Wood chip for schooling area?

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oldhat

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Hay there folks! Just wondering if any if you use wood chips as an arena surface and if so how do you get on with them? How long does it last and how often do you need to top it up? I understand that in winter they don't freeze up the way sand does!?
 
the woodchip arena at our yard is absolutely horrendous, i can't tell u how awful it is. so so deep, boggy and churned up - completely unusable in wet weather unless u want tendon injuries.

wouldn't touch it with a barge pole and i just have to hack out or hire the nearby school instead
 
Oh dear! I did wonder if that would happen! I was asking as I have a barefoot haffie and thought perhaps it might bebetter than sand which grinds his feet down and dries them out. Maybe not such a good idea then!?
 
I too am not a fan of woodchip. Have one on the yard and haven't yet worked out when it is at its best! Think it is better when wet, but deep and very slippy when dry. I too have to hire an arena if i want to jump as only tried once and horse nearly fell over.
 
It's ok provided you are prepared to keep topping it up yearly and keep on top of rolling and harrowing it. Mine is just about ok for my big (16.3) balanced mare to canter 10m circles on in good weather, I wouldn't risk that with the big boy. I should also say that mine is undersize at 35 x 17m. It's great for the ponies. Mine is mainly intended for a turnout area and it has been fabulous for that, saving my fields
 
oldhat said:
Oh dear! I did wonder if that would happen! I was asking as I have a barefoot haffie and thought perhaps it might bebetter than sand which grinds his feet down and dries them out. Maybe not such a good idea then!?
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Oldhat I too have a barefoot Haffie in Aberdeenshire, tho not a schooling area sadly and mine finds my efforts at schooling in the fields alternately VERY exciting (cue buck me off) or traumatic (boggy waterlogged ground is the work of the Devil apparently). Oh for a lovely manege that doesnt blow away in the first (inevitable) gale!!!!

Maybe sand with rubber shreds on top might work?
 
IachIanandmarcus- Where are you in Aberdeenshire-I'm i Gamrie! Yup it's the perrenial problem of that wind! My haffie also loves to buck and tho a bit of a wuss to take out hacking, is starting at last to trust me. He's great to school but the fields are rarely dry enough for his clodhoppers! Sand and rubber could be the answer, I thought of woodchip as it should be cheaper but the posts on here about it have really put me off!!
 
My old yard had woodchips as an arena surface...awful.

Some bits got so deep I was jumping, horse went round the corner and promptly lost her footing and fell down.

When it got wet it was either slippy or compacted down so much it was solid.

You have to keep harrowing it as tracks are easily made in it and needs levelling off and topping up.

Just no!
 
have to say agree with above posts woodchip arena's are imo rubbish, ours did freeze over in winter especially if had a lot of rain first as the woodchip would hold the water then freeze, they get very deep and boggy and as already has been said useless for jumping in without potential leg problems.. our yard re did our arena for us last year and did 30% 70% Rubber is now the most amazing surface ever Not once during winter did it freeze, dosent get deep and is much much easier to maintain if looked after properly, Maybe more expensive not sure on costs but would imagine long term is a better investment.
 
I would say no, haven't got experiance of it as a school but i got some in February this year to use for a pen for my pony to get off the grass .. Pile hasnt been touched/walked on (apart from a youngster having a look!) and it's less than half the size it was! So no I wouldn't use it
 
A local authority arena near me was woodchip for over 20 years. My riding club used to have their show jumping on it initially, and I have actually won the open once by being on the only horse that didn't fall over!!

Quite a lot of horses found it slippery, but mine were always good on it. The council wouldn't use any other surface as they used to scrape it all off once a year and use the scrapings for mulch on their gardens!

A couple of years ago it was relpaced for a sand/silica mix, which is much safer, but freezes in winter. The woodchip very very rarely froze - it was it's only good point really!!
 
Ours was great for about 4 years then has gone down hill and at moment is completely useless. I contacted contractor to see if they thought a top up would work but they were very unhelpful and I didn't want to spend alot of money and find it didn't help. We used Cushionride but as I say not helpful on after service
 
The arena at our yard is woodchip, and with regards to slippyness, neither of my horses seem to slip on it at all thankfully, but I have when I've been moving poles etc round!

Unfortunately when the (non-horsey, elderly, stubborn) YO built the arena last August and put the surface down, they decided to extend the already well drained area to make the arena 20 x 40, however he didn't think that drainage would be important(!!) we didn't livery at this yard at this point, otherwise we would have said something. The photo below isn't the best, but it's the only one I have to hand right now, I took it probably a month - six weeks ago and if you look to the right of the telegraph pole you can just see where it is starting to get deep. That end of the arena is now completely unrideable, but the previously well-drained area is fine. The YO will now be digging the surface up again at some point before winter and putting the correct drainage down!

