Arena drags and eliminating crowning?

[jmac84]

I have read most of the “arena drag” threads. Folks seem to love the Arena Rascal Pro and I am considering it. However, I want to do as much research as possible and see if there are less expensive alternatives.

My issue is that our arena has built up a crown down the center line. We dug some test spots and sure enough, there is 3 plus inches of footing down the middle and less than an inch on the low side.

From what I have read, the drags with “s-tines” or flexible tines (such as Parma and EZ Groomer) will probably not work because they will flex when hitting the hard packed areas and dig into the looser areas so it won’t really even out highs and lows? Also, I notice some models have wheels in front. I have the same concern here, i.e. that the wheels will simply follow the existing - uneven - contour and not really help even things out?

I am thinking I need ripper teeth that will go through whatever is in its way, whether hard or loose, consistently with something at the back that will move material, once it has been loosened, from the high spots to the low spots. Any recommendations or thoughts?

Thank you!

[tangledweb]

You probably need wheels or equivalent control and to largely follow the existing contour. If you only have 1" at the sides you need to only rip 1" deep to begin with or you’ll be tearing up base at the edges.

Nothing is going to fix it for you automatically. You need something that breaks it up, then manually you’ll need to spend some time driving in circles dragging it from high spots to low spots.

[Bluey]

I don’t know in an arena, but I have the Kaiser Edge and used it to smooth our dirt parking lot in front of our arena, after I had dumped lots of dirt with my FEL and smoothed it with it, leaving ridges here and there and hard and soft spots.

It worked wonderfully, took the humps off and leveled it all on an even bottom base and smooth dirt above it, could have ridden on it.

I agree that it is a lot of money to buy some of the better arena grooming tools and hope it works.
Then, those resell for practically what someone has to pay if it doesn’t work for you.

I do think they are an improvement over the old types, so definitely better.

[Watermark_Farm]

I have an EZ Groomer attached to my 3 point hitch on tractor and it does have an adjustable leveling bar. I’ve found that it does a pretty job job of evening out footing depth.

[DHCarrotfeeder]

Has the material moved, or is it simply the material on the perimeter breaking down?

Each case may require a different solution.

[jmac84]

I think it is a bit of both. There is a decent pitch to the arena and I know we have lost material along the low side. However, I also believe footing has built up in the middle. (When first evenly spread, we never had a full three inches of footing anywhere)

[Jumper_girl221]

honestly though…crowning isn’t always a BAD thing…I built a crown on mine and have one of the best draining rings in the area.

[jmac84]

True except that the ring already has a lot of side to side pitch so with the footing built up in the middle, the pitch from there to the low side is too much!!

[ToTheNines]

I am researching arena groomers too. I am also looking for something fairly aggressive that will also level. Are you going to pull yours with a UTV or a tractor?

[jmac84]

I can do either. Leaning towards pulling with tractor to get more power and versatility. I am just balking at the $3,000 plus price tags!!

[EmilyM]

I have a suggestion if you don’t want to spend a lot of money. I recently bought a box blade which redistributes sand in the ring. It has some teeth which I reversed so as not to dig up base and a leveling blade. The box part accumulates sand in the deep sections of the ring and deposits it when you get to shallower sections. Like any other piece of equipment, you have to get a sense for how the sand shifts and what direction to drag in, but I’m very pleased with the result. I was able to get it used for $600. I use $600 (used) york rake for most day to day grooming and i bring out the box blade every few drags to keep the sand level. I have a bit of a steep pitch and get wash out. the box blade really helps me fix the ring up after heavy washout/rain. I have also heard that a rear blade works well. That could be an option for you especially with the deep spot being in the middle of the ring.

Hope this helps. I previously spent many hours and many brain cells figuring out how to keep my footing even and good for my horse without spending a ton of money.

[ToTheNines]

Agree with you on the flexible tines. They just don’t seem aggressive enough.

I have a ripper from County Manufacturing that I pull with my small tractor. It does a great job ripping hardened granite sand in my arena. I had let my arena go bad because I did not have proper equipment, but now I am in the process of getting it back in shape.

Now I want something not quite as aggressive and that will also level. I also want to pull it with a UTV because I like to keep the grooming mower hooked up to the PTO on the tractor and don’t want to do a lot of implement changing. But I don’t want to invest in a great big UTV either.

Right now the Rascal Pro with the leveling blade (they call it a profiling blade) is winning. This is because I have already ripped the arena loose with the ripper. But the Rascal Pro also comes with ripper blades, and you can use either the ripper blades or the leveling bar as I understand it.

The 4.5 foot model i s $2395 delivered, they told me today. Now working on matching it to UTV. The Rascal Pro folks say 400 - 500 cc’s for the UTV. They also say that the smaller Rascal Pro will be too narrow for wheels of UTV but I am not sure I am worried about that.

I am also curious if direction of travel will help with your crowning over time. Do you go back and forth across the short side of the arena? Or mainly around the long side?

ETA: The Rascal Pro person was extremely helpful, and the price he quoted included shipping. What I did NOT like is that he added “shipping is free this month”. This being the 29th, I consider that pressure, which I do not like and they will lose my business if they want to change the price when I order.