Revulcanized Vs Bonded Crumb Horse Stall Mats

When making the investment in rubber flooring for your horse stable, be sure that you are purchasing the best product for the job. At first thought, you may assume that a horse mat is a horse mat and it doesn’t matter what one you get, but on closer examination, there are a number of important factors to consider when choosing the best mat for your stalls. Some of these include: revulcanized vs. straight edge vs. interlocking mats?

There are a number of reasons why revulcanized rubber is superior to bonded crumb rubber when it comes to stall flooring. Here are 6 reasons why you should choose revulcanized rubber flooring for most horse flooring applications:

  1. Polyurethane bonded mats can absorb animal fluids while revulcanized mats do not absorb moisture
  2. Animal fluids can cause the polyurethane binder to deteriorate creating wear spots as the crumb flakes away, revulcanized matting does not have this problem
  3. Animal fluids trapped in the bonded crumb mats can cause bacteria and foul odors
  4. Revulcanized rubber flooring is more durable and more resilient than polyurethane bonded rubber flooring
  5. Revulcanized mats will not curl, cold flow or change shape like polyurethane bonded mats can when under the temperatures and pressures of normal use
  6. Revulcanized mats are made by chemically bonding the rubber under extreme pressure and heat to create the most durable and dense mat possible, while polyurethane bonded mats are glued and pressed under moderate pressure.

On the plus side for polyurethane bonded crumb mats, they typically do not have as much of the rubber odor as the revulcanized rubber mats do.

It is important to remember that companies that are selling bonded crumb mats will not advertise them as such. Remember to ask if the mats are revulcanized when getting a price. Some companies will respond to this by saying, “Yes, these are recycled rubber mats”, however this is not the same thing. Visually you can tell the difference between the two by the surface. When you look closely at a bonded crumb mat, you can see that it looks like bits of crumb rubber glued together. Revulcanized rubber mats have a smooth, non-porous surface.

When comparing pricing, be sure to consider the product life, the shipping cost (this can be high for these heavy products), and the health of your horse and workers.

When making the investment in stall flooring, be sure to choose a product that will give you years of life with no headaches. We stand behind our quality matting products with a solid warranty. Join the many happy customers that have made Treadall their choice for heavy duty rubber mats.