Stall Skins (new type of stall floor)

[Sanny]

I came across these and am wondering if anyone knows more or is using them and can provide feedback good or bad.....sounds like a great idea and the price seems reasonable.......

Here is the info that I found online about them.........

STALL SKINS

Designed to allow water and urine to pass through, leaching naturally into the subsoil or down a drain. An economical investment that costs 50% less than rubber mats, are lightweight, durable, easy to clean & pays for itself in one year.

Stall Skins, are the alternative to rubber mats! Stall Skins are the ultimate stall and paddock liner that costs 50% less than rubber mats. Lightweight, durable, easy to clean and most importantly, Stall Skins are water permeable! That means your bedding stays dry and your horse stays clean. Dirt floors develop holes which need constant leveling, create dust which is constantly inhaled and bedding that is always contaminated with dirt. Solid rubber mats have helped solve these problems, but in turn have created problems of their own. Rubber mats are expensive, bulky and heavy to handle, and tend to shift. But their biggest drawback is their inability to let urine drain through. This causes large volumes of expensive urine-soaked bedding to be removed daily. Enter the Stall Skin solution! Skin comes in roll (like a carpet) Lay down, fasten to wall, and fill with bedding.

Stall Skins are designed to allow water and urine to pass through, leaching naturally into the subsoil. Bedding stays dry and lasts 2 to 3 times longer. During periods of rain, outdoor paddocks remain mud free. The simple installation system is easy to use indoors or outdoors.

Stall Skins are lightweight (12 x 12 = 40 lbs.) one-piece stall liner, which will not shift in your stall.

Stall Skins are a water permeable, Geo -Textile* so your bedding stays dryer and lasts longer. The concept is quite simple: If a Stall Skin can save you $1.00 or more per day on bedding costs, it will pay for itself in only 9 months.

Stall skins are an economical investment and are an alternative to rubber mats! Stall Skins are the ultimate stall liner that costs 50% less than rubber mats. Lightweight, durable, easy to clean.

Stall Skins are preferred over dirt floors, for they will not allow the horse to dig holes that need constant leveling, control dust that dirt floors create, and prevent stall bedding becoming contaminated with dirt.

Stall Skins are safe. They will not allow your horses foot or leg to get caught, his shoe to be pulled off; nor do they get slippery when wet - great for newborn foals.

Stall Skins save time when pitching stalls: Remove just what you have to, and cut your stall pitching time by one third.

Stall Skins make great cushion barriers for stone or concrete walls or any wall for that matter. At Hill View Farms we tested the stall skin as a covering over a stall wall. The skin cushions the concussion of a horses kick, protects the wall against damage but most importantly helps to protect the horse's hoof against potential injury from a debilitating kick.

NO Dust, NO holes, NO bedding wasted and it is fun to pick stalls!

Kit sizes: Include molding and wood screws. Fabric in kit will measure one foot larger both ways.

12 X 12' =$198.00

12 X 16' =$248.00

12 X 20' =$298.00

12 X 24' =$378.00

16 X 16' =$349.00

Bulk: Fabric only = 1.05 per sq. foot

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Interesting. Is it like road felt used to keep gravel from soaking into clay etc. ? It must be quite a bit thicker than that. I never saw (maybe I missed it) how long they are expected to last before they need replacing. What about horses that paw? I have lots of questions

but it looks like it could be a great product.

 

[cretahillsgal]

From what you just posted, these sound like they would be great! I am anxious to hear from someone who uses them.

 

[muffntuf]

Mary,

I have been looking at this myself for about 4 months. I thought about ordering one to try. I have sand in my floors, but in winter I seem to take more sand out of the stall than poo. I thought this might be a decent solution.

Will let you know when I get one!

T

 

[wildoak]

I considered stall skins when we built our barn a couple of years ago, but didn't find much feedback on them and needed to get things done so we just went with mats. They sound like a great solution to me - depending on expected lifetime, how they hold up against rips and tears from horses pawing, and whether you would have a urine odor problem underneath them. I'd love to know if anyone tries them.

