Arena Dust Control Products

[walktrot]

The b/o got an offer from her uncle, proprietor of a major concrete and paving company here in southern Maine. If she supplies a dust supressant to treat the sand, he will mix it with rubber and do the footing in both arenas. That’s huge, because the outdoor is 80x180 and the indoor is 80x200. The outdoor has a stone dust base, the indoor just packed down bank run gravel. The base in the outdoor is in good shape after 14 years, but it does need new footing. She tried to buy rubber for the indoor a number of years ago, but the product was not as represented by the vendor, so she refused delivery and sent it on its way.

Has anyone had success with dust supression products and if so which ones? How long did it last, or do you have to keep treating it to keep the dust down? Should we not bother with the dust supressant and just go with rubber and washed sand? What else do we need to consider?

[PeteyPie]

This is such a good question. I hope someone with experience will comment, so I am bumping this up.

[merrygoround]

Magnesium Chloride! works the best. Great for indoors, would need more frequent redoing outside depending on rainfall .

[Cluck]

Get the Dead Sea MAG product, which is intended for dust control rather than just ice melt. There are several suppliers apart from those near NY. I found mine in WI.

Application is super easy with a lawn spreader and normal use and dragging will work it in very well.

My indoor arena is beautifully moist (sand, fiber, felt, rubber) after applying to bone dry footing. No watering since last Fall.

[Mosey_2003]

MagChlor, definitely. We spread it on the driveways here and with heavy truck traffic (read both the trucks are heavy and the amount of traffic is heavy) it lasts well a good week. So I’d think in an arena it would do much better.

[walktrot]

Thanks for the replies! Just from what is here and skimming a few other threads it looks like dust control in the outdoor is questionable. We don’t have the budget to be able to keep treating the sand, and since we are on wells, constant watering in warm weather is sort of out of the question.

I did go to the Dead Sea Mag site, thanks Cluck! There is a lot of good information on that site.

It looks like this will require a little more thought and creativity to make it work in indoor. I have a feeling that b/o and her uncle figured we could get the sand treated, mix it with rubber, and we were on our way. Clearly there is a lot more maintenance if the goal is to keep the dust down.

More COTH wisdom greatly appreciated!

[BeeHoney]

Magnesium chloride is great for indoor arenas. It probably would get expensive for an outdoor because it does wash away. A possible cheaper option would be calcium chloride, which will also wash away, but is less expensive. I do know people who have tried different things including types of oils, but I haven’t heard too many great success stories.

[Cluck]

Calcium chloride is much more corrosive on steel and more toxic for animals. True that MgCl is more expensive though.

The application isn’t really very complicated and should last 9 months to a year in an indoor. Then all that is necessary is a ‘top-up’ with much less than the original amount. Just don’t ever water!

If there are any additives to sand footing, more MgCl is required but your supplier should be able to do a calculation for you.

[LadyBug]

Can anyone else here share a more detailed experience with the MagChlor/Mag Flakes? I’ve been considering adding it to my indoor for years (sand/rubber footing, with a stone base). However, the reservation is that my indoor is metal (pole building… wood frame, metal roof/sides, which I believe is pretty typical). We do have a wooden kick-guard about 4 feet up the whole way around, which would help to keep the treated footing off the walls, but it’s still going to come in contact, or could work its way underneath.

Has anyone had rust problems? How about with the equipment used to maintain the footing, or anything that may be stored in the corner of the indoor? And do you hose your horse’s legs each time you ride?

[fjordmom]

I use MagCl in my indoor. Footing is just angular sand over packed diamond dust base. I’ve been very happy with it. I was able to get some locally, just the ice melt kind, not Dead Sea product. (Their shipping and minimum order was way out of my budget, but I am also not close to any distributor.)

We put down the first application 6 years ago with just a lawn type spreader and dragged arena as usual. I do water my arena as needed (varies of course with the weather and season.) That’s usually about 15 minutes every few weeks with a tripod lawn sprinkler. I don’t soak it down to the base so that the MagCl doesn’t leach away. Then just drag to mix, in the course of normal arena upkeep.

About once a year (I think I skipped a year here or there) I top off with a much smaller amount (3- 4 bags max) just before winter. I’m up north where a watered arena would definitely freeze otherwise. I usually get by with a watering in mid-Feb or so during a quick thaw and that is enough for the winter season. It dries out a bit more and faster in the heat of summer.

