Jumping on a sand and rubber surface?

[emmaln]

Hi all,

Our YO has just finished installing new stables and a new sand and rubber outdoor school, she is very lovely but not hugely knowledgable about horses and the industry in general. We are due to be moving over from old block (that she currently rents from another farmer) this weekend and our DIY livery bill will be going up by £30 per owner which is understandable as facilities will be much improved however there are a few issues that will mean we have to compromise what we have been used to doing.

One of these issues is that someone has told her that jumping will ruin the surface of the school and so she has said that it is only to be used for flat work, we are only a yard of riding club level DIY'ers but 3 of us event and others do a bit of jumping for fun!

I am basically after your experiences of how your outdoor sand/rubber arenas have held up when used for jumping so that I can use gentle persuasion rather than going in all guns blazing like a few others are planning!!

Thank you in advance

Em x

 

[Bettyboo1976]

Our arena is sand & rubber we old proper sj events and dressage events on it. It's fab for jumping on (we have 3 schools and 2 are sand& rubber. When first put down it's quite bouncy /fluffy but once settled ts ace. We are a big yard and it holds up great infact it's pretty much 24/7 riding on it unless it's covered in snow even in frosty days it's great to ride on

 

[Jackson]

There's a sand/rubber school where I'm on livery which is regularly jumped on (infact possibly daily!) and it's definitely not damaged it, although it does get churned up and needs flattening out regularly, but it would need this even if it wasn't jumped on..

 

[ofcourseyoucan]

mine is sand and rubber. used for lunging, jumping,loose jumping and flat work. works well. a new school may take a little time to settle, and probably needs some rain on it to settle it. when i first built mine the maker advised not to lunge on it for a few weeks. mines been down 14 yrs now. do make sure that the manege is regularly levelled and maintained. good luck persuading owner its ok to jump in.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

I'm afraid your YO has been listening to old wives tales, bless her. You won't ruin a sand & rubber surface by jumping on it, you will however need to give it time & some good old British weather on it to help it bed in.

My daughter jumps at Foxhunter level & schools on a sand & rubber surface at our yard. The surface easily stands up to it but after a good session it will probably need levelling. Her trainer, who is a BS trainer & has show jumped for Great Britain also has a sand & rubber surface at her yard. Her surface is constantly used for jumping & there is no problem at all.

I can understand your YO being a little concerned because she's spent a fortune & doesn't what it all wasted but in reality there will be no problem. Good Luck

 

[Spotsrock]

That's what it's for! Talk to her nicely. I'd be pretty unhappy paying more to be able to do less with my horse.

 

[emmaln]

Thanks all, my thoughts exactly! Totally understand that she wants to preserve her investment but with our bill going up I feel we should be able to do what we want with our horses we aren't a big yard after all! Think I will suggest that if we jump we have to level after, hopefully that will help!

Thankies! X

 

[Shay]

It isn't jumping on it that will ruin it. It is not maintaining it! Whatever you do on a surfaced school it needs to be harrowed regularly. IMO only doing flatwork in it will create a track around the outside far faster than jumping where you move around more of the area. You might need to move the jumps from time to time so you don't over compact one area. But if she is harrowing the school as often as she chould be then the jumps will get moved anyway.

 

[MrsMozart]

Ditto the others! Its lovely to jump on and jumping will not harm it, however not letting it and helping it bed in properly, and not maintaining it properly will damage it.

Whoever supplied the school/mix should provide her with the aftercare information she needs to keep it tiptop