Arena Surfaces

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bertie1652

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I am in the process of having an outdoor arena built and was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on which surface they have. the area we live is fairly windy so would need something that wouldn't blow away....or Freeze ,It would be used for mostly schooling/dressage. If you have any suggestions or advice i would be grateful

Thanks Sue
 
We have a sand base and about an inch of shredded rubber on top! Since all this bad weather and ice where we are (near loughborough) we have only had the school freeze twice, and even then it was still soft enough to ride on half of it and turn out in, just not jump. It is a great surface
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Hi, thanks for the quick reply!! is it large shreds of rubber you have?, the one we have been looking at is long thin strips, do you have to do much maintanence work with it? thanks again sue
 
I think rubber on top of sand is pretty good in that it doent freeze, takes alot to flood and shouldnt blow away.. however can get pricey. I once rode in a bark-type area which felt very nice and should have all good points about rubber, but cheaper pos, dont know much about it though.. And sand is always a nice inexpensive option, but obviously freezing would be a problem this time of year..

I'd recommend you dont put a membrane on your school though. it has been my experiance that the membrane actually prevents drainage to some extent. Presently we have no membrane on our sand school, and it has no puddles at all when the few nearby are pretty much covered.
 
if in the process of building think drainage, drains and more drains!!! no surface freezes its the water that gets trapped in the surface which freezes! i love my sand and rubber (on top of excellent drains) and havent lost it yet this winter even when snow on top!!! buy best quality silica sand (quality varies immensly) and top with fibre or rubber (depends where your run off goes to, your planning specification some rubber gives off toxic run off). level very regularly, try not to lunge, loose school or turnout in menage as they all wreck your surface!
 
as for paddington pony reply sand is not an inexpensive option! it will be your biggest (surface wise) and cheap sand will be too deep and unridable!! bark and wood chip retain moisture therfore will freeze and quickly rot down to garden mulch and is slippery and deep, but ok for a couple of years then you will have to scrape off dispose and resurface!
 
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I'd recommend you dont put a membrane on your school though. it has been my experiance that the membrane actually prevents drainage to some extent. Presently we have no membrane on our sand school, and it has no puddles at all when the few nearby are pretty much covered.

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Interesting point as I have had to remove the membrane (started to come up in places) from the school at my house (there when we bought house) and it continued to drain exceptionally well for 2 years then, disaster, waterlogged now most of winter. I assumed it must be because the sand, under the rubber, had gradually seeped through into the drains and blocked them up. Looks like I'll have to dig it up again, flush the drains, put down another membrane and put the surface back. Wish I'd replaced the membrane the first time.
 
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Hi, thanks for the quick reply!! is it large shreds of rubber you have?, the one we have been looking at is long thin strips, do you have to do much maintanence work with it? thanks again sue

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Large (as in wide), quite small peices, i will try to get a pic for you tomoro if you want! And no its just harrowed once/twice a week as is used by all the liverys and there are also a lot of ponies that have lessons in it, but it would depend on how much it is used. We probably have around 10 horses/poines using it a day most days
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Hi friends,
Our school copes with just about anything!! (Thanks to Clive Challenor from Cheshire).
We actually have 2 membranes, + we're on serious clay!! I think drainage is vital clue, as suggested by other forum friends. Our surface is silica sand underneath, rubber on top, + it's been very rideable (apart from when sand froze cos of extreme weather - obviously down to global warming?)
Hi oldred,
I totally sympathise with your problem. I worked in RC where 'hey, R*** has put our new school in'.....seemed to be a celebration...
Within a few months, the membrane was coming up, there were holes in the school...
Cowboy got short term payment, + very long term negative results.....
May i please recommend Clive Challenor?
And as ever, OfCourseYouCan talks sense. BS x
 
I have flexiride on my school. My school hasn't frozen once this winter. Amazing stuff. My fields have been frozen solid, but my school hasn't.

It looks like bits of rubber backed carpet shreds. Anyway, it is quite thermal and stops the sand freezing. I have 4 inches of sand topped with 2 inches of flexiride.

I also put a membrane down.
 
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It looks like bits of rubber backed carpet shreds. Anyway, it is quite thermal and stops the sand freezing. I have 4 inches of sand topped with 2 inches of flexiride.

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My outdoor school is just finished and I am having this kind of topping/binding agent put down. Can I ask what you use to level/maintain your school surface? I've looked at the mayfield leveler/roller but it's not cheap, but then the school isn't either!!
 
I use a heavy iron grader which i drag behind my 4x4.

I find the flexi ride doesn't track up much and is very low maintenance, which suits me!
 
I have a rubber and sand sandschool and bought a keep-a-level from the Internet - really good for keeping the sandschool in perfect condition. As you say they aren't cheap but you must maintain it or you won't have a warranty with it.
 
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