Static build up in arena

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stimpy

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I am having a nightmare in this dry weather with static electricity build up in the arena where the surface is rubber, carpet and foam, i.e. really well insulated. I do a lot of groundwork in there, both pure groundwork sessions where I am working close to the horse and I also do a bit of groundwork warm up before riding and I am finding that I am generating loads of static which then discharges as soon as I touch the horse which is hideous. I know I am bad for static build up anyway, I am always that person who will get a shock off a nylon carpet, and I have three horses that I work and one in particular is really bad, so I think her skin and my skin are not a good combo. I've tried various footwear to try and minimise the shocks including boots with an exposed metal shank in the sole but nothing makes a big difference. Is there anything anyone can suggest for earthing me or the school or generally improving the situation? I had to abandon the session yesterday after I traumatised one of the horses by repeatedly shocking her ☹️
 
Can you change the foot wear you use in the school? I struggle at work if I wear boots with 'proper' soles (ie chelsea boots) in the office.

Sorry just read you post again. I wear memory foam trainers in the office.
 
Crikey, I never thought about these synthetic surfaces causing static, but under ideal dry conditions it makes sense.
The only thing I can think of is to wet it, to improve grounding. I imagine the horse is generating static too from its movement on there, so it must be quite a crack of static you’re both feeling.
When my cat rolls about on the cheapo synthetic rug he claws at, it can cause static build-up on him, and I then stroke him, sometimes there’s a static crack - which he blames me for with a look of ‘how could you, that wasn’t nice’!

Are you able to install sprinklers overnight when the arena isn’t in use? I use some for irrigation and they vary with the range they cover. Good powerful water pressure helps them sprinkle further. Or overhead sprinkler/misting system like they have in polytunnels might be a better less maintenance longterm solution, if the surface isn’t going to be replaced.
I had to sprinkle a 2 acre field I had resown just before unexpected dry weather hit, so bought sprinklers and a water pump and sprinkled daily for a few hours, maintaining damp soil for the seeds to germinate. You can get timers for hoses if you didn’t want to sprinkle all night long.
Or pay a teenager a few quid to get there at 5am and hose the entire arena for a couple of hours ready for the days arena use!

If the arena surface is liked/new and expensive to change, then watering it regularly during dry weather sounds like the only solution to help via the water to ground animals and people on it.
 
Oh following this as I get the same.
I've taken to walking to the edge and grounding myself before touching the horses now, which does work.

Nothing worse than giving a treat or soft chin stroke and actually zapping them instead!
 
PurBee said:
Crikey, I never thought about these synthetic surfaces causing static, but under ideal dry conditions it makes sense.
The only thing I can think of is to wet it, to improve grounding. I imagine the horse is generating static too from its movement on there, so it must be quite a crack of static you’re both feeling.
When my cat rolls about on the cheapo synthetic rug he claws at, it can cause static build-up on him, and I then stroke him, sometimes there’s a static crack - which he blames me for with a look of ‘how could you, that wasn’t nice’!

Are you able to install sprinklers overnight when the arena isn’t in use? I use some for irrigation and they vary with the range they cover. Good powerful water pressure helps them sprinkle further. Or overhead sprinkler/misting system like they have in polytunnels might be a better less maintenance longterm solution, if the surface isn’t going to be replaced.
I had to sprinkle a 2 acre field I had resown just before unexpected dry weather hit, so bought sprinklers and a water pump and sprinkled daily for a few hours, maintaining damp soil for the seeds to germinate. You can get timers for hoses if you didn’t want to sprinkle all night long.
Or pay a teenager a few quid to get there at 5am and hose the entire arena for a couple of hours ready for the days arena use!

If the arena surface is liked/new and expensive to change, then watering it regularly during dry weather sounds like the only solution to help via the water to ground animals and people on it.
Click to expand...
Thanks PurBee. It's not practical for me to water the school every day, and the amount of water required to do that would bother me too. I think I'm going to try installing a grounding point and to keep discharging myself as I pass so that at least I am not shocking my poor horses.

Totally hear you about the cat, one of my cats loves to roll about in the arena and I have given her a shock or two when I go to rub her belly and her accusatory face when that happens is awful!
 
millitiger said:
Oh following this as I get the same.
I've taken to walking to the edge and grounding myself before touching the horses now, which does work.

Nothing worse than giving a treat or soft chin stroke and actually zapping them instead!
Click to expand...
I know, that is exactly what happened last time so I had to give up! What do you use to ground yourself at the edge of the arena? I think that's the way forward as I am often at the fence when we are doing lateral in hand work so that would be practical.
 
Yes the water use would be a fair increase, although daily misting would incrementally keep it moist, rather than having to drench it daily.

If your arena is metal framed steel posts, you could touch them as you go around, as they’ll be sunk deep in concrete which grounds.
Maybe due to the weight of the horse, they are grounding somewhat better on the surface due to squishing the fibres more densely together to earth, whereas humans being lighter won’t necessarily squish the surface enough to make a good earth contact?
If Millitiger says grounding on the edge of the arena works, that suggests the horse isn’t building up excess static too, otherwise she’d get a shock from him/her, despite grounding herself.

Its an interesting topic, which brings considerations of whether fully synthetic surfaces V sand/sand mix surfaces affect horses - whether the static bothers their way of going or behaviour - even if they do ground to a degree, but are not fully grounded like they are used to. There’s plenty of posters who have said their horse isn’t keen on schooling but fine schooling on a hack, or a resistance to going in the arena, with the assumption they hate schooling, when it may well be something as subtle as the static/grounding effects they’re bothered by, compared to almost everywhere else they tread which is fully grounded, except rubber matted areas.

I’ve recently got re-interested in the subject as I bought a grounding sheet for my bed, and since install have slept better, and the regular insomnia bouts have reduced 95%! I’d often wake stiff and achy which is vastly reduced, and most mornings gone completely . Im coming upto late 40’s age-wise. I didn’t expect much, tbh, as I’m a try it and see type of person, so am pleasantly surprised, and have had it for a few months now, with sleep being much improved - I do wear synthetic soles on all footwear, rarely ground myself despite gardening/farming and being outside most my time, I’m also regularly wearing synthetic rubber gloves for work to protect my skin, so moments of grounding are rare. I can now often be seen hugging a tree, to ground myself more! 😂

With horses on some top event yards, that can often have rubber matted walkways and fully synthetic arenas, aswell as rubber matted stables, with no turn-out except the riding/training work - those situations would be extremely interesting to know if fatigue/injury/muscle strain are more common due to the horses barely fully grounding, than other similar yards who use sand arenas, and grass/concrete walkways, with concrete/bedding stables. It would be an interesting comparison study as there definitely is something connecting health aspects with grounding. It warrants deeper study and is receiving it now moreso for humans, but would be great to have horse data on the subject.
 
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