Arena surfaces - sand & rubber v's combi

[cre8tivekid]

After many years planning and saving it finally looks like I will be able to move and have the horses at home, yay.

The new property does not have a menage so I am looking at having one constructed. I have only really got £25,000 to spend and need to put in the menage 20x40 and a couple of stables for that amount.

Prices seem to be around £20,000plus VAT for the menage alone and that is for sand and rubber.

I know that others on here have built their own cheaply but I really don't have the time to do this myself, as I need to be concentrating on work to pay the huge new mortgage!

So looking at getting a company in to do the build. (I am based near Woodbridge, Suffolk) any recommendations would be welcome.

I have also been looking at surfaces and am interested in how others get on with the sand and rubber, does it always make white legs go black? or is that just cheaper versions, and do you find that you have to water it a lot in the summer to prevent it being too deep?

I had a sample of the combi ride, and really liked it, seems to knit together better, but have been advised that in dry weather this really needs watering or else the fibre element kind of seperates from the sand. Do you get the same problems with legs getting black with this surface?

What other relatively budget surfaces have people got that they would recommend?

I am sure that I do not want a woodfibre menage.

Thanks

 

[flyingfeet]

Its very hard to beat decent silica sand and rubber

Mine is chopped up lorry tyres with more fabric on than normal, it does not stain the legs at all. It does not freeze, does not require watering and does not go dusty.

However it does require levelling more than a fibre mix, that said my arena was in a much better state than a martin collins surface after this dry spell!