Turnout pen - surface ?

[cobden99]

I have a small pen (approx. 15m x 20m) directly outside the stables that I would like to use as a turnout area if the weather is really bad. Although I had drains put in last summer, it is still muddy after all the rain we have had.

A couple of people have suggested putting road planings down - has anyone used them ? If so, are they any good ?

Any other advice appreciated

 

[Bossanova]

We have sand in ours. Layed on top of a membrane but that was a mistake.

The horses adore the sand

 

[Booboos]

We tried road planings in our gates and they were a big mistake as we ended up with huge bits of stone!

Best thing to do is:
- dig down and take off the top soil
- put hardcore clean stone
- put very small stone to dust hardcore and compact with a vibrator roller to create a blinding layer which will stop the stones coming up and the surface going down
- finish off with surface of choice, e.g. sand or perhaps woodfibre which is very economical
Sounds like a big hassle but if you do it properly it will actually work and the cost is not that great.