Show me your manege

T

Translationsneeded

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I’m super excited because I’ve just got planning an outside 40x20.
I’m trying to visualise how to ‘landscape’ it within its setting.

Any recommendations for surface suppliers gratefully received too!

So go on, show us what you’ve got!

*post edited for spelling... 40x20 might take on a different meaning otherwise...(and no, I’m not blaming it on spell check but it did come up as an auto suggest 😂)
 
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My photos are pretty naff. I have a small hard-standing/manege on stone then 10 inch roughly of wood chip.

It has been excellent and I can highly recommend Jenkinson woodchips but I only put this down due to poor access so it had to be skipped in. I would have chosen rubber chips ideally. That being said nothing has flooded or rotten, it rides well in all weathers too.

We did all the fencing ourselves, stones were already down and the woodchip went straight on top and was painfully spread out by hand as we had no harrow at that point. We will be topping it up next year but it was also very budget friendly in comparison to other surfaces :)



 
Thanks both. Great to see them. Silv, what do you see as the benefits of not fencing all round? How are your boards fixed (sorry if that’s a stupid question!)
 
I'd be aware about lots of trees 1) leaves muddying up surface and 2) spooky noises and places for birds / monsters to hide.
I'd think about solid boards at least to knee level around the outside - I'm constantly picking the surface out of the surrounding fields and chucking it back into the school - I've seen some thick netting type options which look good too.
I'd think about getting jumps in and out - slip rails or a second gate near where you store them - I've smashed plastic poles throwing them over the post and rail in a rush.
If your budget is large a waxed surface is nice, if less so the chopped carpet is economical. Deep dry surfaces are a pain as are flooding schools - what did planners say about surface?
 
silv said:
Here’s mine, it’s 20x60, personally I prefer riding in an arena not fenced all around, but that’s personal choice I guess.View attachment 35746View attachment 35747
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OMG <3 I'm on my way!! That is such a beautiful setting.

I also prefer to have just boards as I think horses can become dependent on the fence otherwise, Silv has a great compromise the with a fence on one side to assist with straightness when you need it and an open side when you don't ;)

I did have a fence all round mine tho, which means you can do free schooling/jumping and keep the wildlife out.
 
milliepops said:
I did have a fence all round mine tho, which means you can do free schooling/jumping and keep the wildlife out.
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For wildlife, read the fecking bunnies. We had to add chicken netting and a run of electric rabbit netting to the post and rail fence arena boundary fence to keep them out, grrr.

Agree that, bunnies aside, for ridden work it’s better without a fence, but for in hand work or free schooling, it’s better with.
 
We've got Flexiride which is brill. It doesn't freeze and doesn''t get dusty but the dreaded bunnies can dig through it and make lovely holes which my pony finds very, very scary:eek: That aside, it's good for flat work and for jumping on and it's even quite soft for falling onto!!!
 
Translationsneeded said:
Thanks both. Great to see them. Silv, what do you see as the benefits of not fencing all round? How are your boards fixed (sorry if that’s a stupid question!)
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When they scraped off the soil they put the boards into the edges then. I am pretty sure they are pegged in too then they just filled in with the base then the surface.

I prefer not to rely on fences to keep my lines. It would br nice to keep livestock out though my horses have to frequently work round dogs, chickens and cats! Fortunately they all get on.

The trees aren’t a problem they are evergreen so don’t loose their leaves and provide shade in the summer.
 
Tiddlypom said:
If the arena is too close to trees or other vegetation, the roots can grow into the foundations and cause havoc. Even if you don’t have a fence , the arena needs strong retaining boarding underground to contain the subsurface and to prevent spread.
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The stuff they used as a base is also used in roading specifically for this situation, so no worries there.
 
Some really great tips here thanks! We have A LOT of rabbits here so good shout about the netting! Didn’t even think about getting poles / jumps out so slip rail is a good plan.
We have permission for sand and carpet. Been looking at Martin Collins and carpet gallop so far both along with 4 inches of silica sand. Too many horror stories about rubbish in the fibre surfaces is making me nervous! Any recommendations welcome!
 
