ThreeFurs
Well-Known Member
Need to run this past the brains trust before I commit to going out in the boiling sun [Australia] with two gauges of rake, and raking the stones out by hand.
So here's the story. I agist [grass retirement livery] my 29 retired wb schoolmaster at a nearby commercial livery where the fencing/water/shelter and care are all good, in a region where good agistment [livery] is hard to find. Lets call it horse property A. I don't need the facilities for my bloke, as he's not ridden. He's happy as Larry, has a huge rich pasture, shared with an equally elderly companion.
But for those liveries who do ride, there is one glaring issue with this place and that is it has three bad arenas. The two old arenas are deep beach sand right on top of clay. Five years ago when I [briefly] had a young wb mare there, she slipped badly on this one when her foot went through the sand, onto the clay. I moved her soon after. Begged the barn owner to 'do something' about these top two older arena, but no joy. I think she took some of the beach sand off.
To be fair, two liveries train seriously on the top two old arenas, one eventer and one show hack rider. The other eight or so other liveries use them as well for groundwork and walk/trot. I wouldn't work, let alone jump, a horse on a surface that I couldn't myself comfortably jog over.
But wait, there's more. The barn owner's adult daughter once lived at the bottom of the property in another house, and in that time she and her then partner did all the earthwork and prep for a massive, 120x40 showjumping arena, but they broke up before the base could be topped.
Fast forward, the mother, [our BO] had a half of this third, new arena topped with beach sand mixed with stones. God knows why. She blames the supplier. She wanted us all to pick out the stones and fill buckets 'in our spare time' and some did, albeit half arsedly. Then she put a little bit of rubber shred on top.
So now, people who ride on the 'big' third arena, are finding their horses are getting bruised soles from the stones. [sigh]
I don't technically have a 'dog in this race'. Myself I'm currently riding and lessoning on a friend's dressage Clydie nearby, on my friend's own excellent arena. However eventually I will get another horse of my own and would want to keep him with my old one; so I will need a good arena.
My fellow livery at horse property A, whose ottb [with bruised soles] and I are hatching a plan to remove the stones using two passes over the arena with wide metal rakes - then narrower plastic ones. The stones are too small to hire in a rock remover - the agricultural kind. I know one can get sifting shovels as well.
The ethicist in me thinks 'why should we have to remove the stones when the BO put them there'? The realist in me knows this is probably the only way we're going to get a rideable arena, now and in the future.
Do my mate at Property A, me, and hopefully her partner, [3 of us] get crackin with the rakes [if we get permission from BO] or are there other solutions?
So here's the story. I agist [grass retirement livery] my 29 retired wb schoolmaster at a nearby commercial livery where the fencing/water/shelter and care are all good, in a region where good agistment [livery] is hard to find. Lets call it horse property A. I don't need the facilities for my bloke, as he's not ridden. He's happy as Larry, has a huge rich pasture, shared with an equally elderly companion.
But for those liveries who do ride, there is one glaring issue with this place and that is it has three bad arenas. The two old arenas are deep beach sand right on top of clay. Five years ago when I [briefly] had a young wb mare there, she slipped badly on this one when her foot went through the sand, onto the clay. I moved her soon after. Begged the barn owner to 'do something' about these top two older arena, but no joy. I think she took some of the beach sand off.
To be fair, two liveries train seriously on the top two old arenas, one eventer and one show hack rider. The other eight or so other liveries use them as well for groundwork and walk/trot. I wouldn't work, let alone jump, a horse on a surface that I couldn't myself comfortably jog over.
But wait, there's more. The barn owner's adult daughter once lived at the bottom of the property in another house, and in that time she and her then partner did all the earthwork and prep for a massive, 120x40 showjumping arena, but they broke up before the base could be topped.
Fast forward, the mother, [our BO] had a half of this third, new arena topped with beach sand mixed with stones. God knows why. She blames the supplier. She wanted us all to pick out the stones and fill buckets 'in our spare time' and some did, albeit half arsedly. Then she put a little bit of rubber shred on top.
So now, people who ride on the 'big' third arena, are finding their horses are getting bruised soles from the stones. [sigh]
I don't technically have a 'dog in this race'. Myself I'm currently riding and lessoning on a friend's dressage Clydie nearby, on my friend's own excellent arena. However eventually I will get another horse of my own and would want to keep him with my old one; so I will need a good arena.
My fellow livery at horse property A, whose ottb [with bruised soles] and I are hatching a plan to remove the stones using two passes over the arena with wide metal rakes - then narrower plastic ones. The stones are too small to hire in a rock remover - the agricultural kind. I know one can get sifting shovels as well.
The ethicist in me thinks 'why should we have to remove the stones when the BO put them there'? The realist in me knows this is probably the only way we're going to get a rideable arena, now and in the future.
Do my mate at Property A, me, and hopefully her partner, [3 of us] get crackin with the rakes [if we get permission from BO] or are there other solutions?
? who pays 
