What Surfaces Can Cope With Very Cold Temperatures?

MrsMozartletoe

MrsMozartletoe

Just passing through...
Joined
27 June 2008
Messages
41,687
Location
Not where I should be...
Visit site
Thought I'd better ask the question now!

House is up for sale (for what feels like Forever!), so at some point it will sell and we'll be off to a place with our own land :D :D :D

Anyhoo, it is doubtful that where we end up will already have a school, so we'll be putting one in :D

I know it will cost, but I really do want a school that we can use all year round no matter what the weather throws at it.

Any suggestions? Or am I being completely barking mad...
 
I have got Trackright and rubber shred (not chunks) and it doesnt freeze.

Saying that, it drains well so never has any water sat on it.

The only reason I cannot use mine today is that I have a covering of snow that has now turned into a thick sheet of ice.

Surface underneath absolutely fine just the blooming frozen snow on top.

I think anything that drains well and has a good covering of rubber to insulate should work.
 
My yard has fibresand and its frozen atm

That said, it was -10 at the yard this morning, not sure anything will be nice and soft in that temperature.
 
Remember that it is not just the surface that determines whether an arena freezes, but also the siting and drainage. I know two rubber and sand arenas - one is useable however cold it is, because it is well-drained, sheltered (woodland on two sides) and gets the sun most of the day. The other one is set on lower lying land (so drainage not so good) and hardly gets any sun, and this is much less likely to be useable in freezing weather.
 
our arena is sillica sand and rubber and very very rarely freezes if it does then its just patches of it,,, its slightly sheltered by the barns ect!!
 
my sand and rubber one is still riding, but it does have very good drains! and add to the fact we had had no rain for 6 days before it went cold! its the groundworks that make a menage. mine gets sun on it from around 9 30 in th e morning.
 
There are not many that don't!

Ours is silica sand and rubber, it was absolutely fine until Saturday when we got snow which then melted making the sand very wet. So then when last night it was -12C here and -3C in the day it froze pretty badly. However, some did ride on it this afternoon for an hour in walk and trot.

As traceybraincell said an Indoor one...........although I know someone's indoor froze last winter when we got down to -15C :S

Not sure what waxed outdoor surfaces are like but they are MEGA money!
 
ofcourseyoucan said:
my sand and rubber one is still riding, but it does have very good drains! and add to the fact we had had no rain for 6 days before it went cold! its the groundworks that make a menage. mine gets sun on it from around 9 30 in th e morning.
Click to expand...

Yeah exactly, we hadn't had any rain for 10 days so it was absolutely fine until the damn snow came and melted :p
 
what about wood fibre? thats not supposed to freeze?

I agree that drainage is the most important

Wish I could build an arena! I live on a very windy hill so would probably need one that doesn't blow away! Sadly I can't afford an indoor
 
Hm. Not sure I'll get an indoor, unless there are some suitable type building that could be converted...:cool:

So, main points are - drainage, shelter, drainage, rubber type, drainage :)

Thankies.

Hopefully one of these days I'll get to show piccies of our school :D
 
quarry dust is a good base and rides firm but not solid - my RI had that for a while whilst saving up for a rubber surface. she has rubber on top but its only a thin layer- doesn't freeze much and breaks up as you walk over it :)
 
mine is built up 3 feet with hardcore and drains. tho the q is very hypothetical at the moment for you as you have to sell one property and find the next. take each day as it comes! but be prepared to spend in excess of 20 k to build a good menage.
 
Ours!!!!!! :)

Very cheap bog standard plastic PVC granules, with a bit of fibre and sand - harrowed last night after -12 temperatures was easily rideable this morning!!

Hoping for the same tomorrow!
 
Have had cubicle sand school for 28 years, no drainage, on shale, put down rubber chips in October, no sun on arena in winter, Wales recorded lowest temprature for quarter of a century last night ans=d for the first time in 28 years my area ain't frozen!
 
I think that rubber is the winner in cold temps really. Is boiling to stand and teach in in really hot weather though!

Wood surfaces don't freeze, but are really slippy in wet weather!

Theres that old saying - an arena is only as good as its drains...
 
A random musing....I was thinking about freezing and that it would require water - could you not mix in / put down a layer of water absorbing crystals (used in gardens to increase water efficency) down to absorb the water and may be stop in from freezing. Though this would probably only work in dry cold one lots of snow and they'd be soaked...

Just a thought.
 
Ours is silica sand mixed with plastic pellets, hubby graded it yesterday just to see what it was like under the 3" of snow, grader moved all the snow and surface was perfect underneath, not the slightest bit hard. However as someone else said our school drains incredibly well, it can bucket down for hours and there isn't one puddle in it. So seems to me that all year use is not down to the surface but down to drainage. Just make sure you use a reputable company to build it and I think you should be fine
 
the drainage is crucial, if that's not good enough, the best surface in the world won't ride well.
good silica sand + plenty of rubber to insulate the sand, is the key. wet sand WILL freeze like concrete if the temperature goes low enough, no way around that, but enough insulating rubber, and mixed-in rubber, will help prevent this.
i have Springride Rubber Shred + good silica sand and it's great. The same shred + different sand at my last place in Staffs was just as good - it was the only manege for miles that didn't freeze solid when we had a bitterly cold spell.
 
agree with kerilli. Well mixed in rubber and good quality silica sand, on good drainage. Our outdoor is pretty much ok, a bit of frost on the top but not frozen and fine to ride on.
 
My sand and Cloph arena has never frozen. It gets a bit crusty on the top few mm but is fine underneath. I thought it would be solid but I have been pleasantly suprised!
 
Thank you all :D

I'm hoping to get a 60x60 school, but it will depend on so much (site, planning, etc.). Have to think about it all now so as we have it in mind when we get to go looking :D We had budgeted £20k, with us doing some of the more mundane work (D likes to get involved!).
 
I hate the bearer of bad news Mrs. Mozart but having done the sums myself, I don't think you'll be able to field a 60x60 for £20K! I should think your surface alone will be that kind of money... :(
 
sorry, but i have to agree with kit. if you are round the corner from a quarry (cuts down on haulage costs), on very well drained land, and can get artics right to the site, these will all reduce costs, but 60x60 is huge and the materials alone will cost £££s...
 
Honey08 said:
I think that rubber is the winner in cold temps really. Is boiling to stand and teach in in really hot weather though!

Wood surfaces don't freeze, but are really slippy in wet weather!

Theres that old saying - an arena is only as good as its drains...
Click to expand...

Our Cushionride surface has been frozen solid since Saturday - so yes wood surfaces do freeze even with the best drainage.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top