Mud!!

[baylottie1984]

I have my two horses out all year round. They have use of a field shelter but it has got sooo muddy at the entrance. Does anyone have any tips? Has anyone tried those grassmats? I wanted to put woodchip down but I cant get a 4x4 and trailer on the field now as the ground is boggy.

Cheers

 

[Clava]

Woodchip will turn into a lovely soggy mulch! You need decent hardcore topped with chippings.

 

[baylottie1984]

Sounds like a good idea. May have to do that in Spring when i can get the 4x4 on field. Thanks

 

[jumpingjasper]

We use woodchip. Its all we are alowed to use. has to be atlest half a foot deep and idealy held in place by a wood barrier in ground so that woodhip doesnt mix with mud. ideally we would put road chippings down but not alowed so have to make do best we can.

 

[MillionDollar]

You'll definitely need to wait until Summer now to do anything. Don't bother with mats, they just sink. Instead hardcore and then road plainings on top

 

[jumpingjasper]

Also to add if u do anything now you need to dig the mud away first. which is what i have had to do last few weeks!.... Fun.... not!!!

 

[Puzzles]

When desperate, we put down the mouldy/wet clumps of our haystack in the muddy bits - it definitely helps somewhat, I have no idea how but it does! The ground is just less boggy and more spongey

 

[Coop]

We started doing a hardstanding area earlier this summer-never got the second layer of planings down.
In the meantime we have laid an area of grass mats down, 16 to be precise over the first layer of rubble, with a bag of ballast to fill the rocks in under each mat (cheaper if you but 10!)
I have cable tied most of them together and it appears to be holding up ok for the two boys to have their morning haynets on, tied on to posts.

Last year the mats were straight on the mud, no problem. This year I am not sure they would work straight onto the ground without something on first.

I have ordered several mats and have more on the way as I feel they will still be needed over the planings especially for the unshod horse. They are very grippy at all times, and safe.
I brought a load from endurance mats on ebay, cheapest I found (21.99), although equimats are doing a deal on their own website for £19.99 and the postage has only come to £5.99, seems to good to be true. I have 24 mats on the way, 12 from equimat and 12 from ark rubber off ebay who offered to dispatch tomorrow for delivery friday, express was only available if you get 12.
The mats are a sod to rake to get poo off, but thats the only downside!