Anyone else catch that tidbit in the Uta Graf article in the current issue of DT? It said she liked using carpet pieces in her outdoor because it was soft and wouldn’t freeze.
Wondering how this works… like what size pieces and how they are cut. And wouldn’t it freeze, especially when wet???
Mr. KPF is often pulling up old carpet in his job so this made me go “hmmmm…” :winkgrin: I’m always brainstorming about cheap ways to improve my footing.
I too was really interested in adding such a thing to my arena but I could not find a US source.
I went to Keenland early one morning to watch them breeze the Tbs and they had it added to the track footing. It was super nice, held moisture and stabilized the sand.
PM if you find a source…I am in NC.
It is definitely used here, I have taught where it has been used (in KY). Will try to remember to ask where the owner got it. You HAVE to pick feet out after riding in it.
Are you saying it is shredded carpet? Not 2’x’2 pieces, right?
I have GGT. It is more like shredded Sham Wow than carpet. I purchased it through COTH poster AdAblur02
Lauren and David O’Brien have this footing in their arena. The couple of times I rode on it I thought it was amazing. Little bits of carpet, who knew?
I wonder if you vacuum or drag? :lol:
[QUOTE=ACMEeventing;6161671]
I wonder if you vacuum or drag? :lol:[/QUOTE]
If you fall off would you get rug burn? 
[QUOTE=Karosel;6161727]
If you fall off would you get rug burn? [/QUOTE]
Funny :lol:
What a good use for used carpet!
In the pics that accompany the article, it does not look like GGT. It looks like little squares of carpet. That’s why I was intrigued… I’ve never seen anything like it before.
I thought the same thing when I read that article! I will be curious as well if there are any suppliers. Makes you want to get a wood chipper and start grinding out carpet shreds! I have been wanting hardwood floors anyway, so it is a win-win.
I think Star West, in IL, has the footing your taking about. I recently got a horse from them and the footing had what looked like carpet fibers mixed in. It was very nice to ride on. They said they had not had it long, around a year so they didn’t know how well it stood up.
Here is a link(it’s the footing used at WEG): http://www.ottosport.de/public/en/produkte/footing.html
Here’s a eurodressage article that talks a little bit about what it is (basically ‘carpet chips’)
http://www.eurodressage.com/equestrian/2010/11/03/uta-graf-and-stefan-schneider-kingdom-horse
Not sure what the difference between the GGT and that would be, because I’ve ridden in neither one.
The community ring in our old neighborhood had the footing with shredded carpet in it. It was not GGT nor Otto. It seemed really nice at first, but then all the horses started tripping in it. The carpet fibers also get stuck in the crevice between the frog and the heel and cannot be removed with a hoof pick. Our farrier was less than impressed with the effect it had on our horses’ feet. I hope to never be in a situation to have to use a ring with that footing again.
oh I know!! it looks like it could be this? http://www.equestriandirectltd.co.uk/flexiride I’ve ridden on and seen a few arenas with this and it’s really nice to ride on and doesn’t freeze which is a real bonus. It’s pieces of old bmw/jaguar carpet mixed with foam.
I show at a Hunter/Jumper barn in Northern Maryland and they have carpet fibers/shredded carpet mixed with sand. It is AH-MAZE-ING! to ride on. It cost $30,000 to have it done. I so wish we could have it where I board.
the ProTex Plus is AMAZING…I’d die to have an arena with that footing (or any of the Premier ones)
No way now how on any fibre based surfaces. I find them to trip up the horses. The fibre has a tendency to give very little.
you have to watch out for this “carpet”. What you want is shredded felt used in making carpet. If you get shredded carpet which includes the plastic mesh backing–it will break down your sand footing making it really hard footing after a while. The shredded felt is hard to find–most of these companies sell shredded carpet with all the plastic mesh included.
We have shredded felt which retains the water in the sand and keeps the footing from getting dusty between waterings. The big show grounds in EU and FL DO NOT have shredded carpet. It is shredded felt mixed with sand.
Chattahoochee Hills in GA is where the American Eventing Championships are currently being held. The owner of the Bouckaert Farm owns carpet mills in Dalton, GA., so probably uses the left over stuff for the arenas.
The arenas were nice and springy for dressage and show jumping. You could see all different styles of carpeting torn into small pieces. It was kind of funny to see shag carpeting in the footing. I did not know that anyone was still using it. 
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