I need a cheap, quick fix, even if it only lasts for a few months. I can no longer get my horses in or out safely. The rain won’t stop. I do not own the property so I don’t want to spend thousands on this and I don’t care how long it holds up. Thanks!
move the gate?
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Load of screenings from your local quarry.
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I have considered this but there is only one side the gate could be on and it is the low side. It would turn into a mire again in a week or so.
And if I just throw that on the mud it would work? Do you just order screenings?
Enough on top of mud should work. Can you get the truck in there to dump?
Yeah, just call up and order a load of screenings. Should be a few hundred bucks.
That would work…not sure how to get it in…no way a truck could get in there at this point. But owners have a lot of equipment so maybe it could be dumped at gate and spread.
I have been told that if you take an old piece of carpet and then dump gravel or wood chips on top the carpet keeps the gravel from sinking in the mud. You can likely get old carpet from Craiglist or contact carpet companies and get what they pull out of the house when they replace carpet for people. The larger the pieces the better so ask them to roll it up but don’t cut it.
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Good idea, thanks!
That carpet is a pretty stellar idea, and enough of it might even allow you to get the dump truck closer to the gate–or at least let you get your tractor in the area without making everything a whole lot worse.
I took my tractor and dug down a few inches by the gate. I put in a section of landscape fabric I had left over from there barn ($45 12’ x 25’ roll, I had a 4’ x 12’ section left) down then put $18 ($9 ton I hauled it home myself) worth of screenings down. To see how well it would hold up I tied a hay bag there so the horses would step on it constantly. It’s dry and solid many months later. The only dry solid spot in the pasture to date grrrrrrrrr
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Yep. Dig out the mud, lay carpet or geotex fabric, dump screenings on top. You can even get them in smaller bags from Home Depot and move them with a wheelbarrow though it is more expensive than bulk.
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Not sure if digging out is possible right now…it is quite literally the consistency of soup in front of the gate. :no:
I don’t think I would go with “screeenings”. I use #2-3 “modified”. Once that packs down put screenings on top.
You want to mound it. Because just like water, stones have to seek their own level in mud. The carpet base does work well. But IMO you want to scrape/bucket the top foot or so of mud off lay the carpet than dump stone on top. More like a mix of stone and screenings.
Just dumping a couple of tons of stone/gravel does work. But it needs to be packed, squished into the mud after dumping. Packing with the bucket of a tractor and packing it more by driving on it. Make sure it is a 4WD tractor if it is a quagmire.
Depending on the size of the area and the depth of the quagmire. IME with 12 foot gates and extending out around 2 “horse lengths”. Around 4+ tons of #2-3 modified maybe needed to start. Another couple of tons maybe needed after that packs down, Expect it to still be kind of like thick pea soup until things settle in. If you want quick results a layer of stone/gravel,layer of screenings, layer of gravel layer of screens. And work the stuff in.
Around here the stone is around $25++ per ton. Depending on how far you are from the stone yard. The delivery charge can be more than the stone/gravel. One or two tons may sound like a lot. But it’s not.
Once the gravel has reached a solid level mixed in with the dirt. IME in my neck of the rainy woods it will stay firm for years. Native junk grasses will grow in it and or throw some grass seed on it which helps hold everything together.
To get any real bang for your buck and not just be throwing money in the mud. You will need a tractor with a FEL to be able to work it around, work it in. The bigger the better. It will save a LOT of time if the delivery truck can back up to the area and dump the load.
Good luck.
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What ever you decide to do … Do NOT use wood chips, mulch, bedding, or anything organic. Years ago, when I was young & ignorant, I tried wood chips. The mess that developed with manure and decomposition was horrible in only a few months. Had to dig the whole stinky mess out. Replaced it with geo-textile and gravel… Years later, it’s still dry and firm in front of the gate.
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Thanks for the advice! I talked to the owners and I think they will get it spread with their equipment. FWIW I did try some bedding in front of the gate so I could at least step in without being sucked down into the murky depths. And yes, it just does make the mess worse. Learned my lesson!
The important part is the separation of layers that keeps the soil from coming up and mixing in. Without the soil there is no mud.
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My barn manager had probably 15 inch deep mud at the gate and ended up with some sort of rock, some of which were 2 to 4 inches around. The idea being that this larger rock wouldn’t sink so far into the mud, it was laid about 4 - 12 inches deep because it was an entire load in a small area and has lasted an entire year. In the future she can throw smaller rock over the top if she needs to.
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Ah, just went through this a couple weeks ago. A chronically wet area with organics that have broken down over time and created a deep boot-sucking mud that refused to dry out. All in the highest traffic area. It was horrible, watching my horses go in and out of this deep cattle-paddock type mud and I couldn’t take it any more.
I was going to get some geotextile, or go the carpet route and do a big elaborate project, but I just didn’t have the time or funds, I can’t get equipment to the location, it all has to be done by hand, and I too board. In the end, I tried these and they’re amazing: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0…?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I only had small daily chunks of time to devote to the project, so I literally stopped at Lowes each day on my way to the barn, bought about 10 bags of crushed marble (cheapest they had) for $3.29 a bag. 2 bags covers one grid.
As the horses would eat breakfast, I’d start at the very worst part, lay down 4 grids to get a sense of placement, set the grids to the side and scrape away and remove the worst of the muck, then put the grids back down, open the bags of gravel and spread on top. Literally took all of 25 minutes to do.
Each day I built on what I accomplished the day prior, effectively creating a path. The horses used it. The muck reduced. The grids never shifted. I was so so happy, with just this small improvement.
Finally, our weather broke for a few days and I ordered in 10tons of 3/8" gravel, delivered for about $300. Each day, I wheel out about 10 wheelbarrows of gravel, dump, spread, and place a stall mat on top. I’m basically building a gigantic gravel and stall mat patio a few square feet at a time. I can’t get a truck to the location, otherwise I would’ve just had it all dumped of course.
Its working fabulously though. I am thrilled and impressed with the grids, they completely stabilize the ground, the horses trot all over them, fly back and forth by the gate, and they don’t budge.
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@buck22 I think I love you.:love-struck:
I solved my muddy paddock problem with geotex & gravel.
Had an excavator with all the Big Toys get it done right in a couple days.
He removed 9" of gook & subsoil, put down the geotex, then had dumptrucks - 3, IIRC - dump roadbase gravel (rocks anywhere from 2-3"dia to fist-sized) on top, then compacted & leveled that with a FEL skidster.
But in a moment of Infinite Stoopid, I neglected to have him do the spaces at gates that lead to pastures.
The stuff you linked to will be perfect for fixing that omission at a decent price.
My penance will be wheelbarrowing the gravel to fill the grids.
Although, I do have a nice, willing, neighbor kid who does stuff for me…
I may play the Grayhaired Oldlady card 
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