Need to dry out small part of field

EmmaPip

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I am looking for ideas to 'de-mud' a very small part of my field. My pony is recovering from laminitis and was on box rest for a long time and can go out now in a tiny field, but not in mud since he is wearing clogs. The field is clay and quite muddy. But since I only need an area of about 4x4 meters, I was hoping I can put something down for a few weeks. I would be thankful for any ideas!
 
I'm on clay, and mine has now dried out so quickly in the space of the few days it has been dry this week, it's almost too hard to Harrow and roll! Mad.
My neighbour uses her old bedding on an area of her field, though, for her laminitic. When she mucks out, just puts the bed there.
Or, a quicker solution as that takes days, would be fresh wood chip or straw/shavings. Also, can you flatten the area first, if possible, as any ruts would not be idea, for a laminitic?
 
TBH, I would put down a hard core base near the gate, and then you will have the advantage of better gateways next year. You could roll the hard core then top with something softer for his feet, any spare carpet? Sand?

IME quick fixes end up a lot worse, in quite a short time. If it is already very muddy then whatever you put down will soon be a mess.
 
Field is quite muddy, so I was thinking that bedding alone might not be enough. What do you mean by hard core? It's going to be a challenge because he is not allowed to have any mud go into his clogs...
 
I guess that would work, but a bit more complicated and prob would have to dig out part of field so it's not raised then. I was hoping I can find a solution that would be a bit easier since I only need this for a few weeks... nightmare...
 
I was going to suggest a small area with rubber matting on top with something underneath if needed. I too have a mini who has been lamination and we started with a really small square attached to her stable.
 
If the area can be contained (scaffold boards or similar) I would go for 10/20mm gravel in a layer deep enough to stand a chance of not getting trodden in,
 
I would go with scrap hessian back carpet and railway sleepers weighing down the edges if possible. Call smaller local carpet sellers as they will be binning old stuff every week.
 
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