Jan

 

[Sanny]

I just found the actual website for the company, which is more helpful than what I originally posted. I am still hoping to hear feedback from someone actually using them, especially as to how they hold up and how long they last.

The website is:

STALL SKINS

 

[jayne]

OK, let me pose a little different bit of thinking here. Do you want the urine to go through and then be underneath where you can't get to it? I know many people don't use matted stalls, but I do, and truly believe very little urine escapes through them to the sand and gravel below. I bed with a pelleted bedding (which I absolutely love) which pretty much traps the urine until I can pick it out like a giant litter box. People always comment how sweet my barn smells and I love how clean I can get the stalls every day. And I really don't think I go through that much pelleted bedding either, maybe 2 bags over two weeks for the minis and probably 5 or 6 for the clydesdale.

This is a picture of Maddie checking out her stall in the new barn for the very first time. You can see the black stall mats and the brand new pellets. They break down in a couple of days and get nice and fluffy. Sometimes I'll spray them down a little too, to help it along. There is a solid wall between the two stalls now where the two boards are. And no, she's not eating them, just getting the new sawdust smell. I have some of the biggest pig horses in the world and not ONE of them has ever tried to eat pelleted bedding. They seem to know it's not food.

Here you can get the 4x6 stall mats that are 3/4 inch thick for about $35 a piece. They are very heavy and frankly, quite difficult to get installed into the stall tightly and leveled nicely. However, once that's done, they are pretty much indestructible. You need 6 of them for a 12x12 stall (obviously less for smaller stalls) so do your math and make sure the stall skins compete with that.

My horses run the gamut from a 2000 pounder to a 250 pounder and they all are on stall mats for years and not once has one come up or shifted.

Hope that helps with your decision making!

Jayne

 

[Marty]

Hi Mary!!!!!!!!

Ok these stall skins are nothing new on the market. My friend was one of the original test barns in Florida years back and she used to be in their original ad actually with her testimonial.

These stall skins are more trouble than what they are worth from what I saw in my humble opinion. I wouldn't have them at all in my barn. I'd take rubber mats over them anyday.

By the way, I watched your beautiful family at nationals and about cried when you all came out with the baby sleeping in your daughters arms. That was such a precious moment! You are all so amazing. Congrats and much love to all and don't buy the stall skins!

 

[bingo]

I will be different here. I worked at a barn that had these installed and I loved them! I think they lasted long and worked well.

Of course a lot depends on your type of barn and the type of drainage system you have as well.

I would think they would work better in a barn with more air flowing through it then not.

I would not hesitate to purchase them for my barn if I was going to re do the flooring.

 

[Sun Runner Stables]

I have one stall in my barn done with this by the previous owner for a horse that was close to constant bucket if you get my drift.

I live in FL- and have a very open CBS barn with 12x14 stalls. The one stall does great- though over the years it's been in has gotten a little beat up (the back lifted thanks to one younger horse I had that was an archeologist apparently!) but it's still a great thing.

I have mats in my other stalls, and yes, it's a pain with bedding as I do like to have big fluffy stalls- but yet no urine. I do see that very limited amounts of urine stay in that stall, and I do use less shavings- but have no smell. I do know they heavily limed and laid a great deal of though into the stall footing before the skin was put on.

I would do it again in my stalls, however it is just as much of a hassle, and I can buy mats one at a time and slow- versus the one big purchase.

 

[NoddalottaFarm]

I looked into these when we were building our barn 2+ years ago. I emailed the website for more information and dealers near us, and they replied telling me they were giving my name to 3 "local" dealers. (We aren't local to anyone, but they were the closest.) The dealers NEVER attempted contact, so I sent a polite email to the website for the Stall Skins and let them know how disappointed I was, and that we were going to go with another company. Their response to that was "sure hope you know what you are doing." OH! So... we decided to use mats and really like them a lot!

 

[Genie]

We have something similar in our stalls.

Our barn is a converted dairy barn so the floors are cement.

There is a 3 to 4 inch pad of finely chopped rubber pieces (old tires)that are encased on a "meshy" like fabric.

