woodchip for winter turnout paddock

[ginatina]

I have a prepared winter turnout paddock that we have laid 30cm of hardcore onto as the sub base.

I was going to top this with sand, but reading about sand colic has killed that idea! So now we're turning to woodchips

Can anyone recommend how deep the woodchips need to be, and give any general advice on their use?

Any ideas appreciated

 

[Abacus]

Not sure on depth but for sourcing I go to a local tree surgeon who will deliver me a truckload not very expensively - from memory it was £75 for about 2 cubic metres.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Frankly you will be wasting your money if you put down woodchips. For a month or two you'll think you've done a good thing, but then they'll start breaking down and will go horribly mushy.

Instead do some research into the various mud-mats that are on the market and spend your money in that direction.

 

[Abacus]

Alternatively some rubber like arena rubber? Our arena was far too deep with too much rubber so we took some loads out to spread on the track. Has worked perfectly for a couple of winters, and that's just putting it on top of grass.

 

[cauda equina]

I have a woodchip turnout area, it's brilliant
But
It has proper drainage then a layer of limestone then a membrane then the woodchip
It's been down 2 years and is better than when new, initially it was very slippery when they ran round. Now it's rotted slightly it's more stable, but it never gets waterlogged
The company who put it in also did similar ones for Redwings. I wanted a cheap & cheerful job without drainage but they said it would be awful and wouldn't do it!

 

[HappyHollyDays]

My sacrifice paddock is an old 20x40 sand school. I will be feeding hay this winter in large trugs over rubber matting but as they have been using it all summer I did treat them with Sand Guard just as a precaution.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

I think I'd put the hardcore down & them go over the to with a wacker plate. That should even it up. Then put a membrane over the top & then put the woodchip of a reasonable thickness on the top. You can buy woodchip in bulk from a lot of places but have a chat with a local tree surgeon & he will probably give you a good deal because he has to get rid of all the branches etc that he puts through the wood chipper.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Alternatively some rubber like arena rubber? Our arena was far too deep with too much rubber so we took some loads out to spread on the track. Has worked perfectly for a couple of winters, and that's just putting it on top of grass.

This is what I’ve done. We were having to replace the wood chip every few years and it went like compost
Now I absolutely love it, so clean and maintenance free. I have a matted area with a very cheaply built shelter where I feed hay

 

[Marigold4]

I use Cushioride for my turnout area. Woodchips can slip underfoot, particularly the bigger chips. Also you run the risk of bark from a poisonous tree being in it and a horse chewing on it. I have to replace the Cushionride but I like the fact that the farmer is happy to collect and I'm not stuck with non-decomposing artificial material. I lunge and ride on it too and it's excellent.

 

[Jellymoon]

I just have tarmac planings, really like it. It’s got membrane and hardcore underneath.

 

[PurBee]

If you live near an area where forestry is grown, ie scotland/wales in the uk - youll get 14 tonnes truckload of woodchip direct from the forestry dept. very cheaply. Its all mainly spruce so non toxic or palatable to horses.

Whether woodchip works as a footing area depends on use and what‘s beneath the woodchip. I asked on a thread a while back and most said for riding on its very slippy. It does depend on woodchip type and size. Fir tree woodchips break down much slower than general deciduous tree chips that a tree surgeon would likely chip-up. My brother is a T.S and his pile of woodchips are a mixture of trees and leaves/bark.

Commercial forestry woodchip operations use massive chippers and only chip fir/spruce mainly. That takes much longer to break down, doesnt contain leaf material, and are large pieces of 2 inch wide x 4 inch long roughly, with ‘bits’ that are useful to hold it together.

I used forestry spruce woodchip once as a quick fix to some very muddy areas Under trees that the horses laze around. I did no soil prep, as there was no time, just put a 6-8 inch layer on the mud, which helped soak up the excess moisture and provided a far more stable footing than the mud. It composted within 2 years due to it mixing with the mud beneath eventually, and the trees absorbed it and the area firmed-up.
I’d certainly use fir large woodchip on a hardcore base as a loafing area. I’ve considered it for a section of my hardcore area, which has a slight slope, so all rain would naturally drain through the chip, onto the hardcore base, and drain-off.

Small garden chips that are 1inch thin strips would be spongier and break down faster.

I considered sand and rubber too - but was put off for the reasons you give, sand ingestion/colic risks, if the area is mainly a ‘dry lot’ for turnout. Rubber pieces are ideal for longevity, and non-slip but would undoubtedly end up with manure stuck to it, which would end up on the manure pile for composting to use as fertiliser on the land, and i didnt want rubber pieces to end up on the grazing land (and im sure if i had a farmer collect it for spreading they wouldnt like the pieces of rubber in the fertiliser on their land either and be put off from collecting from me).
And i sure as hell am NOT removing every piece of rubber stuck to horse poop while poo-picking! The job is laborious enough!! ?

 

[PurBee]

P.s i used a good 6 inch depth, which will compress to around 4 inches. Far more comfortable footing than hardcore for a turnout area. You could put it a bit deeper in a place they’re likely to lay down for a snooze for more cushioning.

 

[Goldenstar]

I have had wood chips ( commercial so soft woods ) in the past I liked them easy to skip out and good in freezing weather I have used them in field shelters as well which was good put loads in in autumn and skipped out as needed and just used big flake shavings if it got sparse near he end of the season .
You do have to top up chips regularly I have now that area return to grass you would hardly know it had been chipped once .
I have a small area of road planeings pretty good but does get slippy in if you get driving rain quickly followed by cold .

 

[Horseysheepy]

Road planings are good. The only thing is poo picking and the planings that stick to the poos are not ideal when a farmer wants to spread the muck on his land.