Sam Ski Area Management - Index

Sam Ski Area Management - stable_management - Index

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just grooming and wash stall areas.
If you are building a new barn,
Reid recommends pouring concrete
in the aisle first and then coming back
with some type of rubber flooring. If
money is a limiting factor, it’s less
expensive to put stone dust down first
compared to concrete. Both choices
will work to put pavers overtop, but
rodents could eventually burrow into
the stone dust and cause maintenance
issues you wouldn’t have with concrete.
It isn’t hard to re-do an existing
floor, Reid says, as long as you can
get it level. In most cases you can
simply level the surface and then add
your chosen product on top. Rubber
products can be installed over concrete,
dirt, asphalt, clay, wood, sand
and stone dust.
When putting rubber flooring
over concrete, 1/2-inch thickness
works, but Reid prefers to use some-
thing a little more than an inch thick.
He feels that thinner pavers don’t stay
down as well, even over concrete. If
installing over compacted soil, one
inch is the better choice.
The biggest drawback to rubber
pavers is keeping them clean. They
are very difficult to sweep. Shavings
stick to them, and small pieces settle
between pavers. “They look beautiful
when they go down,” says Reid, but
they are difficult to keep looking that
pristine. People use blowers or vacuums
with more success, but that adds
to maintenance costs.
To minimize cleaning issues,
companies have evolved the traditional
pavers into larger, interlocking
“tiles.” With bigger pieces, the floor
appears more seamless, with fewer
openings for shavings and hay to
accumulate. They also have a
smoother, more solid surface, which
makes them easier to sweep.
Rubber pavers come in a variety
of colors, and your choice could make
a difference to your horses. In 2006,
researchers from the School of Animal,
Rural, and Environmental Sciences
at Nottingham Trent University,
and in the School of Psychology at the
University of Nottingham, found that
horses react more to yellow, white,
black and blue floors. The horses
were less reactive to green, red,
brown or gray flooring. The test
involved 16 riding horses and compared
how the horses walked over or
past different colors that were on the
floor or against the wall. Colors on the
wall did not significantly affect the
horses.
If you have a concrete aisle, but
not the budget to do pavers, rubber
mats placed in grooming areas or
down the aisle are good options.
They give the horse some cushioning
and traction over the concrete, but