Outside arena - Riding Surface - mistakes to avoid. Any comments or suggestions appreciated

[tatty_v]

Had our inaugural ride yesterday and another this morning. It helps I think that we had several inches of rain on it whilst we were away, but it rode really nicely and I was thrilled ?

 

[Pippin and Poppy]

Had our inaugural ride yesterday and another this morning. It helps I think that we had several inches of rain on it whilst we were away, but it rode really nicely and I was thrilled ?

Good news! Very pleased to hear this.
Only problem is that I keep hitting a brick wall when trying to get info from the company! It took two requests to get a quote and sample for Flexiride and the quote when it did arrive was really not very helpful; it didn't describe finished depth/tonnage etc unlike ALL the other quotes received from other companies. The amount being suggested sounded more like a top-up rather than a complete surface.
Feeling a little unsure of Flexiride I asked for a quote for TurfFloat over sand several weeks ago and have received nothing!
I also noted that the sample of Flexiride that did eventually arrive does not reflect Flexiride as supplied. The pieces in the sample are much smaller and there is no sponge. The PC said it was the same for him. He is happy with his surface but he did say one thing that made me question if Flexiride is the right surface for me: He suggested it would not be suitable for a 'sharp' horse, the implication being the sort that turns on a sixpence. Both of our Connie youngsters are likely to be this sort. I suspect there is too much movement in Flexiride. This may however be the result of his lack of maintenance...
This is why I asked for a quote for TurfFloat over sand!
However I am not prepared to order from a company with such a poor response to legitimate requests!

 

[milliepops]

it's disappointing you're having such a poor response from these companies.
I have ridden on Turfloat and it was great.
I have seen a few different installations of flexiride and some have more sponge than others. I wonder if that's been at the request of the client or just what has been supplied. Last place had almost no sponge (and a lot of sand). previous one had lots of sponge and not much sand.

are you doing the work yourself and just looking for a surface? can't remember what you said. I lived at a place where the contractor supplied the surface too and that took a lot of the stress out of it because they had lots of options, and knew how to tweak the drains etc to make it perform on that particular site, we used Pegasus arenas and I would not hesitate to recommend.

 

[Quigleyandme]

My 20 x 40 metre arena has just been completed. Just 330 tonnes/9” of sand at the mo. I’m going to see how it beds in and rides before thinking about additives.

 

[Pippin and Poppy]

are you doing the work yourself and just looking for a surface? can't remember what you said. I lived at a place where the contractor supplied the surface too and that took a lot of the stress out of it because they had lots of options, and knew how to tweak the drains etc to make it perform on that particular site, we used Pegasus arenas and I would not hesitate to recommend.

Thanks for this Milliepops
I am still waiting to hear the Planning decision and have decided to back off a bit with maybe waiting until next Spring before getting on with the build. (New build - to be built by others lol!)
I agree getting a Contractor to do the whole thing including surface would make life easier! I will look at Pegasus, but have a feeling we are not in their area. We are in the East Midlands.

 

[Pippin and Poppy]

My 20 x 40 metre arena has just been completed. Just 330 tonnes/9” of sand at the mo. I’m going to see how it beds in and rides before thinking about additives.

Very useful info - thank you

 

[milliepops]

FWIW re flexiride and jumping/turning, the one that had the high % sand was great, I remember thinking the canter pirouettes were easier there than at the yard with less sand, the horses travelled across the top easily. other livery was jumping up to about 1.10 and that was fine too, was a short arena so lots of tight turns and it didn't cut up at all.

 

[tatty_v]

That’s a real shame you’re struggling with the company. Our contractor did all the negotiating, supplying, calculations etc, which took a lot of the stress out of it.

 

[Harry Greenwood]

Hi Pippin&Poppy,

did you resolve your question regarding what surface to put in your arena? I am just beginning to tread the same path and weighing up the pros and cons.... thanks Harriet