arena surfaces

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LMR

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I am looking into doing an outdoor arena at my house. I have absolutely no idea where to start so some advice would be much appreciated. My dad does own a building company so I was thinking he could do all the works then just buy a surface. What is the best surface for an outdoor school that is reasonably priced.
 
I put in a cushionride suface at my old yard but I would not do it again. I know it works for some but for me I found it slippery and over loose/deep - I had good drainage and it was well laid and compacted but it easily dug up if a horse had a "moment". The good point though was that whilst most arenas in the area were frozen solid I could still use mine, it would get a little hard on the surface but if I ran the harrow over it for 5 mins it was fine to ride on. It was cheap but if I did it again I would spend the extra and go for a sand and rubber surface.
 
Sand and rubber is the most widely used surface and has been around the longest. Make sure you get the correct sand, contact Martin Collins they are usually the cheapest for sand and its guaranteed to be the right sand for the job. Then you need to decide what sort of ruber (if that's what you are going for). Ask around a lot and do plenty of research, there are a lot of people on here who have built their own schools and I am sure they will help you. We got our rubber from an advert in our local freeby horse magazine, it was £50 a ton.
 
I agree, the arenas I use are sand & rubber surfaces. It's a good idea when it's first laid to get it harrowed in as much as possible so the two bind together. In the winter if you keep it levelled although the sand may freeze the rubber keeps it's spring & I've NEVER not been able to use it. (I run shows so need this reliability.)

The most important part is the underneath, so make sure your Dad does a very good drainage system job otherwise it makes no difference what is on top, it won't be any good.:):)
 
The yard I am on has sand and rubber. They got the white sand (silica???) and rubber chips (not as slippy) and it was great for a while but then became very deep in the summer. It was looked after and levelled regular and as not many liveries, had minmal use. They added more rubber and it was great. A couple of years later, it is starting to get deep again. It never gets wet though as they put loads and loads of drains in it.
 
How lucky are you!!! Your dad should easily be able to do this for you and he will have great contacts for materials. Sand and rubber is a very good and economical surface, but it all depends on the sand. You need angular, silica sand, the smaller the better, e.g. 0.25 grains.

Here is what we did, but you can also find a lot of info online, e.g. at Jackson Arenas

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=444581&highlight=arena
 
I'm looking into surfaces at the moment too. Mine is woodchip and is terrible. So slippy and loose. Just been quoted £11k for sand and rubber! Much more than I thought so looks like it'll just be the sand meantime :)
 
Ilovefoals said:
I'm looking into surfaces at the moment too. Mine is woodchip and is terrible. So slippy and loose. Just been quoted £11k for sand and rubber! Much more than I thought so looks like it'll just be the sand meantime :)
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Try calling around your local quarries and getting quotes directly. As long as you do a bit of research on the type of sand and make sure it's suitable for equestrian surfaces (i.e. angular and small) you should be able to get a better deal. Also call around haulage companies and see if you can get a better deal on transport yourself.

Same with rubber, loads of companies do that now, just make sure it's metal free.
 
If your dad does the groundworks, you can invest in a better quality surface than if your budget involved paying for the actual construction. I recommend a sand and fibre surface. Mine is silica sand with a mixture of rubber (more crumb than chip) and fibres which has worked beautifully since 2003. I can PM you the supplier and that of another company who I also rate highly, neither of which I have any 'interest' in! Go for at least 20m x 40m and planning permission is a necessary evil I'm afraid.
 
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