Oh no! Our new arena is unrideable!!

Firewell

Firewell

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We've just had a new surface put on the arena at our yard..

YO isn't horsie but researched surfaces and then to save money got her own non-horsie builders to lay it..

First of all they dug out all the old surface (sand and rubber) and moved it around so it was flat (dug out the corners basically). Then they laid the new sand.. Beautiful sand very fine, they put that on like a layer. THEN they added the final layer of new rubber, good rubber not the slippery stuff and they put that on top like icing.
Our livery rent has gone up because of the new surface.
It was finished the day before yesterday, it only took a couple of days.
Problem is that it is now unrideable! It is SO deep :(.
Is this normal? Does it have to settle?
Thanks
 
We had to wait until it rained quite a lot before our sand and rubber arena was good enough to ride on. If the sand is dry you will just sink, it needs the water to 'bind' it together as such !
 
I don't know very much by textbook about surfaces but I can tell you that we moved to a new yard with a basically brand new arena and I was the first person to use it in months. It was incredibly deep and almost un ride able but after two weeks of being ridden on its pretty much perfect, so don't worry it should improve!
 
This is normal, it will take a while to settle and bind. i would imagine running a roller over it would help.
 
My old yard had a woodchip surface and it was awful for about the first week when they put it down but then it settled and was great to ride on.
 
Sand and rubber definitely needs time and rain/water to settle - and will do for several months. In fact I would suggest that you do not ride on it yet at all!

With regards to the comment about woodchip - be warned - not only can it be very slippery in dry conditions, but the woodchip deteriorates and breaks down over time and will become unrideable. Sorry. Our yard had it dug out three years after having it laid and replaced it with sand and rubber.
 
Ok thanks, it's sand and rubber. I've told the others at the yard not to panick and to wait a few weeks and see what it's like then :).
Thanks!
 
Hopefully the builders used the correct sand? Then after laying it level it should have been rolled extensively, then when it was compacted really well the rubber should have gone on the top. As others have said it needs time & plenty of water to help it bed in & settle & this can take quite a while. Hopefully in the fullness of time & some rain it will all turn out ok. Loads of normally great surfaces around the country are suffering at the moment because they've all dried out far more than they ever have before & as a result are getting deep.
 
The new surface must be watered daily until it all settles, at least 2 weeks, if no rain, it should not be ridden on until this has been done.
 
Well it's peed it down with rain so hopefully that will help!
It is definitly the right sand. No it wasn't rolled as we dont have a roller just a Harrow. It's being harrowed tomorrow (or should we leave it?).
Too late it's already been ridden on by a few of the liveries :/.
 
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