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There are only two of us that actually ride on it, so it's not ridden on all that much, and is harrowed at least once a week. I'd imagine that if a lot of people were to ride on it that it would get very deep and churned up, especially on the tracks!

All in all, I don't think it's too bad for what we actually need it for, but I wouldn't want to jump a course on it. The biggest problem we have though is big chunks of wood getting stuck in our horses frogs/wedged in their shoes!
 
oldhat said:
IachIanandmarcus- Where are you in Aberdeenshire-I'm i Gamrie! Yup it's the perrenial problem of that wind! My haffie also loves to buck and tho a bit of a wuss to take out hacking, is starting at last to trust me. He's great to school but the fields are rarely dry enough for his clodhoppers! Sand and rubber could be the answer, I thought of woodchip as it should be cheaper but the posts on here about it have really put me off!!
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Hi Im over near Aboyne/Ballater - I brought my girlie up here when we moved up about 4/5 years ago. I think woodchip is good for a turnout area but not so much for riding on, we just hack and a bit of endurance. Shes not very fond of the schoolwork even when we do have access to one...:-)
 
I was previously on a yard with a woodchip school, which was dangerously slippery and caused a fair few falls and accidents.
I wouldn't recommend that as a surface to anyone contemplating it.
 
Catstew - I woud say yours is the same as mine, not woodchip but equestrian wood stuff (technical term) it doesnt have any bark which apparently is what makes it slippery - it is usually broken down pallets etc - I used cushionride. Mine after 3 years is still bouncy - bone dry and doesnt kick up - mine never found it slippery but next doors unshod horse galloped round and fell - this was in first week of putting it down when it hadnt had a chance to settle or bed in - mine almost looks identical now as to the day it was laid but I have tons and tons of drainage underneath and this is the key - as it is biodegradable if you get the water of it quick with good drainage it wont degrade or get slippy !

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meesha said:
Catstew - I woud say yours is the same as mine, not woodchip but equestrian wood stuff (technical term) it doesnt have any bark which apparently is what makes it slippery - it is usually broken down pallets etc - I used cushionride. Mine after 3 years is still bouncy - bone dry and doesnt kick up - mine never found it slippery but next doors unshod horse galloped round and fell - this was in first week of putting it down when it hadnt had a chance to settle or bed in - mine almost looks identical now as to the day it was laid but I have tons and tons of drainage underneath and this is the key - as it is biodegradable if you get the water of it quick with good drainage it wont degrade or get slippy !

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I have no idea what it is to be honest, but it has no bark in it, so it could well be! Our horses prefer it to the sand & rubber we had at the prevous yard, which wasn't managed very well and very deep, our new school (pictured) is springy and cushiony (are they the technical terms?? :D) and my little mare who struggles on deeper surfaces does seems to find it much easier going, and is now schooling beautifully as a result. YO said that the actual surface (not including the foundations & drainage etc underneath or the fencing or anything) cost him in the region of £1000 and he will replace it if and when it needs doing.
 
My arena is wood fibre - cushionride - we put double to required drainage under it, but I have never found it slippy, drains fantastically, has never frozen, is used for at least two hours riding each day, plus turnout, and is used by a variety of horses and ponies, none of whom have ever had a problem on the flat or jumping. Its been down for several years, and just needs topping up every three years or so. It gets harrowed about every two/three months so not really high maintenance either. I know lots of people don't like wood fibre, but I have to be honest and say I really like ours!
 
An equestrian centre down our way put in an olympic sized arena using wood fibre which I believe is shredded pallets (Tracey Recycling ) and it is one of the best I have ridden on. At home we have equestrian sand which is dire in the winter and plan to put rubber on top when I can find a supplier in Scotland!
 
I would not be happy with a shredded pallet surface. I bought a load of this type of bedding a couple of years ago, it contained a lot of metal debris (after going through the magnets) and the final straw was a 2" pallet nail found in one of the beds. No thank you.
 
pretty sure cushionride is gauranteed metal free (they use magnets to get it all out) it cost me just over 1000 for topping - I could do with some more because it wasnt evenly spread but doesnt seem to have biodegraded hardly at all in the 3 years. I turn out all winter on it - feed hay on it - jump and school on it and it keeps horses and dog lovely and clean. I do grade mine once a week but thats due to the uneven spread - thick one end thin the other.

Mine use it to wee on rather than field or yard but never smells and when they roll you can just brush it off - they also sleep on it every night in the winter so no dirty horses !

But... I reckon if you didnt have any drainage it would biodegrade and need topping up every few years - my whole arena cost around 7k including labour, drainage, terram, boards, posts, stone etc !
 
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