University of Tennesse
Knoxville, TN – Padenpor DLX and Regupol Rubber Pavers Equine Flooring
Overview
The University of Tennessee’s College of Veterinary Medicine is one of the preeminent Equine veterinary medical centers and facilities in the country. Their original veterinary medical center encompassed a massive 85,000+ square-feet, making it large enough to offer a variety of services. With the new expansion being completed in February of 2013, University of Tennessee medical students have access to numerous pieces of new equipment. For starters, the new addition of the veterinary medical center includes an isolation ward, intensive care unit including dedicated neonatal (or foal) ICU stalls, and four surgical theaters. The renovation also includes an advanced diagnostic imaging center offering spiral CT, Nuclear Medicine and MRI. The EPRC houses an arena, in-ground underwater treadmill, free walker, cold saltwater hydrotherapy unit, solarium, and podiatry center.
Abacus Sports Installations Ltd. began its relationship with UT Vet Med Center back in the early 2000’s when we installed a small Padenpor floor in a 1,500 square foot area. Since then, Abacus has gone back down to Tennessee on several more occasions. In 2009 we made the trip down to install our Padenpor Equine flooring throughout their entire existing facility. They were very pleased with the job we did, even to the point of having Abacus come back down in 2012/13 to install all of the flooring in their brand new $20.9 million addition. To date, we have installed over 25,000ft2 of Padenpor DLX equine flooring in their facility.
Installation
This installation included 6” cove bases, which means the polyurethane on the floor extends six inches up the base of the walls. By doing this, the handlers can now clean the floors efficiently and with ease. The DLX version of Padenpor has small pieces of grit in its surface to offer improved traction for the horses and Vets, even when the floor is wet.
This new 32,000 square-foot veterinary medical center and facility specializes in equine medicine and rehabilitation, but they also treat and operate on bovine, small ruminant and swine, and camelids as well. They have specialized stalls for each species for maximum animal protection. With improved shock absorption and resiliency, the rehabilitation qualities of these floors are excellent. The animal’s joints and bones feel a slighter impact from walking or running than they would on other floor surfaces.
We also installed a nearly 5,000ft2 walkway section with rubber pavers. The interlocking pavers could be installed dry, with no adhesive holding them down. The reason they can be installed this way is due to the friction they create with their neighboring pavers when locked into place. The 13/4” pavers have enough surface area on their sides to obtain a secure and tight fit when laid correctly with the rest of the pavers. They provide a comfortable and safe surface for sick or injured horses to walk on from their trailers into the veterinary medical center.