I learned about a product for the equine market that flooring retailers, servicing industrial consumers, should add to their offerings. Those with customers in the business of caring for horses should know about an announcement made by a Santa Ana, California-based supplier of specialty mats. This supplier, Rubber-Cal, Inc., has released three (3) new rubber equine flooring mats, which were recently used for an episode of 'The Martha Stewart Show'.
The specialty rubber flooring mats, designed both for floor protection and equine comfort, mark Rubber-Cal’s foray into the equine market. The company believes that the economy’s continued recovery and increased disposal income will lead to changes in downstream demand for the animals and services this industry provides. According to the company, economic growth is likely to play a key role in stimulating demand in downstream industries, as will participation levels in equestrian sports.
The company reported that the Horse and American culture are deeply intertwined. They are essentially an industry unto themselves. According to the American Horse Council, there are 9.2 million horses in the US and 4.6 million people are involved in the horse industry. A further 2 million people personally own one or more horses. It is an industry with an annual value of $39 billion.
Rubber-Cal is a purveyor of commercial rubber products such as gym mats, kennel flooring, and playground surfacing. Equine mats would extend the company’s core competency of bringing to market affordable and durable rubber flooring for the equine market. These stall mats were featured on a recent episode of The Martha Stewart Show.
The reason why these horse mats were used in this episode of The Martha Stewart Show was because of the show’s focus on highlighting the historical connection that the nation of Iceland has with horses. Horses featured prominently on the episode, with Martha riding in on an Icelandic pony. It made for a good show, but the producers needed a way to protect their stage floor so that it could accommodate as well as comfort the horses. An Icelandic pony is fairly heavy and its weight could have damaged the bare wooden flooring of the stage. With the proper equestrian mats in place, Martha rode in on the horse without causing any damage to the stage flooring.
In addition to a vast line of price competitive floor protection products that have served the industry well, Rubber-Cal offers rubber flooring that is specifically meant for use with horses in their stables. A lot of Rubber-Cal’s rubber flooring products are meant to relieve tension on human feet. The same concept applies here with equine.
“Some of our clients are horse owners and they care very much about their comfort,” says Josh Krueger, Rubber-Cal’s sales manager, “For example, the rubber material in our “Equine-Flex” horse mats is designed with a pebble-top finish so that it offers traction for the horse, even if the floor is wet. The US market is full of horse stall mats that are unrefined blocks of rubber. Our equine mats offer drainage channels, comfortable surface textures, and are made from vulcanized natural and reclaimed rubbers. This aids in offering a comfortable, clean surface for the animal.”
That sentiment clearly resonates with Martha, who is well known as an animal lover. She wanted to bring the Icelandic horses onstage with her to show her audience their beauty, but she wanted the horses to remain comfortable during the show.
Based in Santa Ana in southern California, Rubber-Cal is in a unique position to distribute horse stall flooring products. Greg Yoon, a senior sales manager at Rubber-Cal, explains: “Our focus is the Southwest region of the country. There are a lot of horse owners across California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. The horse industry is big in this part of this country and we aim to provide them with the best equine mats available.”
About Rubber-Cal
Rubber-Cal Inc. is a rubber flooring and industrial sheet rubber company whose brands include RubberCal.com, Ducting.com, FloorMatCompany.com, and CoirMat.com. Since 1994, the company has prided itself on its “living brand” products, products that evolve with the needs of consumers. In addition to the appearance of their products on The Martha Stewart Show, they have also been showcased on The Biggest Loser, Extreme Makeover, and WWE’s Tough Enough.
