do any of you have one and how do you keep it lush and soft and bouncy and beautiful?! I’m asking this question to those of you who live in the northeast!
The big challenge with a grass arena is going to be…ruts from wear on “the track”. Maintaining grass is what it is, but the effects of hoofs on it is the bit issue. The effect will be exacerbated when it’s wet, too. “Really Large” is going to help so you can avoid “the track” as much as possible.
I have one (hate it, but grateful for a flat spot to ride which is more than many people have). In truth, we don’t do anything. We let the horses graze on it occasionally (usually a day before it is due to be mowed for weeds). I try not ride when it is mushy or slippery (so that eliminates 100+ days per year). In the summer when the ground gets dry and harder, I try to stay a few feet off the rail where the ground may not be as hard.
I also have the challenge of erosion build-up in the one corner off of my pasture so even though it was almost perfectly level when it was last re-done about 12 years ago, it definitely has a higher sloping corner (like a delta) now.
we rented a place for a short time with a communal grass ring. It was a PITA to keep it rideable. Lots of rules imposed: no lunging, no riding when wet, closed for mowing/fertilizing/seeding. It was a lovely large ring, but not useable a significant percentage of the time.
I do occasionally in a flat grassy area on my current farm, bigger than my sand dressage ring. But I’m careful to not ride when it’s wet, as that will tear up the grass, and leave divots and hoof prints that will stay forever.
the biggest issue you face in a grass ring is poaching - poaching is basically defined as the puncture, rupture, disturbance of the grass humus and topsoil. those who ride in a wet ring know well the repercussions - you “tear” up the grass and expose long, deep scores of earth that make riding difficult and unsafe and disturb the general aesthetic of the ring.
i train only in a grass ring. it is, of course, situated in an incredibly poor spot at the lowest point of the property. so 6mo of the year it is almost inaccessible.
my general rule of thumb: “delay a day” - if it was raining yesterday, that means today we do not ride in the ring - for every day there is precipitation, you add a day to stay OFF the ring. it’s frustrating, but that’s a day you can spend on the trail doing trot sets… so it’s not the end of the world. i will walk around the ring first - if i see one sunken hoof print, i hit the trails. it is not worth the 40m ride to have to spend an hour kicking in the ruts caused by your ride… nor is it worth the blemished track that stubbornly stays for the rest of the year…
my ring is not small but not huge - it is a drunkenly shaped rectangle, about 250x80. i ride on one end for a week, then flip to the other end for a week. i don’t commit to lines, i don’t circle repetitively - this keeps the grass fluffy and able to take more damage. the one thing that surprises me is how willing people are to stay on one part of the ring - go out - do figure eights, circles, patterns - don’t just circle the same 20 meter circle for 20 minutes at a time…
I would think aerating would help with the compaction. I’m going to start riding in my fields this season so will be taking some of these tips as well!
Grass rings do do not tolerate heavy usage. They also can be slippery from morning dew, and subject to holes if it is used when really wet.
For occasional use in dry weather (not too dry), they are lovely.
When I bought my place, I spent a lot of time and money on a nice arena. Graded, hauled in nice base, let it “bake” in the sun for a whole summer. Then added nice sand.
Problem was that I didn’t use it enough and drag it enough to keep grass from growing back. So I finally let it go to grass. Now, it is almost all filled in. When conditions are right, there is nothing nicer than nice flat mowed grass. Like barefeet on a new carpet.
I have found that I can keep the surface nicest and the grass healthiest by adding a mixture of sand and compost. I go to the local guy with my pickup and he will put in 1/2 compost and 1/2 sand. I spread in parts that need it just by shoveling from the pickup truck. The grass grows fine in that mixture and it keeps it a bit softer and more absorbent than just dirt.
We live in NE Ok. with strong winds and black clay. I explain to people that I prefer to mow grass than snort dirt!! Without the grass cover…we would have NO dirt covering the limestone plate!! I am usually the only one riding in the 135x250 ring and don’t use it enough to make tracks/ruts!! I don’t ride in it when it is really soft and mucky, but when everything is bone dry and rock hard, the ring still has a cushion!! Without the grass roots…our entire ground cover of dirt would be in KANSAS!!! Grass would probably not hold up to a stable with heavy use…but it works for me.
I used to ride in the flat part of my hayfield. Which was really nice, and inexpensive. But I couldn’t ride in the early spring = sometimes not until early summer if it was really wet. I couldn’t ride if it was raining/had just rained. I had to mow where I wanted to ride because the grass was too high. At the end of the summer when the ground was hard and the hay had been mowed, it was really slick. It got muddy in the fall.
It was only me riding most of the time and I still made a track where the grass wore out.
I put in a sand ring and the increased riding time was worth every penny.
