Footing to save the soft tissues... how soft is too soft?

[ToTheNines]

We all talk about “good” footing, but what do we really mean? Around here, sand footing is quite popular. But when it’s not watered it gets loose… you look and there’s no foot imprint, just some displaced sand. Then when it’s watered, it gets deep…you look and there is an imprint but it’s deep and stuck.

Does anyone have opinions on what “good” footing should look like? I think I like to see an impression, but one that looks like there is a wee bit of slide forward, and not too deep.

I have an older horse with long slopey pasterns. Very comfy to ride, but you can see a lot of give in them. I get paranoid about footing. Is it just me? Everyone around here has that same footing, it seems.

[eternalbeginner]

At our barn we have sand footing also. It is levelled and pressed two times a week, and watered every afternoon (if it does not rain of course). The footing in two arenas is quite good because they have less depth of sand, but there is one arena that has a deeper amount of sand and it is much worse when not recently levelled and pressed.

[JB]

“Good” is all relative. What’s good for the Reiner is not good for the H/J horse.

Your sand sounds too deep for most riding, but given where you are, not surprising. Probably not too deep for the Reiner or barrel horse though lol

Horses with longer pasterns are already more predisposed to injuries to the leg, and the deeper the footing, the more that risk rises. Conditioning to footing like that helps a lot, for sure, since many injuries occur when the muscles fatigue to the point of not doing their job well enough.

Your opinion of the ideal footing for many horses/disciplines sounds like how I’d describe it. The foot shouldn’t disappear into it, but shouldn’t plop on top of it either.

[beau159]

@JB

“Good” is all relative. What’s good for the Reiner is not good for the H/J horse.

Your sand sounds too deep for most riding, but given where you are, not surprising. Probably not too deep for the Reiner or barrel horse though lol

Exactly the point I was going to make. “Good” is going to depend on what you are doing. And sometimes it’s still bad anyway … like when I’m running barrels in the mud at a rodeo. It is what it is! But I guess you could say that my horses are conditioned to run on questionable ground – they are used to it.

OP, if your horse has not had any previous injuries or particular problems, as long as he is well conditioned he should be just fine even if the footing is deeper than usual.

[Kyrabee]

You know when boarding there are the big “3”…food, turnout and footing. Well, at my barn, footing is the weak one. For just sand, I wouldn’t want it more than 3 inches max. Our location is high desert…they don’t water during the summer. They do keep it worked well. When it gets harder in the summer, I just stay off the rail where it packs the hardest. Our indoor is too deep. My dainty footed horse struggles in there so I avoid it if at all possible. If I have to ride in there I adjust my training to more basic straight ahead work, more walk work and less lateral work. I usually don’t have to ride in there that often so it works fine.

Sand is pretty “dead” on it’s own, not to mention having the right kind of sand. Having some kind of additive like rubber crumbs or chopped up sneakers would be nice but yeah…I board so it isn’t happening.

I agree with beau159 and condition my horse to the conditions I have. She also is out 24/7 in a dry lot pen that has varied footing. All that movement, I feel, helps soft tissues adapt.

Susan

[ActNatural]

This post is good timing. Where I board, the riders are mainly reiners. The outdoor ring is lovely but the footing is too deep for my dressage pony. It’s mostly sand mixed in when stone dust. If I had to guess, it’s probably six inches to the base. It’s lovely footing for reiners. They keep if watered and dragged daily but it makes me nervous. I try to stick to only hacking around and not asking too much. My pony had a mild stain to her suspensory a few years ago (not at this barn) so that makes me more cautious.

The indoor is better usually but they started digging into the base and making it deeper. I guess it got compacted over the years. It’s basically very fine dirt. When they dig it up, it’s really uneven and deep and it packs in her hooves. When they leave it alone, it’s thinner and doesn’t pack but it’s dusty. If they water it, it gets slick like mud. Also, the base is now very uneven so I’m constantly riding either up Hill or down hill which is annoying! But other than the footing, the place is amazing! So the thought of leaving is hard.

