Poo picking carpet gallop?

ycbm

ycbm

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If these wild winters continue I need to restore my little barn surface to a state fit to ride on, but still have the guys living in it when they are in.

I think carpet gallop might be the right stuff, but can anyone tell me what it's like to poo pick? I need not to lose the surface when picking up two horse's worth, and not to have to pick it out, just pick it up.

Ditto the hay not sticking to it too much.

Can anyone advise? Or suggest an alternative?

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Easy enough to poo pick
In a school, so imagine it will be fine. I think it would compact down pretty well and sit on top.
We are doing the same. My woodchip turnout has turned so
bad that carpet fibre is going in this spring
 
ycbm said:
I always poo pick the barn by hand anyway these days, Pippity, do you think it would be ok?
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To be honest, I don't think I'd be happy using it as a surface horses would be eating from. I suspect your horses would end up eating a fair bit of it as it got mixed in with the hay.
 
Pippity said:
To be honest, I don't think I'd be happy using it as a surface horses would be eating from. I suspect your horses would end up eating a fair bit of it as it got mixed in with the hay.
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They wouldn't be fed on it. Doesnt sound too great though, does anyone have any other suggestions? Silica sand? Rubber chip?
 
I have Flexiride, which I think is similar. It’s a bit of a nightmare to poo pick with a scoop but might be easier by hand if that’s what you do. I do think the hay would stick to it quite a bit though and I suppose it depends on how much your horses are likely to trample droppings as, once they’ve broken up, you’ve got no chance. (I found that a bit of broken up poo has helped to bind the surface though ? as we went for the complete option, which was very bouncy to begin with).
 
Pippity said:
My yard has a carpet school, and it's a nightmare to poo-pick. I do it by hand to save as much surface as possible.
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Yes I looked at carpet gallop when we built our new arena, we had sand and rubber originally, but as I’ve got a serious case of OCD when it comes to my arena surface being looked after, I decided against it as I could just see my clients using not being able to see the poo properly, as an excuse not to pick it up!? I chose sand and fibre in the end which is amazing!? I used part of my old arena surface to make an all weather turn out area as a compromise, as I never allow turnout into the arena, and feeding hay in there?! OMG I can feel a panic attack coming on at the mere thought!????
 
For an indoor area I would simply use sand. But, I would have a separate area for hay, with rubber mats.

Mine is outdoors, but the hay is in a net, tied in the shelter that only measures 6'6 X 10ft. The opening is on the wide side, and the shelter is rubber matted. They don't end up eating sand at all, no hay wasted either. So, you could rubber mat a couple of corners (so not much missing from your working area, and a corner apiece so everyone gets fed).
 
I plan to limestone chip the two corners where they have hay racks, which loses me no serious amount of track. My worst issue is a TB who won't lie down without long-fibre bed, and my plan at the moment is a triangle of boards at one end that I can fill with bedding, which wont stop me crossing the diagonal, circling or leg yielding.

It's not easy when it's only 11x27m to begin with! It's big enough for low speed work, I used to ride (and jump!) in it all the time before I built an arena outside.

I think sand will resolve the potential issues with surface leaving in their feet, and with hole digging (just shove it back with my foot :) )

Thanks for the recommendation.
 
I always do, though. I pick directly into Aldi carrier bags that are easier to fill by hand. Then wheelbarrrow the bags to the end of my arena where they are tipped down a big bank.

I'm exploring sand as the surface, it seems to meet all my needs for drainage and ease of removing old haylage and leveling holes they dig. Thanks Red :)

I'm about to get a quote for clearing out the old surface, which is now hard packed earth and useless to ride on.

I can't stand another non-riding winter like this one. It's spend a few quid on this, or move!

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milliepops said:
will plain sand indoors get a bit sand-duney?

maybe it doesn't matter if it's only for slow work anyway.
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Probably, but it's not that big, 11x27 m, I think I can hand rake it if it does.

My main concern is to stop it being slippy where they wee in it. And put some bite/give in the surface which has turned to hard baked earth over time.
 
ycbm said:
Probably, but it's not that big, 11x27 m, I think I can hand rake it if it does.
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that's OK then :) it was stability for riding on that I was thinking of, as I know that some non-waxed indoor sand surfaces have to be watered. But agree plain sand is prob easiest for the mixed purposes. I would find it pretty annoying to have to poo pick much out of our carpet school.
 
I can water if I need to, one circular sprinkler will do half and we have a private water supply which never has a hosepipe ban :)

I'm getting quite excited now!

Keep all the positive and negative thoughts coming guys, I have a one-shot chance to get this right before we resurface the yard and don't want heavy plant twisting and scraping on it.

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ycbm said:
I can water if I need to, one circular sprinkler will do half and we have a private water supply which never has a hosepipe ban :)

I'm getting quite excited now!

Keep all the positive and negative thoughts coming guys, I have a one-shot chance to get this right before we resurface the yard and don't want heavy plant twisting and scraping on it.

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Hi YCBM

Did you decide on a surface for your school? Or did lockdown intervene?

We are looking at changing part of our paddock to a small school, similar dimensions to yours, 30 x 13 and want to use it as a turnout in the winter too - it's either total mud, or hard standing over the last few winters which is very messy or time consuming!!

We have looked at Carpet Gallop as a surface too, but am concerned about poo picking it in the winter when they're standing on it, wondering how hay will work on it and worried that the farmer that takes our muck heap away won't want it anymore if it has Carpet Gallop stuck to it!!

Did you get sand in the end?

Thank you :-)
 
Ha, I will find out what carpet fibre is like now, as with lockdown I couldn't go hire places, so we had a cheap surface top-up.

I don't mind picking by hand, but intend to scoop the poop then pick carpet bits out of that by hand. :rolleyes:
 
strawbs said:
Hi YCBM

Did you decide on a surface for your school? Or did lockdown intervene?


Did you get sand in the end?

Thank you :-)
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I realised in the end that no matter how much I tell myself I will, I simply won't ride in such a tiny area now i have a big arena outside, so i haven't done anything with it.
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