BELMONDO® mats in "Ponyhausen"
"Ponyhausen" in the Lower Rhine region – this is where Annica Hansen lives with her horses, Mini Shetlands, sheep, chickens, cats, and a dog. She has invested a lot of time, passion, and effort to create the optimal home for the animals.
Transformation into an Open Stable Paradise
Since Annica purchased the farm in 2020, much has changed. Coming from a traditional boarding stable background, she initially started the same way here. The horses spent most of their time in their looseboxes, going outside for a few hours. Over time, this changed. Living together with the horses made her realize their needs and natural rhythm. The horses showed that they wanted to be outside – even in the rain and in winter. So, she restored the original open stable and made many other changes and optimizations in and around the stable. As part of this, BELMONDO® mats have found their way into many areas:
Open Stable
Annica began the renovation in the open stable, where the ground situation was the most challenging. The compacted, dusty topsoil was removed and temporarily replaced with wood chips. However, it quickly became clear that this was not a long-term solution. Paving was the next step, but it also proved inadequate over time. Thus, BELMONDO® was installed here first. Annica chose BELMONDO® Trend mats for this area and is now very happy with them:
"The horses walk very securely, they don’t slip. And they love lying on them."
Grooming Area with Solarium and Washdown Area
The next optimization step was the grooming and washdown areas. They were newly poured with concrete, and the washdown area was equipped with slopes and drains. From the beginning, Annica was determined to add a surface on top of the concrete to ensure safety for the horses. For the washdown area, Annica opted for BELMONDO® Walkpro for the washdown area. The grooming area already had mats, but Annica was not satisfied with them. They were quickly replaced with Walkpro mats as well:
"This is a firm, solid, robust flooring, exactly what I wanted. The slip resistance is great, and cleaning is super easy."
"This was a huge game-changer: It’s functional, super high-quality, and the horses stand securely while being washed."
The Horse Walker
The walking surface in the horse walker was in dire need of renovation. Annica tried several different flooring solutions, but none really worked. Choosing the right flooring was a lengthy process because the requirements were high: it needed to be soft enough and slip-resistant, handle water well, not wear down quickly to form a “rut,” not be too deep, and easy to clean.
Now, BELMONDO® Horsewalker mats are installed here. For Annica, these mats offer the maximum benefits with the fewest drawbacks:
"The horses now much prefer walking in the horse walker than before. They walk securely and, above all, quietly."
The Looseboxes
The stable optimization is not yet complete for Annica: Currently, old mats are in the looseboxes, which are also set to be replaced with BELMONDO® mats.
To be continued...
