Help me drag my ring! (or how do I get rid of the "waves"?)

[MoreHorsesThanSense]

So DH and I purchased a small farm recently. It was neglected for several years by an elderly owner who didn’t ride and just let the place get away from her.

The ring was installed by the first owner, about 20-25 years ago. It seems to have been done well: French drains around the edges, and it drains very well, even after a lot of rain.

I ride in the ring about 5-15 times a week (2 horses), and drag it about 1x week or 1x/2 weeks. I use a medium sized Kubota tractor and a chain drag
(similar to this: http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/material-handling/tractor-attachments-implements/3-point-tillage-implements/drag-harrow-attachment-4-x-4-w-1-2-x-4-long-steel-tines?infoParam.campaignId=T9F&gclid=Cj0KEQjwzZe8BRDguN3cmOr4_dgBEiQAijjVFkZpBeMpbzLjRu0IR5TrqPoRa5IN09zvBXfZ8Vz2eaYaAqy88P8HAQ )

Recently when dragging, I notice a “ripple” or “wave” feeling. Like frost heave/speed bumps.
How (with no budget, redoing the ring is not an option) fix or minimize these?
they are not bad, but I don’t want them to get worse.

Is it better to drive fast or slow when dragging a ring?
Should I drag with tines up or down, or alternate?
how many laps does one generally do over the surface? currently I’m doing 1-2 times over the middle, less-traffic, areas, and on the rail, 4-6 times. The waves seem to be most noticeable on/just off the rail, the higher traffic areas.

thanks for the help!

[ellisrun]

This could be me ! I have the same problem:)

[Huntin_Pony]

A few questions -

Does the ring have a fence?
How is the tractor’s turning radius relative to the width of the ring?
How deep is the footing above the base?
Does the tractor have an FEL?

The reason I ask is that there could be several different answers to your question but the principle is the same - vary the drag pattern so that you are not going the same direction all the time. Be creative (but don’t get the tractor wedged in a corner - LOL!).

For instance, in my large squarish ring, sometimes I drag concentrically from the center spiraling out. Sometimes I make a couple of laps around the periphery then cut the ring in half and move across until I meet the dragged portion. You may also have to hand rake the edges occasionally.

You need to go slowly enough that the tractor does not bounce at all. That seems like the most likely source for the waves you are describing, IME. Also check that the drag lies flat even when you are moving. If the front of the harrow is lifted slightly due to the hitch point being a bit too high (or the connecting chain being too short) then you will get a pulsing effect with the harrow and this too can contribute to the waves. If the footing is deep enough, use the tines down. I would say use the flat side most of the time but only if you are dragging more frequently than once a week.

[SugarCubes]

This is a great tutorial that will answer most of your questions!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNRvq_fQ0lA

Keeping the tractor at a constant speed will help prevent waves from forming. The video will also teach you different drag patterns to achieve different goals.

Are you sure it’s the footing that’s uneven and the waves aren’t the result of a wavy base? That would be harder to fix…

[MoreHorsesThanSense]

Thanks all!

Huntin Pony:
Does the ring have a fence? -no ‘fence’ but is lined with old railroad ties for a visual and to keep the sand from escaping
How is the tractor’s turning radius relative to the width of the ring?
ring is standard dressage size – I usually drive up one rail, down the middle, and the do laps of ‘half’ the ring the long way, moving over one half track each time. does that make sense?
How deep is the footing above the base? --no idea- ring was installed when we moved in
Does the tractor have an FEL? --yes

so I guess I need to drive slower and more repetitions over the wavy areas to mitigate the bumps. I will experiment with different dragging patterns, though the ring is so small, there aren’t a ton of options.

I don’t think it’s the base-- the problem only occurred in the last month, and wasn’t noticeable for the first month we moved in.

I have hand raked the edges once and it almost killed me. DH went around with the box blade once and that helped alot. But I guess it’s something I need to do more frequently, the sand banks up on the rail along the rail road ties within a week or two of fixing it.

[dotneko]

I use an overlapping circle pattern
Once around the catch the edges, then circling my way down the
arena - the second circle goes just beyond towards the center and just inside of the short side, overlapping by half the drag all the way down. Hard to describe.

[Libby2563]

I use a 6’x8’ chain harrow (tines down) in a standard dressage arena. My excellent arena builder, who is also an experienced horseman, advised the following three-stage drag pattern:

1. Parallel to the long sides, moving one track width over each time (what you described I think);

2. Across the diagonals, starting in the corner and shifting one track width over each time so eventually your passes end at almost B/E;

3. Slow, 20 m near-circles, shifting one track width each time so you start at A and end at C (or vice versa)–similar to what dotneko describes.

I do change start/end points and directions every time as well. And unfortunately raking the edges is necessary every month or two.

[EmilyM]

Is the chain drag on a three point hitch or the other hitch connection? a three point hitch connection always presents a problem because the wheels go up the hump as does the attachment and the problem gets worse and worse. i was told to drive crazily slow to fix or go in tight circles (which i just didn’t understand).

i broke down and got an Arena Rascal from ABI due to the waves. THey had free (0%) financing so it costs about $55/month if you don’t want to shell out $3k upfront.

Once you set it up it’s easy to use and has saved me hours of changing equipment to get the ring perfect. I had been using a york rake and then finishing with the box blade which levelled well. Problem was the box blade seemed to leave all the coarser sand at the top.

[MuddyHalter]

I had the same problem when I first had my ring installed. I used a Polaris and a similar drag. I was just going too fast. Try driving relatively slowly and change directions frequently. That should do the trick.

[ShotenStar]

As others have said, driving slowly and alternating your drag patterns helps. When I still used a chain draw / harrow, I also weighted the drag with several blocks of 12x12 timber left over from a building project. Husband Person added screw eyes to the wood and we used double-end snaps to secure them to the drag. That worked very well for many years. I finally replaced the harrow with an ArenaRascal. If I get stupid and set the ArenaRascal front tines to dig too deep, I will get ridges and waves. If that happens, I find it takes several rounds of dragging in alternating patterns (diagonals and circles) to break up the ridges. So don’t despair if your first few attempts don’t immediately solve the problem. Ring dragging is an art that has to be learned through practice.

star

[danacat]

I use a big drag harrow-- I turn it upside down (teeth up) when I want to level the surface after fluffing it up (tines down). The bar at the front is heavy and it pushes the footing into any holes, levels bumps and humps etc. beautifully. You do have to go round and round and then reverse direction, figure eights etc. as others have said.