Outdoor arena edging - in's and out's

[half_pass1]

The guy who will probably be building my arena gave me an info sheet about water run off and the edging around the arena. This sheet states that it is far better for water run off when the arena is built on top of the existing surface rather than dug in - ok, fine, makes sense. It then goes on to say that edging around the arena stops the water running off as well. Also makes sense.

Buuuuut… how do I then keep my sand in the arena? Can I put something on top of the sand?

Or is this information all just a bit of baloney?

ETA. I misinterpreted the diagram! It shows that an arena built below the natural soil level, with edging going to the base, will stop the water running off.

[Jim_in_PA]

To last and drain properly, the arena needs the top soil and organics removed to the subsoil. The subsoil is then graded and contoured to support the intended drainage and a compacted base installed to match that contour. If the arena is going to have a solid border, provisions can be made to insure that drainage occurs while it still keeps your footing surface contained.

[Libby2563]

FWIW, my very experienced arena builder who’s also an engineer is strongly opposed to edging in the form of railroad ties, fence boards set into the ground, etc. He says it impedes drainage too much. For my arena, which has very steep grading around it, the only place that has any barrier is the “gate” area, where I had some run-off issues until we added a buried 4x4. Everywhere else, the footing just meets the grass about level, and there are no problems with the sand and rubber escaping. It drains well and is quickly rideable after heavy rains.

[arlosmine]

Yes, even of your arena sets on top of a raise pad, you will create a lovely soupy bowl if you border to incorrectly.

I bordered mine with Railroad ties, which were held off the base by seting them on strips cut from a sheet of 3/4" pressure treated exterior plywood. I used three or four 5" strips per tie. The strips held the ties just a bit away from the base, the water ran under the ties after draining to the edges of the arena. I placed the ties after the footing was in, but carefully raked the footing in from the sides so I put the ties on the base, not the sand.

The ties were kept in place by sledghammering pieces of rebar (be careful to countersink!) through hole drilled in the tie and driven several inches into the base.

My arena had a 1% grade lengthwise, and was base was “domed” down the centerline, like a road. That prevents ALL of the arena’s run off from running the entire length of the arena before it exits. Runoff created from the whole arena being on the same grade creates a LOT of force, and will carry your footing out of the arena during heavy rains.

My arena was a full-court dreadsage arena with a 4’ border of base around it. I placed all the ties by myself with a tractor with forks on the FEL. It took me a few days.

Depending on your topography, you could go one season without a border, and evaluate your situation. Just be ready to do a lot of raking in the track, since the sand will migrate out and get thin due to the force of the horse’s hooves and the lack of a border.

[goodhors]

You might want to put corrugated drain pipe under your edging, covered with geotextile sock, so water can be carried off without taking your footing too. You control the runoff with slope of the arena, then control the water with the drain tile and edging.

You may want SOME sand footing, but certainly not as the ONLY footing for the arena. Studies show that deep footing is hard on the soft tissue of legs, causes more injury because legs get fatigued faster. Try running in deep, dry sand yourself, VERY tiring!

You only want a small cushion of sandy type topping, no more than 2 inches, so hoof can go into sand, then stop on firm surface to push off into the next stride. Injury happens when he has nothing hard to push off of, fatigue lets leg flop around.

[half_pass1]

[QUOTE=Jim_in_PA;8255656]
If the arena is going to have a solid border, provisions can be made to insure that drainage occurs while it still keeps your footing surface contained.[/QUOTE]

Such as? And is the arena edging only supposed to be as deep as the footing or should it go down past the base as well?

The area will be taken down to the subsoil and then build upon that. From my understand of what this diagram shows, is that you encounter issues with water runoff when the arena is dug down to the subsoil only in the area where the arena is to go, rather than having a ‘free’ area around the arena for the water to drain. I’m going to have to talk to my arena man to see exactly what he proposes.

[half_pass1]

Also, I know it is all in German, but the diagram itself is relatively straightforward to understand even if you don’t recognise any of the words:

http://www.pferderevue.at/?+Kampf+dem+Gatsch+&id=2500%2C5028817%%2C%2C

[Jim_in_PA]

There are any number of ways to provision for drainage “through” a border and they go hand-in hand with how water is channeled through/over the sub-base through contouring, etc. The range spans French drains under the border, pipe/holes though the border, etc. As long as the groundwater is directed to where it can leave, you should be good and you shouldn’t end up with a “soup bowl”. Your contractor can plan things out for you.

[half_pass1]

The arena will be graded so that there is a ‘ridge’ along the centreline with a 1° slope to the long sides. The soil here is very sandy so naturally extremely well draining, plus the area where we are building is dead flat so hopefully there shouldn’t be too many issues with water. The contractor has just gotten me a bit worried now about the edging, as I have only ever seen rings that have some form of border on the ground, and I don’t want to spend my life raking the sand back in along the track!

[dotneko]

My outdoor is surrounded by railroad ties with French drains underneath.

[Libby2563]

[QUOTE=half*pass;8256218]
The contractor has just gotten me a bit worried now about the edging, as I have only ever seen rings that have some form of border on the ground, and I don’t want to spend my life raking the sand back in along the track![/QUOTE]

I felt the same way. My contractor assured me that as the grass grew back in around the edges, it would help keep the footing from escaping, and he was right. I do rake the edges back onto the track about once a month but I don’t know any arena design that doesn’t require that. If you want to see how my edges are finished, scroll to the bottom of this page. (It may help to click on the very last picture to enlarge it.) My arena is crowned down the centerline like yours will be.

My friend has a more substantial border around her arena, which is about the same height as mine but has planks going all the way down to the footing at least, (possibly towards the base–I’m not sure). Her arena has a 2% grade from one long side to the other, so on the “lower” long side the bottom of the border is wire mesh rather than solid wood, to allow for drainage. I think Jim is right in that there are lots of different ways to tackle this. I do like my setup for its simplicity though.

[half_pass1]

Wow, love that arena Libby! Very jealous of your fantastic mirrors as well It looks like the grass really helps keep in your footing as well, how long did it take for it to all grow back?

[half_pass1]

Just spoke to a friend about what she has learnt from building 3 or 4 arenas… she has railroad ties as her edging, and her builder told her to leave about 10cm between each log to allow the water to run out. Also not a bad suggestion…

[keatssu]

We originally put 3 board fencing around our arena but had a big problem with a very heavy rainfall - our rubber washed out of the arena! My husband almost had a stroke…

We then put a bottom board with a little space underneath for drainage, thinking this would solve the rubber problem. Nope. Then we put a strip of screen around the bottom, attached to the boards and weighed down by rocks about 2" diameter. (rocks outside the fence board).

This has worked fine, and our arena drains really well. The rubber will wash down in a hard rain, but we just rake it back with the TR3.

Regarding grass - We planted a very fast growing rye grass to make sure we had grass ASAP. I swear it sprouted over night. Later we sowed pasture mix.

[merrygoround]

I would make my arena a bit wider, and longer than the actual track in which you will ride if you have no edging. The arena other wise will have a raised rounded edge from the sand/footing that kicks out . If it mixes with grass it is difficult if not impossible to reclaim.