Rubber arena black staining

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elbee

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I'm in a bit of a dilemma :confused: We've ordered strip rubber from Belvoir for our new arena topping which is due to be delivered next week but I've since heard stories about some rubber causing black stains on horses' legs and bellies as well as causing the silica sand underneath to go black and clog up.

Does anyone know why some rubber toppings have this problem and some don't? I'm worried about the sand obviously but also about the staining as I have a grey and a coloured mare with white legs :(

Any advice appreciated !
 
Can't offer advice but can confirm that the arena I know of which has strip rubber does stain the horses' legs and the sand has also turned black. No particular problems with clogging/drainage but it would not be my surface of choice - I have also seen horses slip on the strips when it is wet :(
 
Thanks Lavender. I wonder if it's just the strip rubber that stains or whether it's other types of rubber too. The strip rubber we've ordered is the short strips which I'd heard weren't slippy but I'm starting to think we should try to change the order. Hope it's not too late :(
 
I've had experience of strip rubber, and also think it's slippy when wet.
We have rubber chips on silica and the sand is still it's original colour, and theres no staining. Ours has been down about 3 years (was layer over the top of the original trackwright surface that was flood damaged)
 
Our sand is still it's original beigey red colour. Doesn't get particularly slippy when it's wet but we have a mix of strip and smaller chunks.
 
Thanks everyone, I'm feeling a bit better about it now. There seems to be quite mixed views though so I'm still unsure what to do for the best. Will speak to Belvoir in the morning to see what they say.
 
A quick update in case anyone else is going through the same thing...Belvoir have been very helpful and have confirmed that their strip rubber only comes from Michelin tyres, not from any other rubber parts.

It's my understanding that it's the rubber sills and other,non tyre, pieces that some arena surface suppliers use that are likely to degrade in sunlight, potentially causing the sand to go black and slushy when wet (which also leaves black marks on pale coloured horses). So the order is back on for now.
 
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We had a school with rubber strips (aruber? i think) fine for first few years but as the rubber disintergrated over the years it turned the silica sand very black and also all horses legs. this was an indoor school turns out would have been better if had been outdoor school. it was an added surface the sand was also past its best and had gone powdery. it has just been re surfaced with small chunks instead which we have been told will eventually make sand a greyer colour but shouldnt do what the other one did.
 
Another bad aspect of rubber arenas:
They are banned in the EU

This has already been put in place by the EU but the suppliers are strongly denying it (it is not illegal for them to sell it and it's their livelihood so they aren't going to turn business away).

Even worse for those who already have it, you will be asked to remove it or face heavy fines.

See:

[Content removed]

To anyone thinking of putting rubber down as a riding surface, don't do it. As an alternative, sand works beautifully.
 
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Can you please point us to where it says it's illegal, I can't see any reference to it in the site that you have pointed to.

I have google it and found nothing. Sounds like you are scaremongering?
 
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LaCheval said:
Another bad aspect of rubber arenas:
They are banned in the EU

This has already been put in place by the EU but the suppliers are strongly denying it (it is not illegal for them to sell it and it's their livelihood so they aren't going to turn business away).

Even worse for those who already have it, you will be asked to remove it or face heavy fines.

See:

[Content removed]

To anyone thinking of putting rubber down as a riding surface, don't do it. As an alternative, sand works beautifully.
Click to expand...



I have reported this post to Fatty.

It is incredibly scare-mongering to tell people
for those who already have it, you will be asked to remove it or face heavy fines.
Click to expand...
Not "might", but "will". Really? Also, I can't find any reference on the site pointed to about what La Cheval is warning about, and I think this may simply be an advertising scam to get click-throughs to that site. Which would be why I can't find a thing about it on Google either.

Please take no notice of the dire warnings until Fatty decides whether it's above board or not.
 
The EU ban is merely what I was told, as I have said on another thread, whether I was misled or not, rubber surfaces have other unpleasant aspects to them so installing rubber is not a road I would go down.

I cannot remove the link, which I put there only as a reference point as the EU ban is mentioned there. Perhaps the moderator of this site will remove it if it breaks any rules.
 
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