sm923
in
equestrian
Flooring Question
My barn is an older, 2 story barn. The bottom was almost completely open to our pasture horses to come and go as they please. When I got my first show horse, we ended up splitting the barn in half and making one giant stall and leaving the other half open to the pasture horses. When I got my third show horse (my second went into another stall with his own personal pasture) we closed off the other side of the barn and made a second giant stall and built another barn for the pasture horses to come and go.
The base of the barn was never really finished. The barn is 110 years old and the floor is just dirt. Over the years the barn has flooded and we dig drainage around it. Now it doesn't flood but the floor gets really saturated when it is damp which causes the floor to become uneven. I do have mats and bed deep with shavings.
Anyhow, I was mother effing the barn the other day when I had to drag all the mats out, level out the floor and replace the mats and my dad happened to hear me swearing and whining and he came in and wanted to do all sorts of things that I know won't work (namely digging the floor down deeper.. huh?)
So what do you guys who have your own farms suggest? Should we dig down deeper and put gravel down? I have NO idea where to start but I'm getting so freaking fed up I'm willing to drop some serious money to get it fixed.
Long story short: what should I use as a base in my stalls under my stall mats?
The base of the barn was never really finished. The barn is 110 years old and the floor is just dirt. Over the years the barn has flooded and we dig drainage around it. Now it doesn't flood but the floor gets really saturated when it is damp which causes the floor to become uneven. I do have mats and bed deep with shavings.
Anyhow, I was mother effing the barn the other day when I had to drag all the mats out, level out the floor and replace the mats and my dad happened to hear me swearing and whining and he came in and wanted to do all sorts of things that I know won't work (namely digging the floor down deeper.. huh?)
So what do you guys who have your own farms suggest? Should we dig down deeper and put gravel down? I have NO idea where to start but I'm getting so freaking fed up I'm willing to drop some serious money to get it fixed.
Long story short: what should I use as a base in my stalls under my stall mats?