[jakeandrenee]

I have seen someone post about using rubber stall mat as padding for a crate.. I did a little looking and the TSC has these. I just ordered a 48" crate, he is growing out of the 42" and I will use that for car travel. I'd like to put padding down in both.

Which do you suggest?

Royal Mat Rubber Horse Stall Mat, 4 ft. x 6 ft. - 221900399 | Tractor Supply Company

Flexgard Multi Use Utility Mat, 48 in x 96 in x 1/4 in - 504081999 | Tractor Supply Company

 

[jakeandrenee]

anyone??

 

[Esmiralda33]

Ok, I have the royal mats for my horse. They are holding up well after 2 years of use, BUT they are very heavy and hard to move and you have to cut them to size with a jigsaw. I'd honestly consider something lighter like the utility mat unless you do not plan on moving the pads after they are in place.

 

[jakeandrenee]

Are the Royal Mats thick? I can't get any information, I am trying to figure out how it could fit in the pan in the crate?

 

[StellaSquash]

I'm sure what it's called but the mat we got from TSC was VERY heavy, and it's about an inch thick. it comes in a precut size and we had to cut it down ourselves. even the cut size was difficult for me to carry.

it looks similar to the mat in your first link. definitely worth it though, I just toss a bed on top and she's set. certainly cuts down on the noise in the crate too.

 

[jakeandrenee]

Jennifer,
Did it fit in the tray in the crate as far as thickness goes? I have no plans of putting a bed in there...he would rip and chew it to bits.

 

[vomlittlehaus]

You really wont need the tray. I cut a stall mat and put that in the bottom of my dogs crate also. I actually got a big one one and was able to put the whole crate on the piece that was left over from cutting one for inside. You can shop around for different mats. They also come in different thicknesses. I think I purchased mine from a local feed store, they will sometimes beat the price of the 'big box' stores. Channel locks work great for holding them. You can just cut them with a box cutter too. Just put something under the area you want to cut so it is up, and as you cut the mat, it bends away from itself.

 

[jakeandrenee]

Is it that heavy? LOL. How do you move the crate to clean and vacuum around it? I mean can you move the crate with mat in it? I want padding for his joints and he is getting spots on his elbows from the hard surface of the plastic pan. I looked a primo pads but somehow this idea make better sense and I imagine will hold up for many years....BUT I need to be able to remove it to clean it?

 

[doggiedad]

you probably could find someone to
trim the mat for you.

Are the Royal Mats thick? I can't get any information, I am trying to figure out how it could fit in the pan in the crate?

 

[StellaSquash]

it fits perfectly in the tray, thickness wise. I had him cut it to fit in the tray just for ease of moving it for when i want to clean the crate. when I need to vacuum, I just slide the tray out. I can move the whole thing, but it's easy to slide the tray out and then lift the crate.

the other day I slid the tray out, lifted out the mat and cleaned the tray, plopped the mat back in and slid it back into the crate.

 

[JKlatsky]

We have the first one in several of our crates. I do not put them in until the dog is accident free because they can be a pain to pull out to clean, however, they really reduce the noise, are almost indestructible which makes me feel much better about leaving them in there with the dog, and I feel better for their joints.

Some I left the pans in, others I've removed it and just left the mat (usually when the pan cracked). It's still movable, although with the 48" crate and the mat I usually make DH help me pick it up and slide it over when we vacuum, although I can easily pick up one end and move it over and then go pick up the other end and move it over.

 

[jakeandrenee]

Does this sort of padding help with the callouses they get at their elbows?