Hey! I just want to share with all of you riding club members about using old rubber conveyer belts as stall mats. I stumbled onto this idea when picking up bluestone at the Luck Stone Quarry on Belmont Ridge Rd. in Leesburg. I was talking with the manager there about needing stall mats and he said that many people use these old conveyors belts for that purpose. Luck Stone is happy to give them away for free as it saves them the cost of hauling them to the dump. And it is a good feeling to recycle! The belts come in different widths and can be cut in length to fit. So if you have a stall that is 12' by 12' you can pick up three 4' width belts, cut them down to 12 foot lengths, then lay three strips side by side snuggly to fit. They are thin but durable and if laid in the stall correctly will not trip up your horse. I've had them in my horses' stalls for a year and a half now and they have not been dislodged or anything. Here are photos of the mats in the stalls without bedding. Yes they look like conveyors belts! But put the bedding on top and you will not see them anymore and cleaning stalls will be easy!
A couple of things, though... they are still heavy (not as heavy as the thick stall mats, however) so you will need two people to pick them up and place in a pick up truck. They do roll and stack nicely. The other thing is the quarry repairs the belts with thick metal 'staples' that are very obvious. We just avoid those pieces. The people at the quarry will help and are very nice. The phone number there is (703)729-2800.
I hope this helps someone who is on a budget and really needs mats!
Kathi
No comments:
Post a Comment