There’s another barn in the area with excellent footing and closer to my house. I’m considering… But nervous about moving.

[IPEsq]

It’s not really about “soft” or “hard” or deep or hard but a lot of things. Too deep is an issue for some things. Too hard an issue for other things. Then there’s the degree of slip versus spring. A dressage horse needs less glide than a jumping horse (for landing). But the right amount of glide for a jumper is not the same as what a reiner needs. I think there’s ongoing research into how all of these factors affect the limb and in what ways.

[ActNatural]

Does deeper footing mean more slide?

[JB]

@ActNatural

Does deeper footing mean more slide?

Depends on what the footing is.

Deep sand will allow the feet to slide further in various directions. That’s great for reiners who need freedom to slide forward without a foot sticking. But it also means that hind feet pushing off to move forward will slide backwards - less in the proper (angular) sand footing, or bluestone/screenings, and more in footing like beach sand.

But if you had, say, a bluestone footing that was too deep, that’s going to make the foot stick/dig a lot more which, while frustrating for pushing, can be terrible for the forward movement.

[IPEsq]

@ActNatural

Does deeper footing mean more slide?

Not necessarily. And in addition to JB’s comments, some of the fancy newfangled footing with mixtures of sand and additives may at the same depth have different degrees of slide depending on how wet it is. At my current barn, the fancy footing in the indoor is a toe stabber when too wet and a stifle slipper when too dry. There’s a good balance of slip when it’s just right. It will tend to get too wet when it’s been packed down and not dragged deeply enough, but that’s still a function of wetness making things even worse. When it’s too dry and not harrowed deeply, it still lacks enough grip/spring. Similarly, you can have some more sucking action in shallow sugar sand footing that’s very wet, but depending on the depth it may not get too slippery when dry. Another example might be too hard turf footing might have too much slip and you need caulks for grip versus some softer soiled turf that allows the horse to get grip, which would be less slippery. Unless it’s also wet, in which case shallower turf might or might not be less slick but deeper turf will probably be more slick.

One thing about a reining slide I think is the amount of force in what direction versus the hit of the front feet when landing off of a jump. The reiners are trying to slide through and need some depth to do so. The jumper does not want its front feet to keep going too far into the footing, as they want to grab the ground, but if there’s not some give then it’s very jarring and stings the feet, can cause falls, etc. The reiner is exerting more horizontal forces when they start to slide, and they need some give vertically as well. The jumper is exerting more vertical forces but they want to slide horizontally a little bit. Deeper footing may cause the jumper to keep going down, and maybe down too far, versus just a little bit out. Shallow footing could allow for the right amount of shear provided the footing isn’t too bound up to allow that to happen.

[MCF1991]

I much rather have no footing than deep footing. I do hunters and they get stuck and strained in the footing at this one horse show I go to. Idk what the footing is. It like sand but it is a gray color. No felt or anything mixed in. It would probably be great if it wasn’t so damn deep. I like the mix that is at WEF…obviously. It is sandy/felt/rubber mix and it is super shallow with a good bounce to it. LOVE. Sand is good too, but in my opinion it is hard to maintain if you don’t know how to do it right. I’m kind of curious of others opinions on what the best footing is for when my unreasonable dream of buying a huge farm comes true…like I’d be able to afford footing afterwards.

[Janet]

Probably obvious, but anyway

Hard footing is bad for bones and joints, but goof for soft tissues (ligaments and tendons)
Soft/deep footing is good for bones and joints, but bad for soft tissue.

BUT, “bad for” means “more likely to result in damage” in excess, but it also means “will strengthen” when used in moderation.

[IPEsq]

@MCF1991

I much rather have no footing than deep footing. I do hunters and they get stuck and strained in the footing at this one horse show I go to. Idk what the footing is. It like sand but it is a gray color. No felt or anything mixed in. It would probably be great if it wasn’t so damn deep. I like the mix that is at WEF…obviously. It is sandy/felt/rubber mix and it is super shallow with a good bounce to it. LOVE. Sand is good too, but in my opinion it is hard to maintain if you don’t know how to do it right. I’m kind of curious of others opinions on what the best footing is for when my unreasonable dream of buying a huge farm comes true…like I’d be able to afford footing afterwards.

