Arena surface advice

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soloequestrian

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I'd really like some advice on what surface to go for - good and bad experiences would be very useful!
We're in the middle of building a 20 x 40 arena, so I'm looking at surface options. Wood fibre seems to be the cheapest, but I'm put off by many reports of horses slipping and having had bad experiences with wood-surfaced arenas in the past (though they probably weren't very good quality).
I'm swaying towards silica sand with fibre (like 'Clopf' or similar), but today I was talking to someone who recommended having silica sand + fibre + rubber. I've also talked to the Trackright people who's product seems to be made up of different particle sizes. I read on a previous post on here that someone had used a mix of silica sand and sea sand (not sure what sea sand is like) which worked well. I'm now wondering if a mix of builders sand and silica sand would work - keep costs down and give a mix of different particle sizes to improve stability? Has anyone tried anything like this?
Thanks!
 
Don't skimp on the type of sand... our old school at our old house was part builders sand and it was poor draining and dyed the horses legs, beach sand is too fine and round and won't settle to a stable surface.

For rubber I recommend Cardiff Recycling, they are one of the cheapest BUT it rides really well, we bought someone elses excess Springride which covered 2/3rds of the arena and then bougt fromCardiff Recycling and it ride better on that part than the Springride! lol
 
Thanks for this.
Teffy, do you know what was mixed with the builder sand?
Another thing that has been mentioned to me is that people who've used the recommended double membrane (one between ground and hardcore, the other between hardcore and surface) have had problems with the surface slipping on the top membrane. Any thoughts on that anyone?
 
i would always have a membrane (woven geotextile) between stone drainage base and surface.
go for the best sand you can. make sure you specify "equestrian sand", that you have done a jam-jar test (literally, stick an inch or so of the sand in a jam-jar, top up with water, put lid on, shake, leave to settle. any mud, sediment, grit will settle on top of the sand, showing how clean the sample is.) free easy test and SO informative. i ditched one type of sand because it was 1/3 sediment, but this wasn't apparent until i did the test.
check the first lorryload delivered very carefully against your sample. it might not be the same...
i'd beware of fibre additives. a friend has a recently-build (by professional) surface of equestrian sand + turffloat and it is very uneven and almost unrideable-on. since having it done she has heard of at least 2 others with the same problem. however, i've ridden on a sand +fibre arena that was perfect.
i have sand + springride rubber and really rate it.
 
We have silica sand, rubber and Clopf, it does need regular maintenance to keep the going consistent but we use it a lot.

In terms of value for money - it was much cheaper than a waxed surface but more expensive that woodchip.

One things that can affect the ride is the sub-base this needs to be level and flat in order for a surface to 'bed down' Get this right first - we had a nightmare when we first laid ours and ended up having to take up the surface and relay the sub base before relaying the surface.
 
Don't use Builders Sand - it's very abrasive and can make horses un-level
Our Arena was built about 9 years ago by Trackright.
The construction was brilliant - into a hillside, limestone base and membrane. The surface has put up with some extreme weather over the years, however the mixure does break down over time making it dusty in the summer - not nice to be standing down wind of it, and i'm sure not healthy either.
It's also a slightly firmer ride, but the horses went really well on it.
We had severe flooding at the beginning of this year and ended up losing the top end. To repair it, the remaining trackright surface was levelled and Silica Sand and rubber put over the top.
It rides brilliantly and holds the moisture for longer than the previous surface.
Rubber and Silica all the way would be our preference..... KLH Arena's did our repair and as it turned out, the original groundworks too.
 
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Thanks for this.
Teffy, do you know what was mixed with the builder sand?
Another thing that has been mentioned to me is that people who've used the recommended double membrane (one between ground and hardcore, the other between hardcore and surface) have had problems with the surface slipping on the top membrane. Any thoughts on that anyone?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know the mix as it was already there when we moved in but it was awful to ride on!

I used the best equestrian sand I could afford.

We have 2 membranes.... so far so good!
 
Once again, thanks for all of this info!
My husband suggested that we might put down a couple of inches of sharp sand (different to builders sand which I didn't know) before putting down the proper riding surface. He reckons it will stay put at the bottom as it's heavy and compacts and would both protect the membrane and stop any possibility of slippage of the riding surface. Again, any thoughts?
 
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