Slippery concrete in barn

[hippichick]

My husband is wanting to go with the paint. He works in oilfield, and says they use epoxy paint with glass beads mixed into the paint. They spray the rig floors with this stuff, and it stands up to tons of abuse. Glass beads are used instead of sand because they don't break up like sand does.

How many of those oilfield workers weigh half a ton and wear steel shoes?

Haha, good point. Not many, I hope, although some of those boys are hefty eaters. But some of the pipe used weighs quite a bit, I'm told. And, believe me, these oilfield workers aren't the gentlest of guys.

Oh, and half a ton-I gotta do better than that. I've got a Belgian who weighs a ton or more-depending on how much I'm feeding him. Right now, he's on a diet. lol Of course, he's the one who's never fallen. Go figure...

 

[Bossroo]

you can rent a commercial rotary diamond grinder that is meanet to grind uneven concrete for tile work. Works great to roughen the surface.

Just saw this, Bossroo. Great idea. I've never heard of this. Is it kind of like a big floor sander? Sounds like it would be an easy fix.

Yup !!! I used one to grind an unever concrete slab in a house prior to installing floor tile. Works great ... just keep it moving like a floor sander or you can make a round hole real quick.

 

[ducks4you]

I know that we just offer suggestions, here, but, seriously, the best solution for you is rubber mats. I TOTALLY agree with Pat--get them textured or not. I have about 20 mats in my 3 stall barn, 5 more that I use in my horse trailer (2 are 2 x 6ft, 3 are 4 x 8ft.) Some are 1/4 inch, which I roll from the skinny side as tight as is possible, that grab the ends--rolling stiffens the rubber and it's easy to take them in and out of the trailer.
Back to your BARN: I use 1/2 inch rubber mats in the stalls, and 1/4 inch mats in the aisle-ways. To move the 1/2 mats (which are REALLY heavy and bulky) I fold them in half, and drag them to where I need to, in order to clean the cement underneath, etc.

I don't know about you but I slipped on my cement sidewalk last winter, when we had black ice. Don't know how, but I totally relaxed as I did, essentially a 'prat fall', flat on my back, so I wasn't hurt. IF I had stiffened up, I would have broken something. Not to sound like a bad animal owner, but in the last 1980's I had a pony that slipped on the ice on DIRT, and messed up her knee--on dirt.
The mats are great. You can stack, store, or even sell them, if you need to in the future. Just because the cement surface is abrasive, it doesn't mean you or your horses won't trip and go down on them. It's just MHO, but I love my cement barn floor and I love the rubber mats on top of it.

 

[hippichick]

Just want to update on this. I'd like to thank Mea for recommending the barn calcite. I found some at Tractor Supply, and it works very well. We've had a very rainy winter here-as usual. I sprinkle the barn calcite on the concrete anytime it gets wet, and it really works to keep the horses from slipping. I haven't had a horse lose his footing in the barn since I started using this product. And, the best part is, it's very inexpensive-around $2.99 per bag-50 lb bag, I think. Anyway, just in case anyone is having this problem, this stuff really works. Thanks again Mea for the advice! Appreciate the help.