhesives of any kind.
Prosource Fit Puzzle Exercise Mat
At 1/2” thick, this is the thickest product we have reviewed thus far. If you’ve found the other thicknesses unsatisfactory, this is sure to meet your needs. Besides being thick and resilient, the mat also has an interlocking system that makes installation easy and keeps the mats connected.
These thick mats are durable, non-skid, and reactive (they retain consistency and thickness, regardless of how much pressure is applied.) This makes them perfect for flooring rooms with heavy machinery like gym equipment or equines.
Guardian Air Step Anti-Fatigue Floor Mat
Straying from the traditional foam structure, here we have a vinyl sponge mat that is just as thick and resilient as the other products. It is also easy to handle, and each piece can be reshaped using only a pair of scissors held by capable hands. The vinyl mat has a thickness of 3/8” and higher resilience than most vinyl sponge mats.
The benefit of vinyl foam mats is that they accommodate weight and pressure, providing relief to the pressure surface. This holds true whether the surface is your foot or the hoof of your equine.
AmazonBasics Exercise Training Puzzle Mat
The mat is dubbed “puzzle mat” because of the way its edges imitate the edges of a jigsaw puzzle. They fit perfectly together as you lay them down, and they stay that way. This mat is made of high-density EVA foam, which makes it able to provide long-lasting and reliable performance.
The AmazonBasics Exercise mat is free from toxic phthalates, and it protects the floor from scratches and dings. It also reduces noise while providing a grippy and skid-free surface. Perhaps the most appealing thing about this mat is that it is backed by Amazon’s 1-year warranty. It doesn’t get better than that.
Rainforest EVA Foam Floor Mat
Many mats come in various sizes, and they cover small to large portions of the ground. These dimensions make it easy for the mats to be installed and maintained. However, Rainforest throws all that out the window by creating mats that cover an incredible 144 Sq. Ft of space.
The mat is durable, flexible, and shock absorbing. Additionally, the fact that it is non-toxic and eco-friendly makes it a favorite to many environmentally-conscious equestrians. It is excellent for stable floors and exercise gyms.
Rubber-Cal Tuff-N-Lastic Rubber Flooring Runners
This is a lighter variety of stall mats, but it can be just as effective. If you have any reservations about the thicker mats, this may just be the one for you. It is 1/8″ thick, and most lengths are 48″ wide. Although it is more suited to basements, workshops, and indoor paths, it can be just as useful for horse stalls.
Everything else about this mat is similar to the others on this list, like the ease of installation, and the impact absorption. The cushioning you get from Rubber-Cal Tuff-N-Lastic is less than other products, but it’s cushioning nonetheless.
BalanceFrom 1” Extra Thick Puzzle Exercise Mat
We saved the best for last because you won’t find a thicker rubber mat than the BalanceFrom 1”. At some point, you might even forget you’re standing on rubber because of how much value this mat delivers. What’s more, is that the edges have a puzzle jigsaw pattern that fit into one another when you lay them down.
This mat is incredibly easy to install, and you can do it without professional help or adhesives. It is also easy to clean, and all you need is a damp cloth and some soap. Vacuuming may also help from time to time.
Our Final Thoughts
It’s very difficult to crown one product the “best flooring for horse stalls.” The product you choose should depend on your specific circumstance, including the capacity of your stalls, the size of your horses, and your budget. For example, we have rubber mats as thick as 1″ – BalanceFrom 1” Extra Thick Puzzle Exercise Mat – and those as thin as 1/8” – Rubber-Cal Tuff-N-Lastic Rubber Flooring Runners. Then, there are rubber mats with puzzle edges that interlock with each other – AmazonBasics Exercise Training Puzzle Mat – and those with linear edges – Rubber-Cal Recycled Floor Mat. The choice is yours.
