All weather turnout: Who loves theirs?

[brightlights]

Hi folks,

Weather is almost certainly going to turn soon (noooo, but what a September!) and here I am, still confused about my all weather paddock situation for the winter.

I have a small run in shed arriving in a couple weeks and would like to weatherize a smallish area around it. Maybe 10m x 20m or 20 x 20. That area is currently half bare and half weed covered and slippery at the slightest rain. So we’ll strip the top layer off and then... ?

Wondering if anyone here is in love with their all weather choice? I’ve been perusing threads but can’t seem to find anything definitive. I also can’t justify spending the 15k we were quoted locally by a surface installer 🤯

I’m prepared to add drainage, hardcore, and membrane. Would rather avoid sand since I’ll be feeding out there. I’ve thought about woodchip, treebark, tyre rubber, and carpet fiber. Separately, that is. Can’t seem to get past “slippery” treebark, “not very clean” tyre rubber, and “dusty” carpet fiber. What would you choose?

 

[Fanatical]

I am hoping to do something similar at some point - I am planning to do the larger area in road planeings and a smaller area in sand. The sand area so they can have a roll and the hard core area where they can have their haylage - both being accessible to the shelter.

 

[JillA]

Not in a turn out area but I have shredded carpet in may arena and it isn't dusty. The footing is good (with stone base and drainage) so I could recommend over wood chip (rots to mulch). The only drawback with anything other than a solid surface is every time you poo pick you remove a bit of it, and it can spread on feet. I also have planings in the yard and the same applies about poo picking.

 

[SEL]

A friend's yard did bark chippings but they only lasted one winter. They looked lovely when I saw it all newly laid before winter but apparently it turned to mush (compost I guess!) over the winter.

They've gone for sand now and feed stations where the hay gets put.

 

[kathantoinette]

I’ve got silica sand on mine. Did start off with just stone but it blunted their shoes and they didn’t roll on the surface. Then put some cheap quarry sand on which was ok for a year or two then got very wet and boggy so stripped that off and replaced with silica sand which drains better and is clean. OH builds arenas etc. So I’m fortunate he sorted it out for me. Your price sounds expensive for the size of the area. Which part of the country are you in?

 

[meleeka]

I’m about to have an area covered with planings. It’s going to be dug out a bit first and quite a thick layer so hopefully will be ok. It will follow on from the yard area and will only be for overnight and really wet days.

 

[Polos Mum]

I would think sand or road plannings (they are cheap if the council is doing stuff locally) with then a concrete pad for hay or even all three - sand rolling area, mostly plannings then concrete slab for hay

I don't find carpet (the expensive horse kind - not the cheap knock off kind) dusty at all but collecting poos out of the school is a nightmare (really only properly done by hand with rubber gloves on or you throw a tonne of it away stuck to the poos) which would make it totally unsuitable for a turn out area.

 

[JillA]

Anyone used rubber matting? I have a couple of high traffic areas after reorganising my paddocks so pondering them on top of waste hay (I find hay doesn't rot as quickly as some other stuff)

 

[hopscotch bandit]

Hi folks,

Weather is almost certainly going to turn soon (noooo, but what a September!) and here I am, still confused about my all weather paddock situation for the winter.

I have a small run in shed arriving in a couple weeks and would like to weatherize a smallish area around it. Maybe 10m x 20m or 20 x 20. That area is currently half bare and half weed covered and slippery at the slightest rain. So we’ll strip the top layer off and then... ?

Wondering if anyone here is in love with their all weather choice? I’ve been perusing threads but can’t seem to find anything definitive. I also can’t justify spending the 15k we were quoted locally by a surface installer 🤯

I’m prepared to add drainage, hardcore, and membrane. Would rather avoid sand since I’ll be feeding out there. I’ve thought about woodchip, treebark, tyre rubber, and carpet fiber. Separately, that is. Can’t seem to get past “slippery” treebark, “not very clean” tyre rubber, and “dusty” carpet fiber. What would you choose?

I moved yards and ours were turned out into a sandpit for a few hours a day as there weren't many livery horses. I guess we could have split the area if we'd wanted for more horses to go out at the same time but we never bothered.