Barn floors and snowy/icy feet

[dmalbone]

I know it's just a bit early to be thinking about that now, :lol: but I don't want to redo things when winter comes. Even with our rubber stall mats now bedded ridiculously deeo, the horses still seem like they're on ice skates in the winter when any snow is packed in their hooves- especially the minis. Aside from picking out every single one before they come inside, which poses it's own dangers and realistically cannot always happen, any tips? Does anyone else have that problem? Maybe it's the kind of rubebr mats I'm using? They're from Tractor Supply Co. I've noticed we usually do have to leave them outside to "weather" a little bit before actually using them inside because the coating or whatever is on there is slick. I'm not a fan of redoing dirt/clay/dust stall footing every year so we were going to hopefully do mats. I was thinking about soft stall, comfort stall, or one of the likes and can't figure out if it will be better or worse. Does anyone else have this problem?

[BuddyRoo]

I just pick their feet out. Or, you can try spraying with cooking spray. (the feet that is)

I don't think it's an issue with the mats...it's just an issue with wet heavy snow.

[dmalbone]

Thanks. Sometimes, it's just plain impossible to pick them out. Especially the minis... I guess their hoof space is so small that it forms little ice balls that can literally not be picked out... they have to be chiseled. I'd need a hoof knife and I personally don't feel comfortable using a hoof knife with numb hands in 5 degree weather! :lol:

[BuddyRoo]

You might be able to reduce it slightly on the minis by getting them trimmed more often so there's less of a "cup" type space to hold the snow. Not a lot of experience w/ minis here though. Sorry!

[2DogsFarm]

A messy solution:

sprinkle mats with kitty litter, then sweep after picking feet
(I'm assuming you mean mats in the aisle, not the stalls)

[dmalbone]

A messy solution:

sprinkle mats with kitty litter, then sweep after picking feet
(I'm assuming you mean mats in the aisle, not the stalls)

No, the mats in the stalls. It seems like if they have ANYTHING left on their feet they're still skating in the stalls.

[dmalbone]

You might be able to reduce it slightly on the minis by getting them trimmed more often so there's less of a "cup" type space to hold the snow. Not a lot of experience w/ minis here though. Sorry! Good idea and in theory it should work... but it doesn't! They're little freaks of nature! :) No matter if it's just the space next to the frog, they will still find a way. Plus... one of our guys has a bad leg conformation problem and walks funny. Because of this, he gets HUGE snow stilts on. I guess it's just the way his foot is hitting the ground.

[2DogsFarm]

No, the mats in the stalls. It seems like if they have ANYTHING left on their feet they're still skating in the stalls.

Sorry, I'm no help then.
My stalls are not matted - just compacted stonedust beneath the shavings and so far in 5 years I haven't had to redo them.
There is some rodent tunneling (Vermin Cong) but nothing that has compromised the stalls to the point they need to get re-leveled.

[dmalbone]

There is some rodent tunneling (Vermin Cong) but nothing that has compromised the stalls to the point they need to get re-leveled. :lol: Can you tell me a little about the stone dust? I've actually never seen it. :p Does it get extremely hard? Not slippery at all when wet? I guess I just pictured it compacting like concrete.

[RU2U]

Its 85 degrees here and honestly, I didn't get pass the word SNOW. Right now it only brings back happy thoughts :)

[Belle-aphant]

one word.... PAM ...works wonders. My mom manages a middle school cafeteria so she buys me cases :)

[dmalbone]

Thanks. I'm not worried about mine so much as I'd have the time to do it, but my mom works full time and has 8 unruly minis that she has to walk across concrete to get outside. I'm not sure which would be worse on concrete... the stray bit of pam that might get out of place or the snow! Do you not have problems with the pam being slippery? Does it last for more than a day or do you have to redo it every day? Thanks!

[Lavender Menace]

I just pick them out as I'm bringing the horses in, but we have individual turnout and no more than about 5 horses are out at any given time. Don't they make special pads for shoes that have a convex surface that "pops" the snow out? I don't if that's a feasible solution if you have a lot of horses or if they are usually barefoot.

[Tiki]

When I was a late teen, working at a public riding stable, instead of picking out their feet when they came in, we used to just knock their feet with a big round rock. All the snow just fell out very easily. Much easier than picking. Didn't even have to knock them that hard.