Woooohoooo!!!! Brilliant news - and some advice please

madhector

madhector

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 December 2006
Messages
12,679
Location
soon to be up north!
www.darlingdressage.co.uk
After struggling for a year with a horrible woodchip surface I had got to the point where I barely used it for fear of injuring my horse. I am convinced J's hindleg problems were a result of him slipping on the surface
frown.gif



There is no way I could afford to pay for a new surface though, so instead I tend to take B to work and school him there or have a lesson at my trainers. I probably go in my school once a week maxium.


I couldnt even canter in it yesterday for the saddle fitter as was worried he would slip.


So, had a long chat with my dad today and explained all my worries, and he out of nowhere agreed to put in a new surface!
shocked.gif



The agreement is I have a horse in to sell from Ireland and pay him back from that when I can afford it. He understands this may be years! lol



So, I need some suggestions. He wants 3 alternative surfaces, with 3 different price ranges. I have yet to do any research so any suggestions would be brilliant, plus cost etc...

The drainage and membrane are all done so would just be a case of taking up the woodchips and replacing them with something decent.


So..... Ideas???


Thanks
smile.gif
 
i dont have 3 kinds...

but the best surface i think is (sorry for the vagueness :/ lol) sand underneath, with rubber over the top.

i really like it as it is really nice and ''bouncy'' and has a lot of ''give'' for schooling work and is fab to jump on
smile.gif
xx
 
U get luckier every day u lucky girl!

I have a homemade rubber & sand which is fab

Get one that doesn't freeze
wink.gif


Waxcoated or something is fab but that is the top of the range stuff

Look in the back of your H&H
smile.gif


Martin Collins is a very useful company and are very friendly
smile.gif
 
A school near us has a Fibresand surface which was very nice - we took a horse there to be lunged as it was being rehabbed from a KS injury.

Geltrack is good too.....

Not sure what the durface is at the new yard I am moving to - when I get there, and have ridden on it, I'll let you know...

JB xx
 
I've got Trackright with Equimulch (rubber shred) on top and it is fantastic. Would be quite happy for you to come and take a look if you wanted to.
smile.gif

It never rides deep, has not once frozen in over 4 years, is very minimal maintainence and I now wouldnt have anything else.
We did put "equestrian" silica sand down first but that wouldn't compact and rode deep, it was single sized and would never improve so we got out money back eventually.
If you go with silica get it analysed first.
 
I cannot tell you just how chuffed I am with my silica sand and MC Clopf. Much better than any sand and rubber I've ever ridden on and we got a 20 x 60 done for about £6,000.
shocked.gif
smile.gif

Admittedly we did all the work ourselves and got a good deal on the sand through a relative and the haulage of the Clopf through a friend.

You are very welcome to come over and see mine if you want.
smile.gif
 
Mine is Fibresand its been down 22 years now and still going strong with not much work or cost.

Friend sells sand with rubber top type one if you wanted a quote
 
Sand but with Alruba rubber - it's shreds of conveyor belts. The same as the school by the main ring at South of England Show Ground if you've been there.

I love it, it sits on top of the sand and hardly moves. It's at the cheaper end of surfaces but rides really well. It has give, spring and never slips!

It froze a little for the first time this year but that was only cause I haven't harrowed it for a while so the rubber wasn't covering all of the sand thick enough.
 
I don't have my own arena but have been on 2 yards with sand and rubber - would echo the advice to look carefully at the sand. On one yard the sand never compacted and came up through the rubber which made it ride very deep - it was useless. I'm not sure whether they never bought enough rubber or the sand was wrong??
My new yard has a fantastic arena -there is a thick covering of rubber over the sand which stays put and gives a lovely bouncy surface which never freezes
smile.gif
smile.gif
 
not quite the sam ebut the gallop near me is by robert brazil and its lush !!!! really bouncy,never freezes and always rides really nicely. Think they do a range of surfaces to suit the needs so a school surface from them would be different from the gallop surface but the company comes highly recommended by the trainer who uses them
 
Thankyou everyone for your suggestions, given me lots to look at. The surface at work is sand and rubber and is lovely, but my friend has one that is also sand and rubber and it is horrible so a bit wary..


Bananaman - would be great to come and see yours sometime if thats ok! Could maybe bring B for a lesson
wink.gif
 
No problem, just let me know when you want to come over...........only trouble is it's now snowing heavily again.
frown.gif


I think the key to the sand and rubber ones is in the quality of the sand. If you can afford the proper equestrian grade silica sand they work really well. However if you can't, then they will ride deep.
The Clopf fibre binds even the lesser grade silica well so that you just print in. I do think we'll need to water it in very dry spells and only time will tell but that's not a problem atm!!!
wink.gif
 
It doesn't really matter what mix you have it is the sand that is key. I used to work for a v famous arena supplier, and the absolute must was to buy good quality sand, do not be swayed by sharp sand or builders sand it won't drain, won't gel together, and will become deep and shallow in places. Spend the majority of your budget on the sand and you won't go wrong
smile.gif
 
Know what a nightmare having so many choices!! I eventually went for an Andrews Bowen, equi-sand ( must be the best you can afford!!) & a waxed topping that is power harrowed in. Its made up of chunks of rubber, plastic granules, felt strips etc. & iI have only levelled it 4 times in nearly 2 years, it just doesnt require anymore! They use thison the main collecting ring at Wales & the West, & obviously gets loads more wear than mine, but that was doing great last time I saw it Mine never froze, either. Good luck choosing!! PS I looked at Alruba, but it smelt very rubbery ( it was a hot day) & the horses socks were black! May have been a one off, as I know a lot of people are pleased with it!!
 
Totally agree, it's the sand that needs to be right! Silica sand is fab as the granules are angular meaning that the surface doesn't get deep.

I have silica sand and Spring-Tek rubber. It is so so fab! We have about 15 horses use it everyday, both dressage and jumping and everyone loves it
grin.gif
It never gets deep at all, the horses seem to float across it, so it's firm but springy...

004-1.jpg


closer pic of it...
041-1.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top