Horse stall

[farmall man]

I am going to put a wood floor in the mares stall and was wondering what kind of wood i should use I am planning on framing it with 2x4's and putting 2x6's on top but can you use treated lumber in the stall or are the chemicals bad for the animals Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[double R]

I don't know about the chemicals but it would be slick as ice when wet. That could cause major injuries.

[Don McCombs]

farmall man,

Check this out.

http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/ub036.pdf

[jakeesspoo]

I have rubber mats in the floors of my stalls but there not really slippery mats I think there actually big pieces of conveyor belting. Even with litter on the floor the wood may still absorb moisture (urine) and get funky. Its also nice to be able to hose out stall and spray a liquid disinfectant made for this over everything. I had horses when I moved here but now I use the stalls to put cows and donkeys in during winter and use one to start chicks in. One is now my "paint booth". I have concrete under the mats though, Im assuming you dont otherwise I dont see why anyone would put wood in.

[farmall man]

Thanks for the replys. The floor is dirt right now but the mares tend to push all of the dirt to the walls of the stall witch leaves a muddy mess in the middle. I would like to put wood in to keep this from happening and its alot easier to clean out.

[beaconlight]

Man that covers the subject from A to Z.

Bill

[JBall8019]

farmall man,
the article that don posted is very good. i have mucked plenty stalls and i do not like wood floors because of the tines of my fork sticking in the wood. if you do decide to use wod for a floor, the treated lumber will last a little longer but it will be slippery and will have to be replaced every other year. in my neck of ohio, there is this type of gravel that is red and is sandy... its $8 a ton and can really compact. it aslo can be removed easily and disposed of in a compost pile. it does a good job of absorbing urine. what i am describing is large kitty litter box i guess.
john

[Brandon Webb]

I'd be afraid of the wood rotting over time and a hoof going through the floor. Your horse could really get lame, if not break a leg. Brandon.

[Rusty48]

Hope it is not too late to put my 2 cents in. we have horses and used to run a stable. i have built and repaired lots of stalls. i would not bother with the wood. the best thing for you with a dirt floor is to get a load of fine granular material. crushed limestone works the best. crushed granite works fine too. lay it in thick (2 to 4") and pack with tamper. i rented a power tamper. lay rubber mats on top and make sure the edges are against all walls and tight together to prevent lifting. the mats wee use are 1/2" to 5/8" thick and made from recycled tires. don't get the thinner converyor belt type, they suck. the matts we use are not slippery at all. in fact they provide good traction. we use these in the stalls with concrete floors too. the packed crushed granular fill will work almost as well as concrete. then use bedding of course on top. we have used shavings, sawdust (not powder, small chips), straw and the pellets like for wood stoves. the sawdust was the cheapest and the best really. it composts well. this is also a wet cold climate.
good luck with it.

[GILLES]

I did not notice this forum subjet before,but being a horseman,I use to have a riding school with an inside arena,
we used mostly " white horses" so they had to be clean in the morning for the students to use so to come back to
your question, it all depends on the type of maintenance and time you will put in to upkeep those big guys,
we used to clean the stalls 3 times a day nerver left any poup! or urine in the stalls,the floors were of red spuce
covered with 12 in. wood chips ,under the wood was crushed stone and there was a space of 1/2 in. between the 2X8X3 planks
they lasted about 2 years in the center and more, close to the walls.But of course it was commercial so it may not
apply to your needs but I hope it will help you take the right decision.

[john2189]

we used sawdust from a sawmill that made wood pallets, it was mostly oak sawdust worked very well