Woodchip turnout

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lizziebell

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With the start of the wet weather and being on clay, I'm thinking of creating a small turnout area. It'll only be 10mx10m for a couple of hours a day, and it only needs to last from now until April (as we are in process of moving). Do you think I'd get away with just chucking a load of woodchip down on top of the grass? If so, to what depth should I lay it (any ideas on how many tons for 10x10m would be great) x
 
Would of thought it would just mix in with the mud unfortunately. I have a 12x14m turnout pen that had grass mats in it which we just topped with sand and rubber but we have little mud as on gravel.
 
Think it may make it worse as will trap the moisture in and stop the air and sun (if we get any) from getting to it..
I have a woodchip turnout but is on top of land drains and 6inches of stone which I understand you wont want to do as you're moving.
 
Lucky you, clay is such fun .... Not! I have woodchip areas in my winter paddocks but they have a limestone draining base. Woodchip straight onto clay would be a complete waste of money, you'd be better off using screened hardcore but t hat needs to go down when it's dry. There's no cheap solution with clay.

Oops, sorry Lamlyn, I should have read your post!
 
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I have clay, it's not easy to manage, but great that you're considering all available options. I made my yard bigger, rather than the field by extending the turnout area in front of eight of the stables, one barn, tackroom and feed room ( these buildings are all in a row) and put clean limestone and road plainings down. The horses can walk the yard then during the day. Cheaper if you buy direct and then hire people with machinery and whacker plates. Woodchip on clay will soon create a soggy mess, I'm afraid, unless you put that kind of limestone base down first.
 
Slightly Foxed said:
Lucky you, clay is such fun .... Not! I have woodchip areas in my winter paddocks but they have a limestone draining base. Woodchip straight onto clay would be a complete waste of money, you'd be better off using screened hardcore but t hat needs to go down when it's dry. There's no cheap solution with clay.

Oops, sorry Lamlyn, I should have read your post!
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Thanks - cost isn't the issue. It needs to be temporary just for next 2-3 months.
 
We have used woodchip for the exact purpose you propose, it needs to be at least 6-8 inches deep. If the ground is wet when you put it down when the horses first start walking on it they will make holes but if you fill these with more wood chip it will work, won't be perfect but you should find you can poo pick off it etc but everyday to start with you will be filling in hoof holes.

Yes it does rot down a bit but it is still much easier to manage than mud. I have no idea of weight but you're likely to need about 18 cubic metres maybe 2 to have some left over for hole filling.
 
LD&S said:
We have used woodchip for the exact purpose you propose, it needs to be at least 6-8 inches deep. If the ground is wet when you put it down when the horses first start walking on it they will make holes but if you fill these with more wood chip it will work, won't be perfect but you should find you can poo pick off it etc but everyday to start with you will be filling in hoof holes.

Yes it does rot down a bit but it is still much easier to manage than mud. I have no idea of weight but you're likely to need about 18 cubic metres maybe 2 to have some left over for hole filling.
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Thanks LD&S. Anything is better than mud!
 
I have seen this done with muck ,straw works really well and I have seen it done with shavings they skipped out the droppings then the rest of the waste was tipped into the area being used .
The straw worked really well as a sort term fix.
I have also seen the same done in snow were both worked well as an area to ride horses round in walk when their was no other way to get them out their stables .
 
we have a woodchip turn out area. we put down stone chippings first about 6"-8" deep then 8" of wood chip on top. it works well. the wood chips eventually degrade and need removing and topping up.
 
I have a wood chip turnout, it was made fairly cheaply with left over brick rubble & free wood chip from a tree surgeon.

I also have a area where no ground prep has gone in. Basically we had loads of left over wood chip & so we dumped in into a gateway & rolled it down.
It works well.
Yes, I'm sure a good amount of the wood chip has been lost in the clay but there is enough there that they are still standing on the wood chip instead of sinking into mud.
I think provided we keep chucking the woodchip on top then this will be the case.
 
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