Stall flooring preferences vary with facilities. Below are some general recommendations for floor stalls:
First, the barn site should be elevated several feet above the surrounding area with a suitable pad. This decreases incidence of water infiltration into stalls from surrounding runoff.
Second, the subbase of the stalls must allow for drainage: eight to 12 inches of small rock (inch rock) is a suitable material. Above this subbase, place about one foot of clay to clay-loam type soil. This base will provide percolation of urine to the subbase, yet should pack enough to provide a level floor. Mats and bedding should be placed above the soil base.
Exceptions to this include barns that use packed screenings above a rock subbase instead of soil, and barns with sloped concrete floors with rubber matting instead of the rock and soil base. No matter, use of bedding that absorbs moisture assists in decreasing the need for percolation and drainage.