If you could envision a feather tick and how it will have the feathers and lines of sewing to keep the feathers in place, then that is what this looks like except the feathers are chipped rubber pieces and the lines keep the rubber chips in place.

Over the top is a thin sheet of hard rubber which is secured in the stalls and looks like the picture at the beginning of this thread.

So the horses are standing on very cushioned floors and they are "oh so comfortable"

We just use a sprinkling of shavings in most stalls to keep the urine from splashing up and sweep the stalls twice a day when the horses are inside.

We use straw at foaling time and also in a couple of stalls where there are horses who do not eat their bedding. THis way those horses stay cleaner.

Our winters can see the horses in their stalls from November 1st to end of April and out only for short periods of exercise so stall comfort is especially important.

It's a type of flooring that is fairly well known in Ontario Canada.

Sounds similar to what you are looking at and I would never want our horses on anything else.

 

[Genie]

Stable comfort by Promat is what we have in our barn. Below you will find the Benefits

For the horse...(click here to see Benefits for the owner)

Ultimate Equine Comfort - StableComfort provides unsurpassed horse comfort through a resilient stall surface matching natural turf. Horses stabled on StableComfort are encouraged to lie down to rest more often and for longer periods of time. StableComfort provides remedial, therapeutic flooring for your horse while standing and on a comfortable, even surface while lying down decreasing the injury rehabilitation schedule and aiding in loosening stiff joints. StableComfort provides insulation from the cold and a barrier to dampness from concrete floors. The equine performance industry reports less leg fatigue and a reduction in tissue fluid accumulation with StableComfort.

Non-Slip - StableComfort provides a non-slip surface, enabling ease of lying down and rising. In fact, many veterinary facilites are taking advantage of this benefit in their post-anesthetic stalls.

Air Quality - StableComfort is equivalent to a minimum of four inches of bedding. Research from the Equine Research Centre in Guelph, Ontario has found that using a fraction of the bedding with the StableComfort system improves stable air quality without sacrificing horse comfort. Less bedding means less dust!

Joints and Sores - StableComfort was designed with a horse-friendly surface, because of which hock sores are dramatically reduced and even completely eliminated. The supportive, yet forgiving, characteristics of StableComfort have produced proven results in animals with joint problems. Proven results are seen from older, arthritic, lame and injured horses.

Foaling - Excellent environment for foaling! StableComfort provides superior insulation for early foals born in cold climates. Great footing for the active and energetic newborn.

For the owner...(click here to see Benefits for the horse)

Bedding - StableComfort is the equivalent to 4-6 inches of wood shavings allowing you to reduce bedding usage by up to 75% without sacrificing horse comfort. In fact, you are giving your horse an even more comfortable, natural-feeling stall.

Labor - Cut clean-out time in half! Less bedding means less work and lower cost! The wall-to-wall installation of StableComfort means dirty bedding stays on top where it can be easily removed. In many areas, disposing of your soiled bedding is very costly. StableComfort can reduce your manure pile up to 2/3, thereby putting more money in your pocket.[/i]Stall Maintenance - Because StableComfort covers the entire floor, horses cannot get at the base to dig, thereby drastically reducing stall maintenance.

 

[gigrc]

We have Stall Skins in our barn where our big horses are and they are GREAT!! We put them in about a year ago and I think they are way better then stall mats because they don't move around and shavings and dirt don't get stuck under them. Stall skins are all one piece and fit a few inches up the sides of the wall. I saw that some people had concerns about the pee underneath them.... i think most of the pee gets absorbed up by the shavings before it even goes through the skin. With the big horses you have to have about 4 - 5 bags of shavings to start in the stall to keep them in pretty good shape. Then we just add as we take out. We do have 2 B size minis in 2 of the stalls right now with skins and they are way easier. We only put 2 -3 bags of shavings in to start and barely ever have to add more.

I love stall skins and with mini's I love them more. We have about 12 big horses that use them and only 2 minis and they make life much easier!!

If you have any more questions about them that I didn't answer please ask me!!

Hope this helps!