Arena help please (also in comp. riders)

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KatieLovesJames

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Hi all,
We will hopefully soon be starting to build a new arena (subject to planning) and I was hoping someone will be able to advise which size they think is best, we were thinking 60x30 or 55x35 ?
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We are going to try to do as much of as possible ourselves so any tips and advise about how to get it right, where to source products and save money much appreciated !
Also surface recommendations please ?! We want to use rubber of some sort
Free ride on it to anyone who got this far !
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we decided on a 60 x 40 with a wood fibre surface(planning regs etc etc ) and we are doing all the work ourselves...

we got lots of quotes and plans from various sources to deciode what to do and the plan...feel free to pm me for more details...
 
Hi,
We are hoping to do it for 30k (not including fencing, maybe that is a little optimistic ? I am hoping to get an idea of how much we can save and on what from other peeps on here. Watch this space !
 
I have had my menage for about 10 years. When constructed we used silica sand and plastic granuals eventually we had to top this up and now we just have fibre sand and I like that as it does not move. I have a big 17.2 warmblood whom I ride in there two to three times a week. Make sure your drainage underneath is good and you have a good membrane. I could ask my husband more details if necessary and pm them to you. He built it from start to finish. I even have a leveller which he made. He is an agricultural engineer - Farmer! Also I have 10 liveries so our menage is used regularly. I would suggest also you ride on a few surfaces before you make your mind up - earlier this year I was thinking of adding a top up of rubber but having looked at it on a few surfaces i was not convinced about it. I am really please with this fibre sand the only thing when you have to do some work by hand on it, it breaks your back. But saying all of this I have not had one day this winter and all the ten winters we have had a menage when I could not ride in there. ps it is 20 x 40 and I wish it was bigger - then my horse is rather large!
 
Hi, Yes thanks for that I am going to have a look at this sand and fibre stuff, like chopped fabric I think ?
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instead of the chopped rubber. Think I'll be investing in some harrows it breaks my back just mucking out let alone digging the arena !!
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20x60, silica sand and rubber for £10,000 (with a difficult site and about £1,000 spent on diggers to move everything to the site), but three of us worked like hell on it and it was back breaking (it was also 3 years ago when hardcore and transport prices were lower)
 
WOW £10k if we could do it for double I'll be pleased,
can you remember where you got hardcore from ? Should I try a quarry ?
How thick should the base be ?
Sorry for all the questions !! Anyone ....
 
For the hardcore I called every quarry in the Yellow Pages, got quotes and then called the best ones back and worked them down against each other. By using local quarries you cut down on transport costs as well.

For the sand, again I called quarries directly, but of course you have to be more careful as you need sand suitable for equestrian use. I talked to them about it for ages, got samples and then for the three that looked most promising I went to check out actual arenas and talk to previous customers. Then I called back my chosen quarry and talked the price down!

For the digger, you have to make sure the driver really, really knows what they are doing, because he has to get it all level with a small drop for drainage. We asked around and found a specific guy who had done a lot of arenas, who did a great job.

This all took a few weeks to set up, but it is such a huge investment you need to make sure you are getting the right stuff before you buy otherwise you could be throwing away money.
 
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