Horse Stall Mats

[AByrd]

Originally Posted by gottafixit

Are these the flexable type, I've played Hot Shots in MD and they have the hard firm mats. I really liked them and i'm kinda considering them for a course I designed, but I'm unsure how they do in the weather , ie slippery or not. Let us all know.

They are flexible, but are hard and firm under the foot. The mat is one solid piece of rubber with smooth and textured sides. They seem to be made of a pretty durable material....weight per 3/4"x4'x6' piece is around 90 pounds.

No one will play on those things barefoot in July. They're going to get hot if in the sun for a while.

No, they won't....and yes, they would.

...but what will the horses stand on now?

Their hooves, I guess.

[John Rock]

Do you have a plan to keep the joints of the mats together? Seems like dragging shoes across the joints may be a hazard if the two edges become uneven after wear. Foundation maintenance may become tedious.

Maybe you could make your forms smaller so you can attach the mats to them with spikes (since you're leaving the forms and spreading topsoil around the edges).

[AByrd]

Do you have a plan to keep the joints of the mats together? Seems like dragging shoes across the joints may be a hazard if the two edges become uneven after wear. Foundation maintenance may become tedious.

If the joints become uneven my current plans are to add more sand to the base and run a soil compactor over it. After a while the base should be hard enough that settling won't be a problem. If separation becomes an issue I will try something else. I have an unlimited supply of sand....and my maintenance people have the compactor....this seemed to me the most cost effective method.

Maybe you could make your forms smaller so you can attach the mats to them with spikes (since you're leaving the forms and spreading topsoil around the edges).

That's a option that I haven't thought about. I've played on regular (Fly18) pads before and have noticed that settling/washing out of the underlying ground does happen. If staked down, the pulling and replacing of stakes may wear out the pad or base. I designed the form to be about 1/8" larger than the pads....allowing the frame to keep the pads from moving without using stakes.

Thanks for the questions....they keep me on my toes.

[Johnny Betts]

We installed these on our course and they worked great in dry weather. They get slick only when your soles are wet and the mats are dry. We ended up pulling them from the course because people were slipping and hurting themselves. We were able to sell them to a local farmer.

[Jimb]

Originally Posted by eegor

No one will play on those things barefoot in July. They're going to get hot if in the sun for a while.

But you can always wear these, since they are supposed to feel like you're not wearing any shoes.



Credit goes to this http://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums...ad.php?t=37086 thread.

[Jimb]

Originally Posted by AByrd

The Sheriff won't allow the guys on the crew to play. They're just happy to get out of the jail on a daily basis. The white kid on the left of the first photo has played before.

I do, however, have a group of thirty high school aged boys that play two to three times a week. Most of them (all but three or four) have never played before.

Well, you never know. Once they get out, maybe it will be something that they'll remember and want to try. And it's cool that you have that many kids checking it out. Great work!

[jrawk]

Originally Posted by gottafixit

Are these the flexable type, I've played Hot Shots in MD and they have the hard firm mats. I really liked them and i'm kinda considering them for a course I designed, but I'm unsure how they do in the weather , ie slippery or not. Let us all know.

These sound different than the Hot Shots mats, which have a groove every half inch or so to allow some drainage and traction. None of the hot shots mats have any signs of wear or damage yet... approaching 2 years. However.... they shoulda been framed in wood because they are beginning to seperate from grass and weeds growing between them.

[gottafixit]

Originally Posted by jrawk

These sound different than the Hot Shots mats, which have a groove every half inch or so to allow some drainage and traction. None of the hot shots mats have any signs of wear or damage yet... approaching 2 years. However.... they shoulda been framed in wood because they are beginning to seperate from grass and weeds growing between them.

do they get slippery when wet?

[LeewayeDiscGolf]

3 quick questions from someone who knows absolutely nothing about horse mats.

When installing them is the textured side designed to be installed on the bottom to help hold it in place when horses are using it? Can installing it smooth side down let it slip around? And can the seams where the mats meet be joined somehow, flooring seam sealer, heat, etc.?

These questions aren't meant to question your work, I'm just curious. The pics look awesome. Keep us posted on how they perform.

[AByrd]

These sound different than the Hot Shots mats, which have a groove every half inch or so to allow some drainage and traction. None of the hot shots mats have any signs of wear or damage yet... approaching 2 years. However.... they shoulda been framed in wood because they are beginning to seperate from grass and weeds growing between them.

When installing them is the textured side designed to be installed on the bottom to help hold it in place when horses are using it?

They are different from the Hot Shots mats...they do not have grooves...they have a rough....almost like a very heavy sandpaper surface on one side (the one I have chosen to place up) and a smooth side. These have only been in place for a couple of months and there is no noticeable wear yet. I did frame these in wood to prevent grass growing between, or over, them.

Can installing it smooth side down let it slip around?

None of these have slipped due to the fact that there is almost no room between the mats and the frame.

And can the seams where the mats meet be joined somehow, flooring seam sealer, heat, etc.?

I'm sure that there is a method....haven't really given it much thought yet. I would rather not have them joined because I want to make it easy to remove them to replace sand that has settled. Over the two months that they have been in place I have noticed a very little bit of change in the levels of adjacent mats. Maybe 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch due to settling of the sand, but I just lifted the one that was lower and added more sand to bring it level with the higher mat.

These questions aren't meant to question your work, I'm just curious. The pics look awesome. Keep us posted on how they perform.

I appreciate the questions. I spent many hours in self debate over the materials to use for my pads. I wanted something that was inexpensive, but easily maintained....concrete and asphalt were out of the question due to regulatory restraints on the property....decomposed granite was not readily available and probably would require more maintenance....and commercial rubber teepads appeared less sturdy, to me, than the horse stall mats. The deciding moment was experienced when I played in the U.S. Masters in Huntsville, TX at the Shawshank DGC. The pads there were probably of the same stock as I used and were framed in a similar fashion. I only noticed one slip on those while I was there and I suspect that it was due to the footwear instead of the mat.

I believe that these will work in the case of my course. It is a private course on controlled access government property that will be used infrequently (around 25 players two to three days a week) in comparison with public courses. The methods and materials that I have used in the construction of these pads may or may not be suitable for public courses.

Thanks for the questions, folks.....keep 'em coming.