Menage/ School surfaces - Ransfords???

[Bay_Beasty]

Hi

I am in the process of topping up my school with wood chip. Not going for

the sand rubber surface due to the dilemma with the end of life disposal

as rubber is effectively toxic waste!!!! I have found this really lovely

company called 'Ransford' that sell wood chip, which is what we had

before and I was just wandering if there was anyone out there who has

delt with this company and can tell me how they feel about their

surface?

They have sent me a bunch of letters saying how good they are but I

want to also get a view from the ones they may not have sent me, if

there are any???

Thanks for all you help!!!!

 

[spike123]

we have a woodchip surface in the school.I was very wary of it first off because alot of people had told me that it could get deep and be slippery but we have had no problems with it.We do however have a good drainage underneath it and it is regularly harrowed.

 

[Booboos]

I hve used them for surfaces like tracks around the yard and their product is great. Like every natural product you will need to top it up every few years but it's very economical. They are also very helpful and deliver exactly when they said they would.

Having said that, and this has nothing to do with this particular company, I had a sand and woodchip arena and it was lethal. It was very slippery and I had horses nearly go over trying to canter a 20m circle. I believe it is better if you only have woodchip, rather than a mix. If you are familiar with how it rides and it works for you fair enough, if not it might be worth finding someone who has it to try it out.

 

[ermintrudecow]

i would imagine woodchip from them is much the same as from any other company. i have woodchip at the moment and can't wait to change it, it does get slippery when wet (not the great bon jovi album!

) and it breaks down quickly so i have to keep topping it up every couple of years. i had a ball park figure of £6-7k from martin collins for their sand and .... just going to check spelling of this......... clopf fibre. apparently it is very good at keeping the surface firm, which i am all for, but i will need to water it which might be an issue in the summer, i'm going to go and check it out. but it is the cheapest non woodchip option, which can only be a good thing!

 

[Booboos]

For what it's worth not all woodchips are the same. Some are not guarranteed metal free which can be a disaster, and they biodegrade at different rates which can be a lot more costly. In my experience Ransfords last a good long time before it needs topping up (3 years we found with our but it was on a path that saw foot traffic, horses and very little car traffic).

BTW I can't believe that Martin Collins quote!!! Bite their hand off and take the sand!! They are (usually) one of the most expenssive in the market. I was quoted £30,000 for the surface alone two years ago (for a 20x40, nothing extra-ordinary and delivery to the Midlands). Might be worth double checking the quote is for the sand AND clopf not just the clopf.

 

[Bay_Beasty]

Thanks for all the post - we have had the old surface 5-6 years (i think)

and it was the stuff covered in cca, the stuff that is now illegal. I think it

was called tannelised wood. Any way they said it would last 5 - 10 years.

We have a correct menage with all the draining, a layer of sand below the

wood chip, which now unfortunately has mixed together. I am going to go

ahead with the order as it was a very reasonable quote and I am the

only person who really uses the school around 3/4 times a week for

flat only with very occasional jumping as I do most of my practice over

with my teacher for this. Thanks for all the help, its nice to get some

opinions direct from the horses mouth as they say, and hopefully the

surface will last another 5 years ;-)

 

[ermintrudecow]

[ QUOTE ]
For what it's worth not all woodchips are the same. Some are not guarranteed metal free which can be a disaster, and they biodegrade at different rates which can be a lot more costly. In my experience Ransfords last a good long time before it needs topping up (3 years we found with our but it was on a path that saw foot traffic, horses and very little car traffic).

BTW I can't believe that Martin Collins quote!!! Bite their hand off and take the sand!! They are (usually) one of the most expenssive in the market. I was quoted £30,000 for the surface alone two years ago (for a 20x40, nothing extra-ordinary and delivery to the Midlands). Might be worth double checking the quote is for the sand AND clopf not just the clopf.

[/ QUOTE ]

It actually came in at £7900 plus VAT, a bit more than the ball-park figure, but as access is difficult they have to deliver in small trucks. Been to see a few arenas that have this sand and Clopf and really amazed by how good it is - especially for the cost! Going to their event at Addington on Sunday so will try and have another chat to them about it, but def. think i will go for it.