So far the fabric has stayed under the stone and the horses haven’t found a way to it yet. I am pretty active with the FEL on my tractor though and go around often and try to level out the low spots from digging.
Mine were all rolled with a large vibrating roller. Originally, we weren’t going to do fabric but we had some liquification of the base soil due to the builder doing donuts with their equipment and our excavator didn’t want us losing all of our rock.
My soil is silty loam, and we’re on a high water table - I’m in a similar situation as you. I think that fabric AND stone would be awesome, but I don’t think I can afford that.
I’m building my own dry lot and I know you can do it. You are handier than I am.
I’m adding 4" of big rock and then 2" of limestone rock that packs down really well in my area, then a thin layer of bluestone over it.
I’m only adding fabric in the higher traffic areas, gates, hay feeder area, water area.
I’m very confident you could do the work yourself if you have a tractor/skidsteer.
That’s my plan now… just have to time everything out! Thanks for your take!
Just adding my two cents. Having built an arena and “dry lot”
Arena has 2" base rock (that sat for a winter/spring), fabric, 4-5" of the fine screenings, then a couple inches of sand. Zero issues with drainage or fabric coming up. Love my arena. DH works in construction and did this with a skidsteer and laser level he borrowed from work. Other than the original dirt work which we hired out.
Dry lot had 2" base rock, 1" rock, and we’ve slowly been adding screenings. It naturally had a slope thankfully so didn’t have to do dirt work. Absolutely hard and never has mud or issues where the rock is (we only have done about half of the lot at this time because money is a factor). This was all done with a tractor and bucket.
We have sandy loam and live in the Midwest.
All to say, I don’t think you need 8". Feels like overkill. To save money, I’d do a layer of base rock and maybe 3-4" of the screenings. And I would feel really confident about that. YMMV.
Well, here’s an example of what our place looks like after 2.5" of rain overnight. Note that the drylot area is not drowning - yay! The issue is that our drain tile in the front will backflow. I’m looking into putting a check valve in. But,the dry lot and the barn and the house are all higher ground. My posts may not last though - I knew this putting them in. Gotta do what you gotta do to start.
I really think you’re better off going with a layer of bedding rock, that’s a 1-3" here, then a layer of road base, then your aglime/lime screenings. That should keep it firmed up and give a good drainage, plus if you keep it topped off with lime you should have more rock moving DOWN than floating up. Plus it will be cheaper.
You can PM me about rocks if you want, lol.
Here’s what the most local quarry carries
3’’-1’’ Stone
1 1/2’’ Stone
Cert CM06 (3/4’’ w/ fines)
CA7 Bedding Stone (3/4’’ Clean)
CA16 Stone (3/8’’ Chips)
FA-5 Screenings
FA-6 Sand (Fill Sand)
Between the grooming area lights is a perfect place to install an infrared heater so you can be warm next winter while you work!
Perfect! That’s what I have too 
That’s what I plan to ask for for Xmas! I bought a special 20a timer switch for it already!
Weather has seriously slowed outside progress. DH and I have been piping the whole barn and pulling wire. I also purchased and picked up 35 mats for the grooming area and stalls.
Rain rain, go away!
35 mats! I hope that you have a set of these. EZ Grip Mat Movers. I moved mats for years using a pair of vise grips to drag them. These EZ Grips are a game changer. I got mine at Tractor Supply.
Finished the horizontal posts on the corners/gates. Started with the brace wire. This is probably the safest way to do brace wire, IMO. Very little space to put a hoof in. 660# of torque on the gripple is no joke - I had to fanaggle a breaker bar to get it.
Put a couple coats of paint on the lower portion of the back wall. I will put a green stripe between the two colors.
My sacrifice paddock, which is in fulltime use from Oct/Nov to about April/May, is a third of an acre and holds three horses and two donkeys. You could probably get away with less than a quarter of an acre depending on shape, OR not put the entire thing in to the improved ground?
Wow! You’ve made amazing progress. I am inspired! We just got our concrete aisle poured (had a good friend do it, and that cut the cost significantly) and now I’m itching to get started on the next projects. Great work! Thank you for taking us along on your journey!
Green stripe - painted. Finished up the maintenance on the tractors. Rest of the day was a rain out.
I’d love to have concrete in here, but it’s out of the budget for sure. I’d rather have an arena!
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