Mag chloride effects on different footing

[ihearttbs]

As an experiment, I applied mag flakes to 1/3 of my outdoor arena to prevent freezing. I know there’s a chance they will wash away and I will have to replace, but I teach riding lessons so financially it is worth it for me, plus if you add up the rental costs of an indoor going that route isn’t cheap either and I hate riding in indoors.

In any case I’m wondering if anyone has had success doing this but also if they’ve noticed any other effects on their footing? The reason I ask is that after applying the mag chloride and dragging, the clay/sand footing fluffed up more than it has since the first few months the arena was put in. I’ve had a hard time, even in relatively dry weather getting the bottom inch or so of the footing uncompacted, and mixed with the other footing since it’s the last to dry and I’ve been worried that the sand and clay is stratifying. This seemed to help with getting them mixed.

Thanks!

[clanter]

@ihearttbs

after applying the mag chloride and dragging,

one of the reason why vehicles driven up north rust completely out is from mag chloride use on highways

Mag chloride is considered a corrosive substance that can eat away at metal, leading to rust development, especially on exposed areas like the undercarriage of a car.

[Greys]

I use it in my indoor arena year round to keep dust down and noticed that it makes the sand “plush.” My horses like it.

But as clanter said, it can be caustic; I personally haven’t had a problem with horse hooves, and my equipment is fine. I do thoroughly wash down my equipment after applying (as seasonally possible.)

I refresh in small quantities yearly, but as you noted, the environmental exposure will likely require more application.

greys

[beau159]

@ihearttbs

As an experiment, I applied mag flakes to 1/3 of my outdoor arena to prevent freezing. I know there’s a chance they will wash away and I will have to replace, but I teach riding lessons so financially it is worth it for me, plus if you add up the rental costs of an indoor going that route isn’t cheap either and I hate riding in indoors.

In any case I’m wondering if anyone has had success doing this but also if they’ve noticed any other effects on their footing? The reason I ask is that after applying the mag chloride and dragging, the clay/sand footing fluffed up more than it has since the first few months the arena was put in. I’ve had a hard time, even in relatively dry weather getting the bottom inch or so of the footing uncompacted, and mixed with the other footing since it’s the last to dry and I’ve been worried that the sand and clay is stratifying. This seemed to help with getting them mixed.

Thanks!

I cannot speak from experience (I don’t have my own arena) but most of my friends that do have indoors have switched over to “Whoa Dust” instead of mag flakes. They like it way better.

[ihearttbs]

I should have clarified- i used the MAG flakes that are much more expensive than regular magnesium chloride and are intended for use in riding arenas and claims to be pet safe non-toxic etc and have a lower level of chloride than regular magnesium chloride road salt

[CobJockey]

I’m nursing a 20 year old indoor with identical compaction issues that has a clay base that has probably mixed into the footing, various ages of sand (most very old that has broken down into fine grains over the years, some newer and more coarse) and a fiber additive. My footing expert I’ve worked with for the last 8 years recommended that I not add mag this year despite having done so in the past, because she is seeing mine and similar arenas start to have more compaction issues after mag is applied, and that the mag is probably speeding up the process of breaking down the footing into smaller particulates that almost become a second base on top of the base, they compact so hard that my drags (behind a good sized tractor) won’t touch it.

As a side note, on her recommendation, I borrowed a PTO-driven tiller and she and I spent an entire day carefully tilling mine to break up that false base layer without going into the clay. It helped a lot, but compacted back within a few weeks, and she said I’m either going to need to do the tiller thing quarterly, or spend $1200 for enough coarser-grained sand to hopefully prevent the fine grained stuff from getting quite so tightly compacted.

[Lost_Shoe]

I had the same issue with compacted footing. I bought an ABS TR3 arena drag that breaks up the compaction nicely. I drag about once a week to prevent/fix the compaction.

[Pico_Banana]

Interesting. My footing would benefit from being a bit more compacted (when it’s not frozen solid) so maybe I can accomplish two things at once by using mag - melting the ice and improving the overall feel.

[enjoytheride]

My indoor is sand that I added over what I think is layers of dirt/sand that the original builders added (very common in western disciplines). It was originally packed so hard that we couldn’t drag it with our equipment at the time so I called it a base and put new sand over the top.

I added Mag when it got dusty and my husband SWORE that was the reason it packed down.

We actually purchased a TR3 (an old one that was likely originally for landscaping) and this fall dropped the teeth down and drug it hard. My footing magically reappeared, the mag reactivated, and the footing is fine again. I actually hate the TR3 for my outdoor because it can get into the base super easy (probably because this one was originally for landscaping and lacked the horse features for finer grooming) but it worked a treat for the indoor (basically it worked like your tiller) which doesn’t really have a 'base" in the English sense, so I do think your footing expert’s theory holds water. However…I only use my indoor in the winter and don’t drag it the rest of the year and I use it for turnout, so I think that contributed to my problem, plus with the original footing being a dirt mix which became wet when we added the Mag then packed. We used the TR3 about 2 months ago and a smaller drag since then and it’s been fine.

[CobJockey]

I have that same older TR3, as well as a Parmagroomer, and neither did what the tiller could do after it got so compacted. They have been great at maintaining it since tilling though.