Questions regarding arena base (tearing it up)

[Tee]

I board at a self-care facility - a gorgeous place with a nice covered arena. The footing is a sand/rubber mix, heavier on the sand. The base, apparently, is compact sand. The footing has gotten thinner since none of the rubber has been replaced in probably 20+ years.

The current idea by boarders and the barn owners (not horse people), is to tear up the base and mix it in with the rest of the footing. BUT, isn’t a base pretty important for the footing to be correct? I’m just worried they are going to wreck it without having a clue what they are doing. And then not want to pay to fix it. I just found out about this yesterday and they had planned to do it this weekend, but that’s been pushed out.

Am I needlessly concerned?

[endlessclimb]

That depends.

If there’s plenty of base and they do it evenly, probably not an issue.

If the base is thin, and they thin it further and potentially punch through it, that will be a problem.

Can you desperately suggest that instead of them doing that, that everyone contributes a little to the kitty to get a load or two of new footing?

[Tee]

I think the plan is to take the entire base up, which is what is worrying me so much.

Several of us have asked in the past if we could help contribute to adding footing and they are very resistant to the idea for some reason. Seems like it would be less expensive to do that than risk wrecking the entire thing.

[NancyM]

If the base is solid and firm, it seems to me that it is best left alone, and just replace or add to the cushion layer. If the base is damaged, then redoing it would be the plan. Then add the cushion layer on top. Good luck!

[NaturallyHappy]

@Tee, I will share I had my arena redone several years ago by a very good arena builder. My base is/was six inches of professionally installed/compacted screenings and was probably 18 years old.

The newer, very good arena builder took all of my old footing (which was awful) out, disked up two inches of screenings, and mixed in one inch of a limestone manufactured product. It honestly is the nicest indoor footing I’ve ever seen. SO, it can be done but should be done by someone very good who really knows their stuff. Good luck.

[Tee]

Thank you!

I’d be thrilled if it was a professional undertaking this project, but far from it. I am going to call the barn owner this weekend and see what’s actually being done and by whom and who they’ve consulted. From what I gather, they’ve just decided the base is the problem and want to take the whole thing out and mix it with existing footing. It sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen.

[endlessclimb]

My experiences talking with a BO about this type of stuff has been very poor. I wish you better luck than I had!

[LCDR]

What do the 20 year old rubber bits feel like? Still rubbery, or is it now hard?

[Tee]

Surprisingly, it’s still pretty rubbery. Over the years it’s just gotten dragged out by horses, or the tractor, and it’s a bit thin. Otherwise, it’s in good shape.

[PaddockWood]

A base, a good base, is critical. It provides stablility UNDER the footing. A good base provides traction when they go down to the bottom of the footing to the base. It’s what keeps a cantering/galloping horse tearing around from slipping and falling down. Never tear up a good base.

It sounds like you just need sand right? What’s the depth of what is there now?

Don’t let people who don’t know what they are doing or have education on what is right tear it up or do anything with the footing.

You need the right sand (angular) , the right depth of sand added (assuming that is what is needed) and you might be back to a pretty good situation.

I put in an indoor and footing a few years ago and tortured myself over it having read nightmare stories here. It was all worth it and my footing is awesome and wasn’t expensive. And yes, from past posters advice I confirmed with every sand truck that arrived that they had the right sand and when they started dumping I got a sample right away and looked at it.

[Tarlo_Farm]

Everything @PaddockWood says. Can you get your hands on the USDF book “Underfoot” and share it with them? The base is the most important, and the most expensive to repair if it gets compromised. Keep us posted.

[Tee]

I got a text today that they’re putting the project off until spring and better weather. Gives me enough time to hunt down “Underfoot” and send it to the BO.

Thank you all!

[NaturallyHappy]

I neglected to mention in my above post that the very good arena builder I used laser graded EVERYTHING. He didn’t feel 6 -8 inches was necessary for an indoor arena base, which is why he elected to drag up 2 inches of the base. He laser graded that, and then laser graded the footing he added.
I’ve known people who have wrecked the base of the arena w the wrong drag, or dragging too aggressively.
I think you mentioned this arena has a sand base. I don’t know how sand actually compacts to make a base, but I’m no expert. You might look at ABI… they make a drag called Arena Rascal Pro which has a profiler blade. It’s pretty slick- one can set it at the preferred depth and it cuts across the width of the drag at that depth. It fluffs the top and compacts what is underneath. Good luck!

[Tee]

Updated: I talked to our barn maintenance guy this morning. It sounds like after all the uproar (and apparently some nasty name calling between the people wanting to do the work and some other boarders), the barn has decided to bring in a couple of bags of rubber footing. We’ll see how that goes and if it’s good, we’ll do a couple more later this summer. Hopefully, that will help a bunch and there will be no more talk of ripping the arena up.