Making a path in the event of mud

[Sansena]

98% of the time here the footing’s fine.

However, half a day of rain and the greasy mud that crops up is pretty disgusting and unbearable.
The neighbors have used pavers on the high traffic area where people walk to their barn. It works for them cuz it’s a short jaunt. My back door to my barn is quite a bit longer walk.

What would you use to put down on this area for when it does rain? There’s fragile grass root structure there so it will tolerate a larger footstep, however a horse hoof will punch through. Also, tires from a 2 WD vehicle like a golf cart would probably punch right through and create ruts.

What are you suggestions? Wood chips are not easy to come by… Otherwise I think a swath of them would work well.

I’ve got a local handyman who’s also a horseman. I’ll pick his brain when I see him on Monday, but curious to see what the Coth community has to say.

Thanks.

[mmeqcenter]

I would think wood chips would just make it worse over time. Any standard mud solution would likely do - gravel, crushed rock, concrete, grids, etc.

[Sansena]

Grids?

[carman_liz]

How wide and long of a path are you trying to get? Give us more details to ponder over please? Thanks!!!

[wsmoak]

@Sansena

Grids?

Like this: https://www.cashmans.com/product/stable-ground-mud-solution/

Or “ring mats” https://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/prod1;ft_mats_flooring;pg108620.html

[clanter]

I used decomposed granite around gates and high traffic areas, easy to use compacts well, little to no maintenance, just add more as needed

[Sansena]

@clanter

I used decomposed granite around gates and high traffic areas, easy to use compacts well, little to no maintenance, just add more as needed

Clanter, as always a great source of information. One of the nicer properties on our street has driveways made of this. It’s aesthetically pleasing and for the most part lets you drive (and walk) over it without sinking too much… though it does get squishy.

wsmoak, I’ve seen those grids at a client’s place. I think you have to be very careful about application because you can easily have run-off/ dirt erosion underneath and that can cause a whole host of problems in and of itself. Where do you have yours? Any problems with water taking away the earth from underneath? Can you drive a wheelbarrow over it with minimal resistance? I would think so…

[Jarpur]

We use a combination of the pavers, ring mats, and gravel. Most of the foot paths to the barn and the hay shed are spaced rectangular pavers, with gravel leftover from the sacrifice paddock on one curve. However, as with your neighbor, neither of these paths are particularly lengthy, and we don’t drive a golf cart over them.

But, we do sometimes drive a truck, with or without a loaded hay trailer, for instance, over a few on our way to the barn or hay shed, and they’ve held up decently for the decades they’ve been in place. One gets broken once in a long while, but is still usable for our purpose - and they were very inexpensive in the first place, anyway.

At one point, we’d purchased ring mats for our horse wash area, and didn’t like them for the purpose. But, laying them at a relatively high-traffic pasture entry, and allowing grass to grow into them, has been successful at keeping erosion and torn-up turf at bay. We occasionally drive a tow vehicle and trailer through this gate, and the mats (in place for several years) have held up well.

We’d always planned for the pavers to be a temporary solution – you know how that goes, lol – and I think I’d like light-colored gravel paths.

[Simkie]

Rock. Screenings. Over geotex if you can afford it. Otherwise plan on adding more every few years as your stone sinks into the mud.

[HPFarmette]

I love my mud slabs.

[Kottbulle]

@HPFarmette so i googled Mud slabs… are you saying you just powered 2-3’ of concrete on pathway areas? or do you have something more specific like a slab you bought remade… I’ve always wondered about just pouring some concrete in high traffic areas, like gates, water troughs, etc and somehow scoring it so its safer under wet horseshoes. would love pictures or a better description. thanks!!

[IFG]

I bought the mud grids for an area in my paddock that I could not keep mud free. It is the only thing that has kept me from tears most of this winter.

[fourfillies]

@IFG can you share which mud grids?

[HPFarmette]

@Kttbulle

@HPFarmette so i googled Mud slabs… are you saying you just powered 2-3’ of concrete on pathway areas? or do you have something more specific like a slab you bought remade… I’ve always wondered about just pouring some concrete in high traffic areas, like gates, water troughs, etc and somehow scoring it so its safer under wet horseshoes. would love pictures or a better description. thanks!!

No sorry these are plastic grids. Pretty heavy and they interlock and float on top of mud.

[IFG]

@fourfillies

@IFG can you share which mud grids?

Not cheap, but they work. https://www.paramountmaterials.com/products/horse-paddock-mud-control-grid

I was able to meet a distributor at Equine Affaire to avoid paying shipping.

[fourfillies]

Thank you!

[MissIntent]

@clanter

I used decomposed granite around gates and high traffic areas, easy to use compacts well, little to no maintenance, just add more as needed

I’ve also had good luck with decomposed granite for this purpose.

[goodhors]

We have used a lot of crushed concrete over geotextile fabric for our mud solution around the barns. Not sure what price crushed concrete is compared to crushed stone, but it was less expensive here. It is holding up well under big truck and trailer traffic in my driveway and the routes i drive daily cleaning barns using tractor and medium size spreader. It takes some time to settle, lock together during daily use, and then gets really solid. We get seasonal flooding, this stuff has made my barn driveway into a “levee” to prevent water running over the drive now. Funnels the water to the ditch, drainage culvert now. No lost fill to water moving along the side of drive as it drains away.

Kind of “the more you drive on it, the harder it gets” around here! For us the fabric is crucial to getting good results because our clay mud will suck down fill, make it disappear without the stabilizing fabric. Kind of amazing how a gossamer thin layer of the fabric under the fill, keeps things where you want them!

I have pavers from the house to the barnyard gate, but we just set them in place, no prepared bed and only one row, like stepping stones close together. They keep my feet out of any mud but I only drive the small lawnmower over them, no bigger vehicles. I do have to pop them up with a shovel every few years as dirt builds up around them, so the tops stay visible to walk on. Does help keep the dogs feet cleaner as they jog up and down the fencelines observing things. Pavers were cheap, 1ft squares by 1 1/2 inches thick, have worn well over time. They have the scored brick pattern and are not slippery in rain or snow. I do have some very large pavers at doorways, which are also good for covering mud or puddles, going in and out often. Heavy as lead and stay put well. I think those are the 24 inch squares. Seems like they were about $8 something to purchase. Get them patterned to provide good grip when wet.