Just plan on good footing (including the proper base preparation) costing a lot more than you think it’s going to cost.

[JB]

@MCF1991

I much rather have no footing than deep footing.

It depends You can still do some work, usually walking, on most any footing, assuming no injuries. But for example if “no footing” means just a pasture, that has major disadvantages as well. Dry ground with grass can be pretty slick, actually, and if it’s too wet you’ll tear it up

Sand is good too, but in my opinion it is hard to maintain if you don’t know how to do it right.

All footing should be dragged regularly, varying the pattern, not worked on when it’s too wet, not be too deep (which is relative to the material), not too shallow (don’t want to punch through to the base), and all has to be topped off at some point. Angular sand is very good - pros and cons, just like all of them.

I’m kind of curious of others opinions on what the best footing is for when my unreasonable dream of buying a huge farm comes true…like I’d be able to afford footing afterwards.

Start saving now LOL Depending on the lay of the land, your cost can be mostly in grading, mostly in the base and top footing brought in, or more or less evenly split.

I have a bluestone/screenings/stonedust top footing, which is great…until it gets too dry, then it’s really dusty. It can get pretty crunchy if it gets waterlogged and then suddenly baked. Angular sand wouldn’t get quite so dusty because the particles tend to overall be a little heavier. I need to add some footing to my ring and am seriously considering 1" of angular sand to just put on top and get mixed in with riding.

Your base is critical too. You can do the stonedust or, as I have, washed sandrock. It has to be rolled and tamped to concrete-like hardness, don’t skimp on that. The sub-base has to be the same.

Prices vary a LOT based on the quarry, proximity to the quarry, how big your supplier’s truck is, how much grading you have to get done, etc.

[beau159]

@MCF1991

I much rather have no footing than deep footing. I do hunters and they get stuck and strained in the footing at this one horse show I go to…

I’d much rather have deep footing than no footing, when I’m running a barrel pattern.

It’s all relative!

[ToTheNines]

Thanks for the replies so far, eyeryone! I do no more than 2’6" hunters these days, and like to feel like my old guys can travel across the ground easily. So for me, that means a relatively shallow footing.

I have a big grass arena, but am putting in a smaller “sand” one. Trying to decide what to use for the top layer. I want them to get some purchase, but not be bogged down. I think the key is a bit of moisture. Maybe the key is a sprinkler system!

My favorite footing locally is an indoor with a mixture of sand and rubberized material. Probably about 3" deep. over a good base. But it’s easier to keep an indoor a bit moist.

Interesting about the deep footing for barrel racing. I guess it’s a compromise between speed and not slipping. And for the short bursts of speed, I guess the barrel horses are conditioned for that.

[dani0303]

Following closely! We have our dream place and now we’re trying (slowly, expensively) to tweak it the way I want it.

Right now I don’t really have an arena so I ride in the dry lot. It’s prairie soil so it’s sandy and generally soft but can get a bit hard packed when dry. I drag it regularly and it definitely makes a difference but I won’t jump more than x-rails on it.

Hopefully we’ll be getting an arena in the next few years but it hasn’t been a priority as far as expensive projects go

[IPEsq]

Yes, one key component is conditioning. If you always practice on one type of footing, and then you go to a show with a bit of a footing problem one way or the other, you definitely risk an injury. Eventing horse see lots of different footing, and they specifically condition the horses on the different types. Not the easiest for some of us who have limited place to ride.

But think of it this way…you are a runner. You do your runs on the road (asphalt). Then one day you decide to run on the beach. I’d put money on your beach run being more difficult and causing fatigue faster. You run on the beach 2x a week and the road 2x a week, and eventually you adapt to being good at both surfaces. It’s the fatigue part that makes the horse more susceptible to injury of the soft tissues.