Pea gravel for muddy gate area

[Hollybelle]

I have an eight-foot gate that connects two paddocks. The gate is left open most of the time so there is a lot of horse traffic there. The ground slopes so the west paddock is lower, and the dirt (mud) is eroding to the point where the conduit that carries the electric line is visible sometimes. The conduit is run through a steel pipe and it is just barely visible at this point.

What do do you think of laying several bags of landscape pea gravel under the gate? I can easily pick some bags up at the local Menard’s. Or wood chips?

[buck22]

Anything organic, like wood chips, will break down and make more mud.

Pea gravel tends to be rounder and will roll away and be slippery. A small angled gravel however, like crushed rock, will stay put and provide firm traction.

Depending on how deep your mud situation is, your gravel may over time sink and disappear.

I had a recurring mud issue at my gates between paddocks, its a low area where water collects and is permanently shaded by a huge tree.

I was going to throw down some geotextile cloth, or a stretch of carpet, but found these instead: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0…?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They’re amazing. I scraped only the worst of the mud away, but left plenty behind for the grids to sink down into. Put gravel over the top and done. Took minutes to do. And, the horses can run back and forth and gallop over them, even after drenching rain, and you’d never know they’re there.

If you’re going to get bagged gravel, the Lowes near me carries a “crushed mini marble” that was their cheapest, and is darn good footing. About $3.40 per bag.

[Zu_Zu]

[B]No … neither :eek: … both ideas will be regretted … IMHO

Sorry to sound harsh but pea gravel
/ wood chips are not going to make you happy •[/B]

[halt]

for all i’ve heard about wood chips not being a good idea, i’ve seen it executed several times now, and very well.

they do require removal every other year or so, but then you add the new layer. they’re cheap, you can find them for free sometimes as well.

[goodhors]

I would second what was written by Buck22, that crushed rock is good footing when laid over a good base lIke hers. I use the geotextile fabric as base because we have a roll, cheaper than her plastic bases for the rock she put in. You do NOT want pea stone for footing. Nasty, slippery stuff underfoot and under hooves, really sticks in hooves.

I also would not use chips or mulch to cover things. That turns into the worst gooey muck ever. I sure do not want to be scraping and replacing it on a regular basis to prevent the goo either! Even cheap or free, you still have your time, fuel for the machine moving it, adding up over the years.

I want to fix a muddy gate one time, be done with it for years. Might need some more rock in a few years, but not a major cleanup again. Rocks may travel in hooves now and then, so a need for getting more rocks eventually will happen. While waiting for that to happen, you can be doing many other things with your free time!

[poltroon]

Crushed rock/angled gravel. Don’t do rounded pea gravel.

Keeping water off of it is a key part of keeping it in good shape. This means it should not be a local low spot. If you keep it higher than the surrounding area (may mean adding more gravel with time), it will not get muddy. If it gets muddy, the process of making it nasty accelerates.

Geotextile might help; you might even consider putting rubber mats over the area. The mat will mean that water will go wherever the low point is off the mats instead of right at the gate and prevent some of the erosion. It’s also easy to remove muck that may accumulate on top of the mats. The downside is that it moves your muddy spot, potentially. The upside is that your muddy spot isn’t in the place where you and all the horses have to walk.

[Hollybelle]

Okay, lots of good advice here. I will avoid the pea gravel and the chips. Thank you everyone.

I really like the plastic grids- thank you for the link, I had never thought of them- but I have one mare who is shod. What if a corner of the grid makes its way up and she catches a shoe on it? Just make sure it stays well-covered, I guess.

Also, the reason pea gravel came to mind was because it seems easier on the soles of the feet. Would one patch of sharper gravel be an issue? I guess it would be okay. Not too sharp, but not so smooth that it washes away?

[IronwoodFarm]

We have the plastic grids in high traffic areas. The work great and have lasted decades. All you need to do is refill them with stone dust periodically.

[AKB]

My daughter uses pea gravel and it seems to work well. She has a truckload delivered periodically.

