Possibly a stupid question about arena sand......

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Stinkywellies

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Is there a difference between "equestrian silica sand" and normal "silica sand"?

When searcing on t'internet the equestrian websites tell you that you have to have the "equestrian" silica sand but we are wondering is there actually any difference to the preperation of it?
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Sorry if that sounds like a stupid question!
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it's nothing to do with the preparation (well, you want it twice-washed ideally, but that's got nothing to do with the 'equestrian' tag).
my last arena was done with silica sand from a newish quarry but the guy who installed it for me was v experienced, had used it once before, and really rated it... in fact it was excellent (better than the 'equestrian silica sand' i have now, which came from same quarry as Charles Britton uses.)
you need sub-angular particles that lock together, and it needs to be clean (do jam-jar test) so it won't clog up the membrane and lead to drainage failure prematurely, but it doesn't have to be 'equestrian' per se.
 
As far as I am aware and I stand corrected if I am wrong there is no difference. Firstly, all sand has a percentage of silica in it but you need the right amount for equestrian use, the shape of the grain, etc, etc. When I bought my sand for my arena I bought direct from the quarry purely because I knew that's where some of the big name companies bought from, they DO NOT sell it "for equestrian use" but if you buy through an equestrian agent/arena constructing company, who buy the sand from the same quarry, they CAN sell it "for equestrian use" as any problems you may have with your arena you deal with agent as opposed to the quarry, so in this instance the sand was one of the same.
 
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