This case study comes to us from Trevor who was looking for a suitable flooring product for horse paddock after putting a shipping container within one of his paddocks behind the stable. A product was needed that would help prevent a boggy ground whilst being gentle to the horses feet.
He told us: “I had recently positioned a shipping container behind the stable block and knew that the horses would gravitate to this wonderful new sheltered area once the winter winds and rain returned. Imagining the quagmire that would ensue I decided to create a hard standing (or should that now be a ‘soft’ standing) that would be better for the land and for the welfare of the horses feet.”
Choosing The Grass Mats
Trevor began searching online for a soft flooring product that would keep the ground from becoming a quagmire. After a little browsing he came across our website and our grass mats. To ensure it was the correct product for him, he read our other equestrian blogs to see how our grass mats had been used with horses before.
Finding that the mats had been used for a similar solution previously convinced Trevor to place his order of 10 Grass Mats which arrived with him just two working days later ready to be installed!
Installing The Grass Mats
Trevor talked us through the entire project which involved a little more than just laying the grass mats in place. Read what he told us: “The 150 square feet of land had until this time been a grazing paddock and had a well-established mat of grass but was unfortunately very uneven. So I stripped it back to topsoil and then imported a fine mix of clay soil and small stones from a banking across the field. To level up the site and create drainage I first built a low ‘wall’ of larger stones and then backfilled from that, using the ‘onion skin’ method and stamping down by foot after each shallow layer.
Thanks to the prompt delivery of the matting I was able to lay it out to see how it looked and decide what edging might be required to stop the exposed front side of the matting from getting kicked up. I then set up a couple of old jump poles that are held down with steel hoops hammered into the earth which should provide an anchorage for the matting before using staples and zip ties.
After a final levelling off of the ground, I zip tied all of the mats together and staked them down around the edge. I’m sure that the horses will pack the ground down somewhat unevenly but if necessary the matting can be rolled up and any repairs made with extra earth. Finally a fence was installed along the back of the matted area to stop the horses hooves from damaging the exposed back edge of rubber.”
Conclusion
A huge thank you to Trevor for his fantastic write up of his case study and of the images showcasing the time line of his work as he went along. The mats will provide a soft underfoot area for his horses when they do stand by their new shipping container! Trevor put a lot of work into this project and it was more than worth it for the health of his grass and his horses feet!
If you have photos or details of your project to share or have questions regarding any of our products then please do not hesitate to contact us.
