What sort of menage is best?

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BigBird146

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I'm thinking of having a menage put in and have NO idea where to start!
Size wise; it's just for me, my current horse is 16hh but I'm thinking of getting another and I'm quite tall so would need to be 16-17hh. Would be used mainly for schooling and a bit of jumping & gridwork, so would say 20m x 40m be a good size?
Surface... I currently ride on one thats a mixture of sand and rubber which seems pretty good, but I know they need to grade it every couple of days (at a yard so used quite a bit). I would prefer as low maintenance as poss as I haven't got a tractor, just my dads ground's machine that I could pull something round with.
Also budget-wise, what would you say, bearing in mind I just want it for personal schooling use and I'm not into big competitions or anything?
Any top tips of where to start, and how best to go about planning permssion for one?
Thanks
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First of all planning permission! If the answer to that is no, you can spend your dosh on something else:) The yard i'm on as a 25x60 which is super size wise, 20x40 is a bit tight, but hey - beggars can't be choosers! The surface is sand rubber, but not enough rubber! Get some companies in to talk you through and get local reference sights where you might be able to go and look at. But most importantly (I can hear my OH shouting at me....)make sure you have good drainage. The amount of DIY menages I have seen that have had to be dug for the pros to sort out - i've lost count.
Not having built one I don't really know prices, but I hear top side of 20k will get something adequate
 
I have to say when i puut in for PP i went for a 20 x 60, because, if when the time came i could not afford the big one i could make it smaller but, if i only had pp for the small one thats what i would be stuck with!

As for any thing else i cant comment because i have not buildt it yet! Good luck though.
 
Hi,
We've built 3 schools now, all 20 x 40, my current one is used by my liveries whom are predominently show jumpers and say its fine for jumping, I being dressage trained only school and lunge in it. My latest school was put in by my husband and Father just over a year ago. We live in the West country so lots of hills which meant the land was on a slope and quite a bit of digging out had to be done (this is expensive due to the heavy machinery you have to hire to be man enough for the work load) Drainage is paramount, spend more money on extra drains than a superb surface if budget is tight because no matter what you spend on surface it is only as good as the drainage and the English weather!! We always put in drainage all around the edge ie 2x 20m 2x 40m then a full drain every 10metres apart throughout the school. We never have a puddle even in the horrendous rain last year not even a small puddle!! I have a fibre sand surface mix which cost £9k just for the surface but it is spectacular for all disciplines and never ever freezes over even when a complete white frost the horses hooves just bounce on it. In total it cost us £24k but I did have decent sawn post & rail fencing done by a proper fencing contractor as I wanted the finished product to look good. The drainage stone is a huge cost as you have levy charges on every load and diesel is so expensive at the moment, we used 210 tonnes of stone 60tonnes of small blinding stone and the rest 40mm stone but it MUST be cleaned washed stone not cheap quarry stone unwashed as it silts up the drainage perminently. We have always used 2 layers of membrane, some people dont like to as they say it rips and can be dangerous but as long as your surface has enough coverage and you rake it over regularly then you wont get a problem, we have never had a problem with it and it prevents the stones coming up onto your surface and causing bruised soles (6wks out of work if this happens - not good!!) The membrane should be hand stitched together though, not just glued as it rots in time and all the joins come undone! my husband is a Vet so used some of his hefty Embryo needles to stitch the joins with baler twine! Hope this helps.
 
We Got A 25x45 And its done with woodchippings , sand and something else..? cant rember sorry..!! But we got it done by i think they where "easy ride" they did a very good job..! I had my doughts about the surface but its been brilliant..! x
 
We've built two and the last one is in use here.
Sizewise you need 20 x 60, 25 x 60 is even better as it gives you more room for jumps.
Look at your land carefully first and try and choose a naturally well draining area.
We didn't put drains in as our land drains incredibly well being granite subsoil, but used big stones, then smaler ones pounded down hard with a hired machine.
We then laid a proper membrane and overlapped a lot, securing the sides under sleepers. I sourced the membrane through a search for construction materials, I dealt dierectly with the manufacturers who advised which of their products would work best.
You have to be careful how you add the surface. Ours was an indoor school surface of rubber and silica sand with lots of padstow sea sand added for stability.
You mustn't let lorries drive over the membrane when tipping or it damages it, nor must it be exposed to the sun for any length of time.
Once spread we rolled ours a lot then built the post and rail fence afterwards .
I can't tell you how good the surface is, it's perfect. Enough depth to give purchase but never deep, and you can ride on it in all weathers, the main reason the drainage is so perfect is we have a fall on it from one corner to the other, and any excess water drains straight out of the gate!
Cost wise we did a deal with a tenant who lives here who has a digger, he swapped rent for work, but I think probably around £14000 in total.
If you go to my blog www.narramorehorses.blogspot.com and go right back in the older posts there are pictures of the arena through the build. They may be of use to you.
 
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