Horse doesn't like deeper footing arena

[Bluey]

@ActNatural

I boarded at a reining barn for a year that had a huge gorgeous groomed outdoor arena and the footing was way too deep! I guess it’s good for sliding but not great for long-term soundness which probably explains why the reiners were so stiff and sore at a young age. I refused to work in it unless it rained and got hard! I got a lot of grief from the other riders that didn’t understand but whatev. My pony hated it. She had a suspensory strain a few years back so I didn’t want to chance it. Stayed in the indoor year round which wasn’t great either but better option if the two.

That is strange, rening arenas are kept “fast”, that means not deep at all.
That is the way we keep ours, can’t slide in deep ground.
We also rope and do most all else, except cutting.
Cutting demands a deeper ground, so cattle don’t just take off and horses can hold the ends better.
You don’t need speed over distances in arena cutting.

One problem with working cowhorse, they need the deeper ground for the cutting part, the shallower one for the other.
Generally that is no problem as they have their cutting first for all, then groom the arena so it is not so deep, then do the rest, dry work and fence work in less “sticky” ground.

Maybe whoever kept that arena too deep didn’t know any better?

[mydogs]

Thanks, everyone! Happy to hear that my horse isn’t the only one who doesn’t like deep footing or that I was crazy!

[kaya842]

I just started boarding at what is now a reining facility and they have the DEEPEST footing I have EVER seen - easily 6 inches. I have yet to see the outdoor as it is always dark when I get there. That being said I am a jumper and could never jump my horses inside, and honestly don’t even feel comfortable really working them there. Would this be cause for you to move barns? I work until 6 so an indoor is my only option this time of the year unless the outdoor isn’t frozen and has lights, but an indoor is only nice if I can actually work my horses in it.

[mydogs]

@kaya842

Would this be cause for you to move barns?

Probably not. The indoor is plenty fine to use but it is shorter than a regulated dressage ring. The main reasons I want to ride in the outdoor are:

1. it is bigger than 20x60, so I could practice my tests as I would ride a show
2. I have a soloshot that I would like to use but can’t right now in the indoor ha
3. Sometimes I want to get some vitamin d lol

[Bluey]

@kaya842

I just started boarding at what is now a reining facility and they have the DEEPEST footing I have EVER seen - easily 6 inches. I have yet to see the outdoor as it is always dark when I get there. That being said I am a jumper and could never jump my horses inside, and honestly don’t even feel comfortable really working them there. Would this be cause for you to move barns? I work until 6 so an indoor is my only option this time of the year unless the outdoor isn’t frozen and has lights, but an indoor is only nice if I can actually work my horses in it.

Wow, that is insane, I don’t think I have seen any arena that deep.
You may want to ask them if they know what they are doing?
I don’t think you could stop and slide a horse thru that depth?

We use here the same fellow that prepares the grounds for world championships.
Competitors with their top horses would not come compete if the ground was not perfect.
He is the one that prepared our arena footing and it is way not deep.
We use a different arena for cutting and that one is not that deep either.

I would find out if whoever manages that arena has any kind of sensible reason to have that deep footing there?

I do know of one working cowhorse top trainer that prefers deeper footing to train.
He thinks it makes his horses tougher, I would not know if he also has more injuries.

[kaya842]

They recently purchased the place so I’m not sure if the footing was already there or if they added (but if it was pre-existing some of it could easily be removed or even piled in a corner). The BM is a young trainer and the BO is … a wealthy person who’s daughter started riding last year. This is by no means a small barn either, currently about a quarter to a third of the stalls are filled (most of the rest need work) but they have about 60-70 stalls total. They also have a dressage trainer moving her clientele there, so maybe she will recognize the issues with the footing. I want to bring it up to the BO and BM (but have no way of contact BO) but am afraid to offend the BM.

[ActNatural]

@kaya842

Would this be cause for you to move barns? I work until 6 so an indoor is my only option this time of the year unless the outdoor isn’t frozen and has lights, but an indoor is only nice if I can actually work my horses in it.

I don’t know. I guess it depends on everything else. I did end up moving because I needed more turnout. Everything else other than the turnout and the footing was absolutely excellent but the two combined was the tipping point. My pony did have a prior suspensory injury making me more cautious. I also do Dressage and didn’t jump. Might have moved sooner due to footing if I liked to jump. Another boarder who jumps had two soft tissue injuries happen last year and is trying to rehab in the same footing…I feel like I should say something but I’m not her vet, so…

[kaya842]

I’m surprised her vet didn’t say anything! My one horse had a previous tendon sheath injury and we think my new horse may have injured her hind suspensory or a tendon sheath (at a different barn in turnout by kicking at a fence), and I know they don’t need any help hurting themselves. I JUST moved there and would hate to move again, but I would hate to stay at a place where I can’t ride or prepare my horse to show by jumping. Ugh.

[atr]

I would always check the footing before I moved into a barn. Poor footing–deep, hard, unlevel, dusty, whatever, would be a deal-breaker for me.

[kaya842]

atr It looked fine from afar (afar being just on the other side of the fence LOL) however, I should have gone in and checked it. Unfortunately I am having issues beyond the arena footing, so it seems a barn search is in order. Again, sigh.