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A horse is a warm-blooded animal that spends most of its time on its feet. The animal is constantly subjected to a good physical load when, in addition to its own weight, the animal's legs also have the additional weight of the rider or cargo. In order for the care of the most vulnerable part of the horse's body to be constant, it is necessary to pay special attention to the arrangement of the floor when equipping the stable, and the best material for it will be rubber tile in Ukraine.
But in order to make the right floor, you must first choose the right place for the location of the stable building there. Several factors should be considered when choosing a place.
First of all, it is a convenient entrance. There are often cases when a horse has to be transferred from the horse transporter to the stable quite far away. The horse is tired during the journey, the animal is nervous, and the weather outside is bad and the road surface is quite washed out. All these are risk factors that can contribute to causing damage to the new guest. Therefore, it is important to minimize the distance from the driveway to the gate of the stable, as well as cover this path with a reliable coating, in which rubber tiles will help a lot.
Secondly, it is necessary to pay attention to the ingress of groundwater. After all, high groundwater will inevitably lead not only to damage to the structure itself, but will also be a constant source of problems. Soggy feed, wet hay are breeding grounds for midges and putrefactive bacteria. All this will affect the health of animals in a bad way. Also, constant problems with the legs of horses will begin from dampness.
Thirdly, it is possible to construct open stables near the stables, with the possibility of horses exiting the structure.
Gathering these three factors together, it immediately becomes clear that the stable should be built on a high, open place with a low groundwater level. Now it is worth thinking about the second main point - this floor covering. This is almost a fundamental factor that positively or negatively affects the health of animals.
It is necessary to take into account the basic requirements applicable to the floor in the stable, namely, that the floor should be:
- Solid.
- Waterproof.
- Not slippery.
- Not cold.
You can consider several options for floor coverings that can have the above properties:
– Stone (cement floor). The advantages of such a floor may be that it is really hard. But if, say, the concrete was of average quality, then any more or less mobile horse will knock a couple of holes in such a floor. And immediately two negative moments are formed. The flow of liquids becomes difficult, which interferes with cleaning, faeces stagnate, which leads to an unsanitary environment. Also, the stone floor has low thermal conductivity, and the animal will be in the cold all the time.
- Glynobitny. Good decision. Fairly warm floor, not slippery. But there is a big minus: this type of floor perfectly absorbs all liquids. That is, manure, urine, sanitary liquids, water, horse sweat - all this will perfectly penetrate the porous structure of the floor and will become an excellent soil for the development of harmful microorganisms.
- Wooden. Horses are strong and large animals. And if the wooden flooring works well for small cattle, it is clearly not for cattle and horses. Wood is a fragile material, and there is a risk of injuring the animal with splinters. Such a floor absorbs liquids well and is quite poorly amenable to hygienic procedures.
- Paul from TSP. A floor made of cement chipboard is probably one of the good solutions. But it is short-lived, as the horses will break it very quickly.
- Torfyanoy. An ideal solution for a stable. The device of such a floor, in addition to all the above-mentioned qualities, also has the most important thing: the peat floor under pressure seems to spring, which gives the horse the opportunity to rest, as it has a great effect on the hoof. But peat is an expensive material, especially in those places where there are no peat deposits. And it needs constant addition.
- Rubber tile. If you consider rubber tiles as a floor covering in a stable, then this is, perhaps, the most ideal option. Therefore, it is worth dwelling on its characteristics and considering them in more detail.
The lower layer of the rubber tile has a porous structure, which positively affects its thermal insulation qualities. Such a floor will retain heat and prevent cold.
The upper layer of crumbs is moisture-insulating. Thus, all liquids remain on the surface, which speeds up the cleaning time, makes such a coating hygienic, and does not allow harmful bacteria to penetrate inside and develop there. But at the same time, liquids easily go into the joints of the plates, which are arranged in such a way that they then fall into the soil.
With such remarkable positive qualities, the rubber tile also allows the horse's hoof to spring. But due to its high wear resistance (operation warranty - 7-10 years), rubber tiles are not as expensive to use as a peat floor. It does not require constant updating or annual repair.
Laying such a floor covering does not require the calling of additional employees or special training. This is a fairly simple job without special tools, which can be completed in a short time.
Summarizing all of the above, it is possible to draw an unequivocal conclusion that the use of rubber tiles will be an ideal solution for arranging the floor in the stable.
