Mainland aggregates...anyone used their arena surfaces?

catembi

catembi

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They are 8 miles away, so it’s tempting to use them: https://www.mainlandaggregates.co.uk/equestrian-surfaces.html

Fibresand...yea or nay? I was keen on rubber til I rode on one regularly and everything ended up coated in black...

Has anyone got an opinion on surfaces to use or avoid? Reading through old posts on here, it seems that companies/products that one person loves, another hates...

My first car crash arena is here: www.cheapmanege.weebly.com, and I am keen to avoid a similar disaster! Thank you!
 
Work had a Fibresand arena for 15 years. It did eventually flood, but the surface remained usable even when waterlogged, as in it was never deep.

It did freeze quite quickly.

Also, the fibre comes separated from the sand. It would look like a colony of little bunnies in the corners, which would scuttle across the surface when the wind blew.

However, it was a stack better than the supposedly better Combi ride that it was replaced with. That was an absolute car crash of deep going that sucked my shoes off!

At home I have sand and rubber. I like this one the best. Does not freeze easily. After a season or two it does not stain either. Mine has a touch of black ash, that does stain a bit, but means it is never deep.

The Fibresand that did work OK was from Mansfield Sand. I think they did the whole instillation.
 
Don't use combi-ride. I have it, friend has it, it has disappeared on both and I have read the same on this forum of at least one other user.

I do, however, really rate fibre for preventing surface shift under foot in dry weather and avoiding the need to level. When the combi-ride disappeared, I started using sheep wool bits in each footprint after riding and in loose areas. That also breaks down, very slowly, but the advantage is that it was free! I haven't done anything to my arena but kick in the sides for over two years.

If you buy fibre, make sure it is 100% synthetic, or it will disappear in time.
 
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I bought rubber chip from mainland, 2inches over 4inches of silica sand which wasn’t from them. (Can’t remember why now!) it never floods, (I did go a bit OTT with the drainage!) it never freezes and doesn’t turn legs black. I have one cob with four white feathers and one warmblood with a white sock and they are never black after riding. Only commented yesterday as I took the warmblood out and rode on a rubber surface elsewhere and his white sock matched his other leg! Most annoying! No experience of fibresand though.
 
Oh, thank you Cla85 - v v helpful re rubber. It never occurred to me that rubber could be dirty til Trev was liveried somewhere with a rubber surface & OMG the mess! All over his legs, which transferred to my hands/gloves when I did his feet, on my boots which then transferred to the car... It was as if it was coated in coal dust!

What do you do to maintain your arena? Do you have to harrow? If so, what sort of harrow? I have only had woodchip before.
 
Ugh, how yucky! I cannot imagine having everything blackened all the time! One grubby sock has annoyed me enough after yesterday!

I do harrow my arena, although probably not as often as I should! Ive a little quad bike and an old zig-zag seed harrow which I turn upside down and pull behind the quad on two bits of rope! Not exactly what they recommend, but I needed something after I built the arena, had one lying around and thought I’d use it as a temporary thing and it does such a good job I never bothered buying anything specific! Cheapskate I am! It goes right up to the boards and is beautifully level.
 
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