Lifting on horse stall mats? Outdoor platform.

[DoctorWho]

Buidling an outdoor lifting platform -- squatting, DLs, but also power cleans. Guidance appreciated.

Thinking of using horse stall mats for the entire surface. Concrete pad, covered by 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch horse stall mat from Tractor Supply. So instead of standing on plywood, the lifter stands on the horse stall mat.
Stable enough?

Anybody have experience or calculate the deformation?

[Mark Rippetoe]

This is perfectly stable, unless you somehow find some soft squishy stall mats.

[Oso Rojo]

Well, let's do some math. The average quarter horse weights about 1,000 pounds. (Rip, your a horseman, is this about right?)

Divide that into 2/3 on the front hoofs and 1/3 on the back puts about 300lbs on a hoof. Quarter have smaller feet that the bigger horses, so figure about four quarter horse shoes have about the same surface area as a pair of size 11 human shoes. So a 250lb male puts about 125lbs of force on one foot and the horse puts about 600lbs of force on that same area.

I have to assume that what we humans do on a horse mat will be just fine.

[mpalios]

In this example, would he want 2 layers of stall mats vs just one? Or does one mat offer enough protection for the plates and concrete underneath?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Quarter have smaller feet that the bigger horses, so figure about four quarter horse shoes have about the same surface area as a pair of size 11 human shoes.

No, the horse's weight is supported by the hoof wall, on a shod horse the horseshoe surface area. Much smaller than a pair of size 11 human shoes, maybe only 1/3 that surface area.

[Oso Rojo]

Rip I knew you were a better horseman than me. I just pay for my wife's horse hobby, hahaha.

[TommyGun]

Very dumb question. Do the horse mats stay wet once they are outside in the rain?
If I dan set them up outside to deadlift int he yard, well that’s a game changer.

[Mark Rippetoe]

They are not porous, if that's your question. Nobody would buy them if they absorbed horse piss.

[Zoso]

I have them on my platform I built at home. They are high-quality and work well. I had scraps from the build that I turned into makeshift door mats outside and even those have not degraded in any way. Only caution since you are using these outside is to be careful if they are wet because they get a little slippery in that case.