arena surface advice needed please

[Oldred]

I have a sand (well dirt really) surface and want to make it more useable for riding. I also use it for turning out the horses when its really wet in the field. So, does anybody have a good topping to their arena they could recommend. I was really interested in wood fibre. Has anyone tried it/know of any good suppliers? thanks in advance!

 

[AmyMay]

The school at my yard is just being re-done, and is also used for extended turnout for youngsters kept in the barn over winter.

The base is sand - and the top is rubber. The rubber has come from a company that specialises in shredding old tyers and was (in the huges scheme of things) relatively inexpensive I think. The sand was definately the most expensive part of the exercise.

 

[Oldred]

thanks amymay. I was a bit worried about rubber as I have a daft youngster who (6 going on 1 year old) who might just eat some! Or maybe I'm just neurotic?

 

[beaconhorse]

I agree sand is the most expensive part because you need so much of it. Wood fibre rots and goes slippery personally I hate ithttp://www.manchesterplastics.co.uk/products.htm The flexi fibre is fantastic stuff, even if you have an area that floods a little it is still useable. My horse is funny with surfaces that are heavy going but he loves this stuff.

If you are thinking of just putting something ontop of your dirt surface then do remember it will just sink in and disappear without a membrane

 

[Oldred]

Beaconhorse - thanks for comments on wood fibre - I can see how it would become slippery. I don't have a membrane so an expensive plastic or rubber could be a waste. I've just remembered about crushed shell although I know it stains white legs - guess what my two horses have 8 of!

 

[_jetset_]

We are having wood put on ours and it is not slippy at all if you get the right membrane with it. Last year there was only two days we couldn't use the school (it had thick snow on it), otherwise it never freezes!

Be careful getting rubber. There is a lot of controversy at the moment at in June 2006 it was classed as a toxic waste! I can get some more info on this if you like, our YO has just done a lot of research into arena surfaces because she was redoing ours... the rubber should never be in direct sunlight and can cause health problems. There was a post on here be redmarksman... have a look at that for some more info.

 

[icestationzebra]

If you are going for wood make sure you get the base and membranes spot on. Was at a yard where they had done it on the cheap and the surface was slippery and huge stones kept appearing on the surface where no membrane had been fitted. The worst school I have ever ridden in. Needless to say I left that yard!

 

[peterthepony]

At the yard where one of my horses is, they have a really nice school, which is sand underneath and rubber on top, very nice to ride in and horses tend to really go well in it aswell! x

 

[beaconhorse]

to be honest without a membrane ANYTHING you put down will be a waste of money as it will just get trodden into the the dirt and disappear. The surface I was telling you about is cheaper than rubber and in my opinion much better

 

[Oldred]

Tried to find 'redmarksman' post re rubber but no luck so far. I inherited the school here and had to take the whole membrane up as it was coming up all over the place and v dangerous. However, it does drain very well due to it being placed over the rubble of several old buildings. Thanks for info so far - any more comments very gratefully received.

 

[henryhorn]

The best option would be shredded rubber, which is what we have on our sand. it is around £85 a ton and works exceptionally well, I've lost count of the trainers who have now been here and sais this si the best surface they have ever seen that isn't gelled. ours is silica and Padstow sea sand with rubber mixed in.
You could use wood chip but we have tried that and it didn't work for us, eventually it sort of disappears as it breaks down.
There is also another type of rubber that are much bigger flatter pieces, that's working on a few local arenas and is cheaper than jackson' rubber. If you pm me I can give you the number of someone who is thrilled with hers.
for pics of ours under construction go to the archives on my blog, probably at least a year ago by date. www.henryhorn.blogspot.com

 

[red marksman]

Our YO is resurfacing our arena, and has unearthed alot of negative info regarding rubber in terms of the toxins it releases and that it has been banned from landfill sites. Woodfibre is far more environmentally friendly. I will find out the name of the company she is using- it uses hard softwood which breaks down very slowly, and has no foreign bodies in it because the company only uses new wood and not ground up pallets.
.Do not mix sand and woodfibre as the sand speeds up the break down process of the wood and also makes it more likely to freeze. PM me if you want the name of the company.

 

[Oldred]

Thanks henry horn. I can imagine rubber is the best bet for rideability etc. Its the worry of my horses spending the winter eating hay off it that puts me off. I had the flat bits of rubber at my last yard and it was brillant - springride I think it was called. I'll check out your blog. How long was it before your wood arena 'disappeared' and how did it ride - was it ever slippery?

 

[allijudd]

When we actually build our new arena (60x40), we will be using easi-ride. its a treated wood surface which takes years to rot. We are not laying a membrane because we are constructing the base layers the traditional way usning what was called basalt ( also known as crushed tarmac but it must be laid cold to maintain its porosity). if there is a problem on the surfae its easier to repair and it doesnt ride up if the membrane gets punctured.
Also check with your local planners as rubber can cause effluent run off and some are insisting on drainage going to a holding tank rather than being allowed to drain into the ground. best of luck.