Horse stall mats are basically soft, strongly built rubber flooring materials. These mats are most commonly used in stables to cover up the hard-concrete floors and to provide comfort to horses and other such animals. These mats are strongly built, and due to their high durability and versatility, they could also be used for various purposes in different houses or gyms. They are easy to clean and can help reduce erosion.
Horse stall mats are basically made up of recycled rubber, and the manufacturing process includes stages that are moderately or highly toxic, and the use of some harmful chemicals can add some level of toxicity to it. Though these mats have to pass through toxic regulation tests, it doesn’t always mean that the mats are 100% safe.
Are horse stall mats toxic?
Yes, technically speaking, horse stall mats do carry some contaminants and can be considered toxic.
The reason horse stall mats are toxic is because they are made from recycled rubber. In order to convert the recycled rubber, many toxins are used in the process. That being said, there are many common household items that are also considered “toxic.” The important thing is that the object doesn’t emit dangerous levels of toxins.
While rubber mats do emit toxins such as HCHO and TVOC, the levels fall into the normal range and are not dangerous to your or your horse.
Different factors play their role in determining the toxicity of horse stall mats. Some of these include the designing, the production process, how long it has been used, etc. However, some horse mats are built cheap and would contain higher levels of toxins in them, while those produced from high-quality rubber can be less toxic. It is believed that the flat-designed stall mat is less harmful than the diamond-styled mat. It is important to buy your horse mat from a domestic, trusted seller.
One thing common in all of these mats is their foul smell. Almost every horse stall mat would have some foul smell, especially for the first couple of months.
How to remove bad smell from a horse mat?
An easy way to remove toxins and the foul smell from horse stall mats is to clean them with warm soap and water. You can also put them in the sunlight for a day or two which will help remove toxins and the foul smell.Â
Conclusion:
Horse mats are specifically designed for horses and other large animals to make them comfortable and for health purposes. Sometimes, a horse will lay down on their side on the mat for comfort.
From an overall perspective, we can say that these mats contain toxic levels no more than some of that other common household materials under normal conditions and would be safe to use as long as you get these mats from a registered company or shop and make sure that they are made up of good quality rubber.
Unless someone is eating chunks the size of a grilled cheese sandwich, I wouldn’t worry. It’s a common understating that rubber, when on fire, produces some of the most toxic gases, and the same is the case with horse stall mats. Higher temperatures and fire etc. would play a reverse role in decreasing its toxicity.
