Need help on Barn/stall floor...

After years of stripping stalls my stalls need to be built back up. What is the best thing to use. I was thinking about using crush & run.. Would this be OK? Need help ASAP because I have mares that are going to foal at any time and I need to have my foaling stalls ready. Please help...

 What I did was put down Rock Dust and put Stall mats from Tractor Supply in my Stalls on top of the Rock Dust.It sure does make it alot easier to clean.

My stalls back in Texas are fill dirt, topped with crushed stone mix to bring up to 6" below grade.  Last topped with about 2" of fill sand, topped with a roll of plastic vapor barrier with a light dusting under and over of lime.  On this I placed my stall mats...like hav2ride says HEAVY, only get vulcanized rubber nothing less will do and they should be about 75-100lbs per 4'x6' sheet, and about $100 last time I checked.  I haven't done anything but cleaned stalls for close to 15 years.  Once a year I strip them down and scrub everything in pinesol to keep germs at bay and it helps to get the winter smell out of the barn and may it feel like spring.  In the winter I clean with bleach solution or Parvosol, a vet cleaning solution that kills every germ known to man.  I also check the vapor barrier to see if pee is getting through once a year.

15 years and going strong...how's that for doing it right the first time!  I'd like to thank my father for helping to over-engineer my stalls when I would have done them fast and cheap and paid for it everyday since.

Just wanted to say THANK YOU to all of you for the help... The crush-n-run will be here today and I am picking up my mats today as well.. I will soon be building a new barn so all the input given to me here will be put to use there as well. I will let all know what we have as soon as they are born. I can't wait. I love the babies.

Thanks Again

Angelia

The plastic we used to my young eyes looked like a really heavy thick trash bag type material.  It was easy to roll out but wasn't flimsy or elastic like a trash bag.  Once the length was cut it unfolded several times to be about 8' wide.  Once the mats were in place we trimmed the extra plastic around the edges.  It has yet to allow pee to pass.  We over lapped the plastic about 4'-6' to ensure there was great coverage and no leaky seams.  I'm sure you could also add silicon sealant between the plastic edges, but we did ours over 15 years ago and things have come a long way since then.

When I build my OK barn I'll be putting all of my construction notes in short video tapes...that way when i get old I won't have to remember what I did!

The plastic was black and opaque.

hav2ride, we used the idea that all animal waste should be cleaned out daily, urine included.  If urine was to run down through the bedding through the mats and into the ground material that would not have accomplished our goal.  Several, 4 vets(2 of them equine only) if I remember correctly helped us design our footing structure.  We did not want to have horses standing on concrete because what's a horse that's not sound...ALPO.  When urine soaks into the ground the purpose of the mats has been bypassed...having urine under the mats only means you'll be moving mats and digging up pee smelling ground material.  What does slip past the mats is absorbed by the lime dust layer on top of the plastic sheet.

I've never had a horse with respiratory issues and I credit the removal of urine to be important in respiratory health.  Level stalls keep the horses sound and comfortable.

Everyone builds their barns the way they want/can afford and I don't knock others barns.  My best horse buddy doesn't use this method.  You walk into his barn and his horses look like mini's because his stalls are about 18" below the center hall.  He also only uses one mat in each stall, so the horses tear them up and kick them around...he says mats don't work.  His stalls are not flat but rounded and the horses stand near the walls to get out of the wet middle area caused by urine that isn't being completely removed.  Every year he hauls in dirt to level the stalls.  His horses eyes water and they have hoof problems.  His barn smells like pee if the doors are closed.  He always asks why I don't have these problems and I think it's very obvious.

Hey again... Boy I just love this site... No matter what the subject is we all get the education that we need. I love every ones input. Thanks Again.

This is what I put in for stall floors...

http://www.comfortstall.com/CS_Products_Comfortstall_Installation.html

No flame taken...just another view point.

Paul I like the looks of that product, seems like it would undo the bads of concrete floored stalls.  I like that it is sealed so that all the animal waste can be taken out, I bet it can be washed down in cleaning solution too.

Paul in VT,

How long have you had your mats down? Do you keep horses on them 24 - 7? How deep do you keep your shavings?

Thanks

Angelia

This is the bedding I use...

http://www.woodypet.com/index.html

With the current weather situation up here in Vermont...They were in 24/7 for about a week...Percherons, Rhinelander, and Lusitanos...No breakthru...normally everyone but the Lusitano stallions are out about 6-8 hours a day...The stallions are turned out in round pens for about 2 hours a day and are ridden almost daily...Prix St George level training...