Hi all- I know there are some similar threads but haven’t been able to find one that specifically deals with the situation in the ring at the backyard barn I board at. This is a small ring with sand footing, it hasn’t been maintained well and I know for a fact that no sand has been added to it for over 15 years, however, it is low use. It get’s very dusty during the summer and in the spring it is absolutely flooded. The sand is pretty compacted/doesn’t have much give at all and there are a decent amount of rocks but I have improved it by picking most out. The barn owners don’t have horses anymore so I doubt they’d be willing to spend more than $500 on anything. Myself and some of the other boarders are willing to chip in, but I think our max budget is $2000. What can we do to make the ring more ridable? Can we just add more sand or do we have to do something more complicated? Thanks! FYI we are in Massachusetts 
Sounds like the sand in this ring was put in right on top of bare soil – no base-- which is why rocks are making their way to the surface – plus sand is now eroded and has mixed with mud, etc. = dust.
Without a base you will eventually have the same problem all over again if you just add more sand or any other material.
But I’m curious as to why you say the footing is sand because ‘sand’ doesn’t really pack to a hard surface. So…are you sure it’s sand and not ‘stone dust’ which is a light grey in color (not beige like sand) – and it does pack and can resemble the surface of a road if it isn’t maintained/harrowed? Plus ‘stone dust’ can get very dusty when it breaks down over the years.
Anyway, what size is the ring? And, does it flood because it’s in a low ‘wet’ area? Or does it flood because the surface doesn’t drain well due to the hard pack?
Need more info.
Stone dust would pack, but so would sand if it had a lot of silt that had flooded in. If the sand is decades old, it may have degraded to dust. It sounds like you really need a lot, if not all, new footing and to check the base while you are at it. If it is a really small arena, and a quarry is nearby, AND the base is good, you can probably do the footing pretty reasonably. But you still haven’t addressed the flooding problem…
Hi,
thanks so much for the responses. I’m fairly certain it’s sand because it’s beige in color. I know it hasn’t ben added to or replaced in at least 15 years, probably longer, so I think it’s pretty broken down. The flooding seems to be occurring because it doesn’t drain well due to pack. It’s not in a low wet area, and in fact considering how compacted the footing is it still drains ok. I don’t know the exact dimensions, but the ring is fairly small, about the same length as a small dressage arena and slightly wider. What I’m wondering is if our budget is $2000 max is it even worth doing anything or would just adding footing/doing minimal repairs be a waste of time and money? I know I can’t make the ring perfect and I have fields I can ride in too…but would love to have a ridable ring
I don’t have access to a four wheeler or tractor unfortunately, so have to use a car or pickup to pull the harrow. I do have a homemade harrow made out of chainlink fence and weighed down with cement blocks. It does seem to level the footing, but for the most part all it does is compact the footing- not fluff it up. I don’t think there is enough footing left for it to really do it’s job? Or maybe it’s just the fact that I’m having to pull it with a car, which is heavy. The farmer next door does have a tractor and a deeper harrow, and I occasionally have asked him to drag the ring and that seems to fluff the footing up a little bit at least but does bring up a lot of stones.
I would get ‘what’s left of the footing’ as level as you can – minor fluff – pick out bigger stones – and go ahead and add your footing material. 2000.00 will get you decent surface. Better to have a decent surface than a crappy one like you have now.
A chain link harrow only smooths and levels – doesn’t fluff-- so after you add your new material the chain link will only work for awhile (while material is fresh) – but over the long haul you will need a harrow with ‘teeth’ so you can mix AND level the material. Fine to pull a toothy harrow with a pick-up truck. You can buy a small 48" harrow like the one in my picture on the left for a couple of hundred bucks – a worthwhile investment – leaves you 1800.00 for your material.
Oh, I assumed it was being dragged with teeth. This could solve a lot of your problems. Some of that compacted sand can probably be fluffed up. Definitely start with a harrow.
I have to say, I can’t imagine someone having a boarding barn with an arena and not owning even a simple harrow. Won’t your BO at least buy that??
