Muddy gateways - solutions?

S

Shilasdair

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Hi all
Just wondering if you have found any solutions to the muddy gateway problem? 'My' field at the livery yard tends to get muddy round the gateway, where my horses wait for their neglectful owner to turn up, :D and I'm keen to avoid mud fever.
I've thought of carpet, rubber field mats or bark chippings, and would welcome any thoughts.
S :biggrin3:
 
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I had rubber matting (the mesh type) put down in my main yard to field gateway last autumn and although they were not brilliant for the first winter (the ground had got so muddy and deep), we doubled up the first row and they did stop it getting worse. We levelled them off in the spring and now the grass has grown through it seems really stable. My horses don't stand on them though, just walk across them, as it's not the entrance to the field they are in. We had the mud problem because the run off from the yard was by the gateway. Hope that helps a bit.
 
Can you get a hold of some old railway sleepers?? These concrete sleepers make for very good standing around the gates. My OH has been laying these at his gateways over the last couple of years and they do the job very well indeed. No poached areas now at all!

It's a digging and laying job initially, but in my eyes well worth it :)
 
Whats the surface underneath? Makes a big difference.

We have boggy clay ground. We have tried most methods! We put woodchippings down, which worked for about a week, then turned into a sinking sand type bog that trapped my 8yr old stepson! We had to rescue him, then go back and find his wellies!

We tried field mats, which worked a tiny bit on our dryer summer field, but we put a piece of stable matting down next to it which has been way better. This would work on a medium muddy gateway (ie, only churns to fetlock depth and dries out in good weather).

We knocked a wall down in a house (think 12' length) and barrowed the rubble down to another gateway. We made a 10'x6' island at the gateway (in a pretty muddy field that gets to nearly hock depth if a wet winter and if horses mooching round at the gate all the time). This was put down two winters ago, and worked pretty well, but it is gradually sinking! It was probably about a foot deep initially.

Where we built the stables, we created a hardcore turnout area. Rough but clean hardcore was tipped first, to a depth of about 3', then road planings were tipped on top to smooth it out. This has been superb for three winters so far, and extends to one field (slopes down into the field).

Concrete is much more visible to planners, and gets slippy/icy, but would work well.

Whatever you choose, you need a lot more than you think. You need to create an island around the gate and fence to each side, big enough for a few horses to stand on while they wait to come in. The more area it has, the more routes off it into the field, so there is not an obvious "track" that gets really muddy. If nothing else, the island gives you somewhere dry to get headcollars on and open the gate etc.
 
I have used bark successfully, (I found a free supply for a couple of years) it doesn't rot down like other wood chip. It does depend on how deep the mud gets and what the base is like - I have one gateway in what turns out to be the lowest part of the yard/adjoining field and it does get fetlock deep in mid winter. I tend to use alternatives when it gets that bad but if you have any rough old waste hay, chuck that in, it will form a mat and hold it together. Hay doesn't rot as fast as straw so it lasts quite well, will probably last all winter if you keep topping it up. Carpet and mats need a hardcore base- and if you are putting hardcore in, why bother with the mats???
 
I put grass mats down last year - although not until about this time of year (earlier would have been better). But i dont think it would have made much difference. Although they started out better than the bit with nothing - once they sank - they sank. I then had to dig them out in spring and that was not fun. Plus some are ruined.

My gateway is also by the front of their shelter so they stand there a lot. This year (almost done) i'm putting hardcore down, with road chippings on top. Fingers crossed that will work.

Stable mats would work much better than the grass mats if you decide to opt for mats.
 
Good thick hardcore with road planing on top are best for heavy use. I have also used mats, plastic mesh and rubber, they work well if you put them down in the spring before the ground gets poached and give them plenty of time to get the grass established and growing through them
 
I use carpet but it needs to be large pieces laid when the ground is dry - but if its very very wet they still get a bit muddy but not as bad as they could be. I put new carpet down every couple of years or so (purloined from the tip/freebie and I have a bit of a habit of chatting up any carpet fitters I see in passing ;-) ). Last year we had beautiful cream Wilton outside the field shelter..... and still good for this year but defo not cream anymore :-)

Works for us

F
 
Magicmillbrook said:
Good thick hardcore with road planing on top are best for heavy use. I have also used mats, plastic mesh and rubber, they work well if you put them down in the spring before the ground gets poached and give them plenty of time to get the grass established and growing through them
Click to expand...

bother. am guessing mine going down last week was too late then ?! however it is only walked on by an unshod 13.2 and the grass is still growing so hopefully will be ok.
 
Rubble followed by planeings add extra planeings as needed every second or third year.
We have been laying planeings today getting ready for winter .
I think a thick layer of cobs is also worth considering.
 
Last year the gateway I used the most was three foot in sloppy mud, lost count the amount of times I fell , lost wellies and cried. This year I am having at filled with hardcore and planeings and then I am putting this over the top.http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Grass-Pro...079?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3385ec58e7
I have bought a role so I can put in on the walkways which are semi permanent. Until the grass grows through I think it will be slippery but last year it was so bad I can not think that it can be any worse.
 
Honetpot you shouldn't need that over the top of the planings for years. Ours has been down for three winters now, and is just as it was when laid. We have some in other areas that we walk over that are grass, which are good, but I wouldn't waste your money for on top of the planings.
 
Goldenstar said:
Rubble followed by planeings add extra planeings as needed every second or third year.
We have been laying planeings today getting ready for winter .
Click to expand...

Where do you guys get all these planings? I've tried flagging down passing council contractors but that doesn't seem to work...
 
That's how I found them initially, stopped some workmen that were replacing a road. They said they kept a list of local farms etc that they could ring if they were in the area. I got myself put on the list, and about a year later someone rang! Don't know if I will ever hear from them again as they nearly got their lorry stuck!

A local farmer says he knows someone else who delivers it (slightly more expensive though) so may be worth asking farmers.
 
If you are looking at grass mats, look at the building site ones... Bet they are cheaper than horse ones! 150mm layer of type 1 underneath, compacted, mat on top filled with soil, and job done.

And as for getting hold of planings you will need something like a waste exemption notice from the council for them to be tipped on your land. Might not be quite the right name but there is some paperwork in involved!
 
When they were resurfacing the road locally the guys doing it were happy to be offered a little cash for the old plainings - £40 a lorry load as i recall - not sure if that's what they were supposed to do and certainly no paperwork but worth an ask when they are in the area.

We got as much as we could and built a walkway to all our fields - great stuff !!!
 
A decent size area of road planings laid whilst the ground is hard works very well.

The local contractors know they can add to the pile on our drive if they're working nearby. We just get up in the morning and the pile has grown.
 
Sheep fleeces, then hard core and planings on top. Planings cost the same as gravel around here and are certainly not free around here.

Laugh all you like, roads have been built across bogs using this technique and it is as old as the hills. Lay your fleeces out, then build a hard core road on top.

An alternative (as someone has suggested) might be old carpet, then your rubble and planings. But then carpets are made of wool....
 
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