I haven’t noticed any problems with rust. My arena does have a kickwall with the bottom board being treated lumber. My drag & little tractor park in an arena corner and so far no rust problems beyond what normal wear & tear would cause.

I’d go for it. It fit my small budget far better than any other of the MUCH more expensive products and takes very little work.

Don’t have any experience using it outside. That ring is good native sod and works just fine for me.

[Watermark_Farm]

I’m planning to use a prepolymer product called Whoa Dust on my outdoor. I’m in CA and we’re in a drought, and my ability to water will be limited. (their website is whoadust.com)

I’ve used mag cl before and wasn’t crazy about it in the outdoor. Great for driveways and such but made my outdoor footing kind of ‘gummy’ in the winter, until it washed away.

[Plumcreek]

Watermark Farm,
Please report back on how this works for you. The product looks interesting and is different than others I know about, but at $325 for 5 pounds (my round pen) I would like to get more feedback.

For others: MgCl acts to draw moisture out of the air into your footing (or make the water you apply last longer). That means that if you live in an area with at least moderate humidity > 50%, it will keep most dust down by itself. In areas where humidity levels are low, around 20% or less, it will not work by itself as there is no water in the air to pull into your footing.

[partita]

I have used a product called Safe Step Extreme 8300 for several years now. Much more economical than the MAG minus the sales pitch. The one in the red bag:
http://www.hardwareonlinestore.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=productdetails&virtuemart_product_id=69887&virtuemart_category_id=77103&Itemid=1&gclid=CNiqptj06r0CFaLm7AodizsA_w

We applied it using a lawn fertilizer spreader. The broadcast spreader worked better than the rotary one. We initially applied one ton to a 20x40m arena. Then added another half ton months later. And another half ton later again. Then a few more bags late last summer. We purchased it from our local hardware store who special ordered it for us.
How much you will need and how often you will need to add depends on your footing, how much use it gets and your weather. Not recommended for an outdoor arena as rain will wash it away. Might work if you have a long cold dry winter where the problem is just frozen footing. Best to apply less than you think you will need. You can always add more later, but if you use too much, it could get messy. Good luck!

[Cluck]

I used a small amount of the Safe Step Extreme 8300, which I liked, until I realized that the MAG was much less expensive.

I paid the full $33 per bag for the Safe Step and the MAG was about $15 per bag including freight.

I’ve found that the MAG not only keeps dust down, it keeps the arena as if I have watered it. We’ll see how it does during the hot summer. I have another half ton to add if I need it. 1.5 tons has gone in so far on a 70*150’ with mixed sand/fibre/rubber footing.

[Plumcreek]

Yep, if you are paying more than $15 per 40 pound bag of Mag Cl, you are paying high end. If you live where it freezes, there are people distributing Mg Cl wholesale for road ice and snow removal, and you can buy a pallet. Here in Colo, I am paying around $13.50 per 40 lb bag in 50 bag pallets (always looking for someone to split a pallet) , but only available during winter season.

[Watermark_Farm]

Plumcreek, I’ve ordered it and will put it in early May. $600 for my arena…yikes. Hopefully it’s worth it! I’ve since talked to several who have used it and really liked it because it seemed to improve their footing consistency as well.

[candico]

I’ve ordered the Whoa Dust as well, but just for the round pen. So far very friendly and informative customer service! Crossing my fingers that it works because not only is watering constantly expensive, but also seems so wasteful during the drought, but I hate dust and dry, loose footing isn’t good for the horses.

[DHCarrotfeeder]

How did this go?

We’ve been trying to buy more MagCl (which we applied but some washed out last year due to a water leak in the barn) but we are told we cannot buy it anymore. The winter cleared out all inventory and we are also told that the fracking companies are putting additional demand for it to the point that it’s no longer available at retail.

I can’t imagine this changed since April so I’d like to hear from anyone who managed to get Mag in 2014. Also if you had to pay more than in the past.

[Cluck]

Yes I’ve just bought a pallet of MAG from Knights Chemicals WI. It was new stock. The price has increased a bit.

[LadyBug]

Is everyone here who is using MagCl purchasing the generic kind that is used as an ice melt product in the winter, or are you specifically purchasing the Mag Flakes, which is marketed as an equestrian product?

I inquired about it before due to my concerns with rust of both equipment and my building. I figure I may as well give it a shot as if I start to see rust I guess I can always water it away… So now I just need to determine what product to actually purchase?

I’m also curious to hear about the performance of the Whoa Dust product.