Suggest an arena surface solution please!

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Oldred

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Need your brains. I have an arena with ordinary sand/dirt topped with very large pieces of rubber. I put the rubber on to stop surface being so deep as horses are turned out in the arena when the grazing is unusable (a lot in winter). Therefore the big pieces of rubber are good, because they are easy to pick off the poo so that rubber doesn't go into the muck heap as nice farmer would not take it away if it was full of chunks of rubber. However, big pieces of rubber are not very soft or level, i.e. a bit lumpy to ride on. Sooo, what could I add to the existing surface that would either be easy to pick off the poo when I clean up and/or is organic and could be left in/on the poo as the farmer wouldn't mind it being mixed in? It also needs to ride well of course!


Any suggestions?
 
Is there any way you could NOT turn out in the arena?
TBH you'd just be throwing good money away to buy surface additive.
Could you fence off an area of grazing as a 'trash paddock' for use only in winter and turn out there instead.
Might be easier and cheaper to get the farmer to come and roll/reseed that bit of paddock rather than wreck your arena.
 
That is, indeed, the most sensible recommendation! My land last year was so wet it would have been dangerous to put them on it to any degree. I could just manage without arena as turnout if I could rehome retired pony so remaining two could come in at night and mooch around the concrete yard in the day. Maybe a rota system, hmmmm, you've got me thinking.
 
Mmmmmmm. If you do have to use the arena for turnout, I put plastic on my grit arena this year. It made it much less deep and it was very easy to handle to spread it and it weighs so light that you get a mountain in ten tons. Of course it's not organic, but the stuff I got is such tiny shreds that your farmer might not mind it?

Organic wise, you could try coconut fibre. I know it is used in many arena mixes. Manchester Plastics are very helpful if you give them a ring. You can find them on Google.
 
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