First time dragging arena - is this normal?

[taylorelaine]

We dragged our arena for the first time today - is this normal? I don’t think those ridges should be there. What are we doing wrong? We set the drag at 1/2” since it was our first time - we haven’t watered since last week but we got a lot of rain Monday night and the sand was still wet when we scraped the top.

Quick update: we went around one more with the drag for a few minutes the first time was about 5 minutes maybe and the ridges settled, but now there are waves in the arena - it feels like riding a boat on choppy water when dragging. I hope we didn’t mess anything up. Any tips when dragging would be really appreciated. This is all new to us.

[fordtraktor]

Very normal, if you raise it a teensy bit it will go away. Some drags have a little “foot” that pulls it back under the drag and smooths it out but most don’t.

[taylorelaine]

Okay thank you! Quick update: we went over it once more with the drag and now there are waves in the arena and when we were dragging it felt like we were on a boat very choppy - is that bad?

[fordtraktor]

You are too deep. It shouldn’t be picking up that much footing.

[taylorelaine]

We were at about 1/2” - is that bad now that there’s waves? Will that work out and reset after the next drag? What should we do differently? I’m kicking myself for going around a second time I should’ve left it since the ridges were fine and were going to settle anyways

[fordtraktor]

I wouldn’t leave it like that. drag it again and fix it. Any time your footing isn’t leveled it isn’t good.

[taylorelaine]

Okay, we have the sprinklers on right now - it feels like the waves get worse the more we work it, should we do something differently? Is this going to affect the arena now?

[fordtraktor]

You should be able to go over it as many times as you want if the drag is at the proper height. This is an adjustment problem, not a problem with your technique. Raise it a little go over it again.

[fordtraktor]

Don’t water it until you get the level right. what is happening since it is too deep is your footing is building up behind it, then sort of jumping over the buildup, then digging down when it lands and starting the process over. Don’t leave it like that. No permanent harm is done at all, you just need to do it again correctly and adjust as you go. If mine is particularly bad, I do it twice at different levels.

[taylorelaine]

Okay thanks! So it wasn’t because we went over it again right? I told my dad to leave it at 1/2” the second time and I think he might’ve put it a little lower but he says he didn’t but I don’t know why it would’ve gotten wavy the second time if nothing changed and I don’t think you can really go less than half an inch - unless you can? And maybe we should?

[fordtraktor]

I posted twice above, the second one should answer that. It’s fine, you just have to figure out your settings. I don’t set mine at any particular inch mark so that might depend on the drag. But I do know the problem and have done it before, it’s going to be OK. Trial and error is not going to damage anything unless you are hitting the base.

[taylorelaine]

Thanks so much! That makes me feel a lot better - we already put the sprinklers on for about 10 minutes - is that okay? We live in south Florida and we noticed after dragging the arena started getting pretty dry - should we wait a little bit before dragging again?

[fordtraktor]

It’s totally fine. You can go ahead and drag again I would think. If your tractor/ATV wheels start making dents that don’t drag out, come back later but 10 minutes shouldn’t be a problem. Enjoy your new arena and welcome to the adventures of figuring out how to adjust your drag, it’s a process! hahahaha. Figuring out how much water is the right amount of water is another process, so be prepared for some ups and downs there too!

[taylorelaine]

Thank you so much we’re definitely figuring it out lol I just have one more question: I forgot to mention before that we have use a Polaris ranger in low speed to drag - someone also mentioned to my husband that there might not be enough weight in the back - do you think that’s something maybe? Should we put a couple bags of shavings in the back? Or should we just leave it as it is?

[taylorelaine]

How fast should we be driving too?

[fordtraktor]

Hmm. I have a heavier vehicle so I am going to let someone else answer that one. I’m not sure. My drag company said to drive on the fast side but not sure if that applies to all.

[taylorelaine]

Okay thanks! I was wondering maybe too if it could also be a weight issue because the back felt pretty springy I know it’s a little hard to tell because of the waves right now everything feels bumpy but the back felt a little bit more than maybe it should - our drag is from ABI attachments I think it’s the rascal pro, but I’ll reach out to the company and ask what speed they recommend too - one last question actually my husband wanted to know do you have any tips when you’re done dragging and at the end of the drag the sand clumps and there’s like a build up - the fist time we went around we didn’t lift the drag until the arena entrance and there was a lot of build up in the rake but also there was a deep raised pile of sand at the gate

[taylorelaine]

And should we just keep it at 1/2” for now or is 1” okay sometimes too? I’m sorry if I already asked that.

[Mosey_2003]

Is there someone you could have come out and show you in person?

[RedHorses]

Just going to point out that if you drag it the same way every time you will be moving the footing the same way every time. High spots will be higher and low spots lower.