Hi All, I decided to invest in fiber footing for my indoor arena, and it has been a nightmare. In a nutshell, I purchased the sand and fiber the company recommended, and had an experienced arena builder install it per the company instructions. The horses sank up to their coronary bands when we tried to ride on it. I called for help and was told we didn’t mix it enough. So, per instructions, the installer came back and remixed and rolled it. The horses still sank. I called for additional help and was told we mixed it too much and to buy an additional type of fiber from them. So I did. We installed that per instructions and the horses now are now tripping. Called for help…was told to mix again. We are still not able to ride in this arena; it’s been six weeks since we’ve been able to ride in it. Of course, I’ve watered and rolled the arena daily…sometimes twice a day. Has anyone else had this kind of problem? How did you solve it? Thank you, fg
Yikes, that sounds terrible! What kind is it? At this point the company should be sending someone to look at it. Actually, that point was a while ago but still.
yikes. Yes, this company needs to send someone out personally to see what’s going on and make it right. Sounds like your sand mix was wrong and now you just have too much fiber so that it doesn’t slide at all.
Thank you, both. I tried to be as succinct as I could above. Thank you again for taking time to read this and offer an opinion.
fordtraktor, I sent you a PM. Also editing to add this footing is very unstable and the horses hate it. Footprints can be deeper on one side of the hoof than the other. Hope I said that so it made sense.
Can you please send me the name as well? I am starting to worry about my new footing, different problem, but it makes you think…
Hi TullyMars, What problem are you having? I sent you a PM.
We have a few barns with Fiber footing around here, and we do have issues when we show on them: our horses will sink too deep at times, and/or kind of stub their toes…and I am talking 6 figure arenas. In the one ring, they have to rake the inside turns between every few rounds, and water/roll a few times each day. It seems it is much higher maintenance than I would have expected given the cost.
I haven’t seen this issue indoors though, only outdoors.
Are their any local barns with the same footing you can talk to? You might get better answers that way.
I’ve known venues have to actually remove the footing and completely replace with new footing because the mix was wrong! I hope you won’t have to do this
I have experience with Fleet brand footing. Hard and has to be dragged a lot.
I’ve had great success with GGT footing, not with Premier footing.
Fancy Pants, did you try both? Who did you buy your GGT footing from? Thx
I have seen GGT installed in a ring that had this problem. Eventually was told that they used the wrong sand. But at this point, the firm you purchased the footing from should be coming out to help. Good luck; it sounds like a nightmare.
Shawn Claussen from Fieldstone Farm in MA is excellent at mixing and setting up GGT - we love ours and he is very successful with his business. I have heard if you buy directly from GGT they sell you way too much. Also you have to buy the fancy drag that is used on GGT or it’s hopeless. And magnesium it every so often.
I have always been told that GGT is not for indoor rings, for a variety of reasons (namely, being out in the elements actually is a key to it settling).
Tullymars, I sent you a PM.
I’ll second Shawn! He’s a childhood friend and is my go to for any arena work. Happy to get you his contact information if you need. His business is called RideSport Equine and he is currently in Ocala for the winter months.
Thank you to everyone who offered help. When I was sourcing this footing, I called Karen Leeming at Footing First to get a quote from her. I elected to go with the company I did as it was initially less expensive. When I couldn’t get it rideable with help from the company from which I purchased, I called Karen. I was set to have it hauled out, and re-purchase from Footing First.
As you can image, I was very embarrassed. She was very gracious and gave me suggestions to get this arena usable, which worked. At this point, because the arena installer had to come back so many times and I had to purchase additional fiber per the original company’s instructions, my arena is now significantly more expensive than if I had purchased from Footing First in the first place. For those of you putting in a new arena, I would like to add Karen Leeming and Footing First to the above recommendations. She very easily could have sold me a new arena as I was really over this one, but she encouraged me and gave me suggestions to get this one to work. Now that’s class. fg
I detest fiber footing! My horse always feels more sore when we go to shows that have it. I have seen a number of horses trip and fall in it. And it provides too much grip and not enough give, which leads to excess torque on the horses joints.
Ignoring my rant though…I really hope the company helps you make this right! If they are a reputable company, I am sure they will. Best of luck and sending thoughts your way! Footing is so important but trying to get it just right always seems to be a nightmare no matter what material!