[khall]

I have used pea gravel and it is ok, but does not firm up like the angled rock does. I also have some small angled rock in front of one of my gates and love it! We dug down a bit (Georgia red clay!) and put the gravel in, it has held now for many years and makes great footing. I have another gate where I did use pea gravel and I really want to scrape it down and put in the angled gravel there instead. Just have not done it yet. Do not use the grates or textile, just the gravel has worked here.

[susanne]

Instead of pea gravel, look at 1/4-10 (quarter-ten) gravel. It is the same size, but not rounded, so it doesn’t roll like marbles. We use it everywhere — corrals, paths, etc. In the garden and for potted plants, I mix it in with soil to add drainage, and you can also spread it on your lawn to aerate. It is also much cheaper than what is labeled pea gravel.

For the corral, you could also use1/4-minus, which contains both small gravel and fines. This isn’t as useful for gardening and pathways, but should work for mud abatement.

[goodhors]

Your location can make a huge difference in how long your filler stone will stay useful if you do not use the grids or fabric under it. We have lovely clay that eats gravel, crushed stone, unless we put down the fabric. That fill is just gone, not found even with scraping the mud up!

Four gravel trains of gravel fill did not last 2 years in the 2 moderate size paddocks under the horses coming and going. Over 6 inches deep! Scraped the mud out, and laid fabric, another 8 inches of fill gravel, stone in gates, is which is still firm and in place 10 years later.

Anytime husband can’t think of a gift for me, he buys a truck load of gravel! I always can use it someplace. It is a great gift!!

[Palm_Beach]

I use 2" gravel in high traffic areas. The smaller stuff just disappears. I can get a truckload for $25 and would rather use a few truckloads than pay for a piece of plastic that costs $149!!! I have fabric in a few places from the person who owned the place before me, and after a while, the freeze/thaw cycle exposed a lot of the fabric.

[MSP]

The plastic grid is a great idea to keep your soil from washing away in high traffic areas; I might give that a try. From what I have read the idea is to have a compacted surface graded properly so water sheds off not a porous surface so water soaks the ground.
So first, scape off the organic muddy soil then layer with non-woven textile followed by a compacting soil; if needed top dress with crushed stone or uses a grid to keep it all in place. Materials differ for your region.

[Miss_Motivation]

Goodhors- your husband ‘rocks’!

Geat suggestions here- I have found it well worth the money to lay geotextile under any rock material used for mud or erosion control.

Even the cheap geo stuff acts like a membrane to keep our icky clay soil from gobbling up the gravel!

We also just started using some of the grids with good results. They take a bit more effort to install but make a tough, horse-friendly surface that drains great.

[Dressage59]

@buck22 Those look perfect for my gates. I’m going to try them. Thanks!

[HorseBizGirl]

I’m a little late to this, but here’s my opinion. Grids like Classic Equine Equipment’s Stable-ity Grid are designed to solve just that type of problem, but might be a little pricey. http://www.classic-equine.com/stable-ity-grid

I would suggest putting down some type of barrier cloth (often called road cloth) down first, then at least 2" of gravel on top. Not pea gravel - I agree that the roundness makes it move and doesn’t provide a stable surface for your horse. Also, his hoof will ultimately push gravel away and you’ll have holes with just cloth. We use what our stone yard calls 5/8 minus - good drainage and easy on hoofs.

[WhoaNellie44]

Has anyone tried Dry Stall pumice?

http://www.animalworldnetwork.com/drysthobe40b.html

[TheJenners]

That is a horse bedding, I don’t read Dry Stall pumice as something for outside?

DEFINITELY no on wood chips/hog fuel, that stuff sucks the life out of you.:lol:

Throw down some fabric and rocks or grids and rocks and you’ll be much happier. Something with fines, no pea gravel. I have pea gravel landscaping and 5/8- in my paddocks, and there is a world of difference. ME trying to walk through the pea gravel is hard.

[Classicgal]

I use crushed asphalt. We have a pile for the driveway and I started putting it on the muddy areas in front of stall doors years ago. It gets mixed in with the dirt from the horses weight and after a short time you would not even know it’s there. But it really helps to firm up those areas. In front of my barn it doesn’t get so incorporated but it makes my coming and going when wet much nicer.