I want traction on our long driveway and have read you can add sand to a hot tar application but none of the vendors around here seem to have done it. And then didn’t return calls. It’s not an option to take it back to tar and chip either.
Do any of you know of resolving slick asphalt with an applicant to the surface?
I have no suggestions, but I’m very interested in seeing what kind of responses you get. I have what I believe to be the world’s slickest asphalt driveway (both I and my barefoot horse have fallen - seperately! - just walking across it from one side to the other). There is no way for me to load/unload horses in a trailer without leading them across the driveway, and I’d really like to do something about the slickness. Rubber stall mats are my current temporary solution, but (1) they are extremely difficult for me to pick up and put down alone every time I need to haul out and (2) they can also get slick sometimes if it’s raining.
Do a search and read about “driveway sealer” and “driveway coating.” These are products that come in 5 gallon buckets, and are used on established asphalt driveways. Some of these products are formulated with sand or other additives mixed in to improve traction. They are poured on and spread thinly with a wide squeegee or brush.
I have used them myself several times and they vary in quality, so search diligently.
When I first met the BO over 20 years ago she was leasing a barn with an asphalt aisleway. She was starting construction of a huge (80x200) indoor with attached barn on 75 acres she owned. The lease was temporary.
Asphalt is slippery. I don’t see how you can get around it. It wasn’t smooth. It was swept several times daily and hosed down frequently. I led a school horse out of a stall one day. He pushed off the unmatted dirt stall floor. When he put his right front down he slipped on the asphalt and fell. He was okay but it could have been worse. I bought my horse after we moved to the new barn.
Aisleway at the new barn is 14x200’ of concrete. It was done in two sections with a very rough surface. Timing was important. If you put too much in it starts to harden before you can finish the surface. They needed 1-2 more guys.
There are mats where the horses are tied and in the stalls. Once in a while my horse had to be shod on bare concrete. It wasn’t slippery, but he stood weird vs. standing on mats. He was uncomfortable and we gave him breaks.
You can get a very rough surface on concrete. I would be cautious about using those asphalt finishes that you paint on existing asphalt. They are thin and I doubt they could contain enough sand for horses, shod or barefoot.
When I googled “recycled asphalt” there was a thread on this forum.
Same issues. Asphalt driveway the horses have to walk down to the street. We had the driveway redone with larger rock than usual- it won’t last as long (because the larger rocks can move around more/don’t pack as tight) but it’s pretty good for the horses… much better than the old asphalt that had smaller aggregate.
There’s a kind of asphalt called chip seal with uses larger materials also that is often done on country roads or roads without a lot of traffic- it’s cheaper, with less oil in the asphalt and more rock, but louder and bumpier so not as nice a ride in a car. If you can find an asphalt contractor that does chip seal, ask about that too… it is an option. Mine is kind of a fake chip seal, but it has been good.
I was scared to do it because I didn’t want the horses to slip, but they were slipping on the old, smoother surface and it was starting to be a series of potholes held together with patches… i had to do something! Larger rock was a good compromise for us.
Edit to add: like a lot of construction stuff, chip seal asphalt may mean different things in different places! Out here, it’s rougher asphalt with bigger rock that makes for a cheaper but bumpy road surface. Learn what contractors in your area have, and what they call it. A good asphalt contractor may have other ideas as well-
Thank you! I never heard back from our driveway maintenance folks and this is still on my list to get done.
My dad and i talked about doing the driveway at our old farm in chip’n’seal. I eventually came around to his way of thinking and agreed that it was something i could live/ride with. Imagine my dismay to come home from work one day and see an asphalt drive way 3/4s already laid.
Never could take my horses down the drive again. I ended up making a path around the front yard and down the long hill to the road and cutting into the fence. I rode in and out that way and even drove my carts back and forth across the front yard. Dad wasn’t happy with a wagon trail across the yard, but…well too bad.
Ugh. Right. It’s terrible.
I will ask my paving subs tomorrow for you for ideas. I just sent out 5 jobs for paving bids today so they should answer their phones lol! 
Thank you! Yes, I would really appreciate that. It’s on my list for this year.
I would think you could do something like a chip seal on top. Spread a thin layer of ‘oil’ and then lay down chip - can be anything from 1/4" to 1/2" typically here. Other names for this type of application I’ve heard are cape seal and sealcoat. Don’t let them use pea gravel though, it will fly all over and not be as helpful, you want an angular chip.
I used the sand-added driveway sealer at my house, as I hate the slick asphalt look and feel.
It gave it a pretty matte finish, but holds onto dirt like none other. Even pressure washing, you have to come at multiple angles to release the dirt from the sandy-gritty surface.
Hot tar and coarser aggregate on top.They use fine aggregate on residential driveways 'cos it looks “prettier”.
Hey! They all say to ask for milled asphalt, more like how parking lots are done vs driveways, more traction or they can faintly scrape grooves into them. Kinda like rumble strips on the highway but for your driveway!!!
Me personally, after it cured I would wash it down with dawn dishsoap to help degrease it lol. Idk if it would work but it would be fun to try!!
Thanks again and thank you for all the ideas and thoughts. I’ll spend some time on this thread digesting all the recommendations and post back later when I get something worked out. And keep any other thoughts coming.
This is what I have on my two steep asphalt ramps (one to the arena and one to the pasture gate). They both started out as stonedust but kept washing out so I had them paved. The guys drove back and forth with a Bobcat to add traction before the asphalt set. It works really well even with fully shod horses. Obviously wouldn’t help with existing asphalt though unless you start over—or maybe add a layer on top? Is that possible?
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