Do road planings make a good hard surface for horses?

[Meowy Catkin]

As above.

 

[lurcher98]

The farmer put road plannings in our gateway when we moved in a few months ago and so far it's holding up

 

[Gilbey]

Yes they do if they are rolled down well. We have had a road made with them into our yard and they are fab.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Thanks, that's a good start.

Has anyone had them for longer?

ETA. Gilbey - how long has the road been there?

 

[lizziebell]

I have heard they are good, although we are getting some type 1 limestone put down to replace our gravel yard, as recommended by our groundworks man as it drains well.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I need to sort the area around the hay feeder out.

I was thinking about a concrete pad for the feeder itself, that is big enough for the horses to stand on too. Then an area of planings around that because the hay feeder is at the bottom of the hill (can't be moved) and it gets pretty muddy around it. There is a layer of hardcore down on the area but mud has been trampled on top of it. The mud would need to be scraped off before any concrete/planings are put down.

 

[ElaineD]

I would recommend them but ask for the finer ones for horses otherwise you could end up with a lorry load of lumps. We used them with rubble and stone when we made the arena as base and in our field gateways and we have a long drive so thats done in planings too. I am lucky as my husband works in resurfacing so we get them discounted but we have found them great.

 

[ScratchyMooMoo]

We've had ours down all around the farm for about 8 years, they are really good! I use to work for Tarmac & we'd sell them to farmers when we had a new road project coming up and needed to get rid of them. Once compacted the bitumen in the plannings will hold everything together, so they perfect for creating a really good hardstanding. You just need to make sure that the surface underneath is solid so they don't sink, but once they've been down for a while they will bond back together as they contain bitumen. They do still drain really well though too, because some of the gaps will remain in the base once it's knitted together. It's a bit like using a sub base material but better because of the bitumen sticking everything together.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

OK, so I definitely need to scrape the mud off to take the area back to the hardcore.

Thanks everyone.

 

[indie999]

Yes we had it down the field via local farmer and by the time he drove back and forwards with tractor nice surface. Really cheap way to get a surface...still in same place and its about 8 years down. No problem.

 

[JanetGeorge]

If properly installed on a good surface (and preferably with a membrane) they pack down well and stand up to quite a lot. BUT - if you're on heavy clay - and you skimp on preparation they will disappear pretty quickly in a heavy traffic area!!