Beware with the use of carpet and rubber that they meet end of waste criteria (meaning the material is processed/treated in such a way as to make it as good as buying a new material) and that you aren’t suckered in by dodgy individuals using you as a paying landfill to dispose of their waste. These are the types who will get paid by customers to dispose of waste carpet, will shred it but do no other process to meet end of waste criteria and then they get paid by you to dump it on your land. Win win for them but potentially nasty stinky metal containing surface for you.
 
I finished mine a couple of weeks ago, I saved money by using a groundwork guy rather than an arena build company and project managed it myself, I also used post and tape fencing to save money on wooden rails and it's only fenced on 3 sides. I used silica sand and carpet fibre but paid extra for screened fibre which is of uniform colour- a lot of the samples I got from other companies were contaminated with all sorts but this stuff is really clean and all blends in with the sand.
 

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Micky said:
How big is yours TheMule?
And do the council specify what materials you can or can’t use please? Forward planning too here!
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40x20, partly due to cost but mostly for planning reasons. I specified my surface materials in my planning application, some councils don't like you using rubber
 
20 x 40 - two gates and a high wooden fence around it. No hedges/bushes (my neighbour has these around her arena and even though its a good wind break the horses spook at the birds/cats etc). Layered with hardcore, porous membrane, silicon sand and topped with 'auto fill' (chopped up car interior). Doesn't get soggy, doesn't freeze, doesn't ride deep, surface doesn't blow away (and I live in a very windy place!). Cannot ride in snow however... The drains are top notch as I live in a very boggy place with clay soil. When I bought the place the arena was filled with recycled woodchip - horrible stuff. Kept finding bits of glass and metal in it. It decomposed and turned into unrideable mush. In dry hot weather it was horrible and dusty. Definitely a no no.
 

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Thanks all. Some lovely looking places! For those of you who are happy with your surface supplier, would you be happy to name them? I’m not keen on having seatbelts, glass or teddy bears in mine 😁
@TheMule I’m also having a grounds work company and pm’ing it myself. We have a local quarry who is supplying most material. Any lessons you learnt from managing it yourself?
 
I have had three difference surfaces over the years and flexiride has been the best by far. There are cheaper alternatives but I would be wary of contamination etc in those. We did have the small foam ear protectors in our flexiride delivery but I guess it's a pretty noisy factory it's produced in and they do no harm!

If you have a sand base get triple assurances from the quarry on the type of sand it needs to be square shaped granules that stack together to form a stable base (miniature lego style) round granules will never be able to be stable no matter how wet they are or how bedded in or what they are mixed with ! Which I discovered to my cost on a previous arena. even the best quality / most expensive sand might not be fit for purpose
 
I've been on 3 yards with flexiride and agree it's a very versatile surface and stands up to all weathers pretty well. One place had almost no sand mixed with it and i found that too soft really but the other 2 have a good amount of sand and it's very good then.
I had sand and fibre at home before, that was OK but did dry out quite easily in hot spells and then I needed to water it. The flexiride seems to keep the moisture in better.
 
Translationsneeded said:
Thanks all. Some lovely looking places! For those of you who are happy with your surface supplier, would you be happy to name them? I’m not keen on having seatbelts, glass or teddy bears in mine 😁
@TheMule I’m also having a grounds work company and pm’ing it myself. We have a local quarry who is supplying most material. Any lessons you learnt from managing it yourself?
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My fibre is the premium stuff from Sportrack, they messed me around with delivery but I am happy with it. I didn't want a really soft, springy fibre as I don't think that's good for the soft tissues so it's power harrowed into the sand (friendly farmer helped to spread the bales with his grab, we then raked it roughly even and then went over it 4 times with the power harrow.) It's on top of 140t of sand.
I used a base membrane between soil and stone but a blinding layer of basalt grit under the sand as I didn't want the risk of membrane pulling it up.
 
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