Rehabbing neglected ring **update with picture last post**

[Pony_Fixer]

Hey all. It’s been forever since I’ve been on the forums. I purchased a little farm last summer and now it’s time for me to tackle some of the bigger projects. This farm has a ring–roughly 150’ by 70’ (just bigger than a small dressage court) that originally had a blue stone screenings footing. I say “originally” because the place was unoccupied for over a year and the ring became a festival of weeds.

Over the winter all the weeds died off, naturally. In that time I finally got a chain harrow (a nice heavy one with the spikes that can be up or down). I have been dragging the ring several times a week and I do get some of the dead stuff up. We had a good 24 hour rain recently and the added “mush” allowed me to dig even more of those dead weeds up.

Two issues:

1. Now that spring is around the corner, I’m getting new weed growth–this stuff does not come up so easily, haha, if at all.
2. The bluestone is hard, even with frequent dragging and I’m considering it to be a good base that I will need to add footing on top of.

What to do? I would like to get some mortar sand to add a few inches to this base. What should I do before then to prep this base for best success? Do I Round-Up all the weeds, dig up what I can with the harrow/drag, and then just add the footing (realizing I will be chasing weeds for years to come)? Or do I keep working the current base until it is weed free before I even consider adding footing on top (realizing that might take a year, seriously, if it can be ever fully accomplished)?

Any opinions would be appreciated, as well as hints from those who may have had similar problems. Thanks in advance!

[Foxglove]

Cannot address the added footing as my ring is “naturally” clay and sand --clay base with sand on top --just the way the ground is here. But, the weeds are something I deal with yearly. I found RoundUP works best for me. I have a two gallon sprayer and do it on foot by hand three times every summer --sometimes more --never less. It takes about 30 min to walk the entire ring and spray it. I did use an “extended kill” on the edges just to see if it worked better than Roundup --supposed to applied once a year and keep everything dead for a year. It didn’t. Back to RoundUp. My ring is 200 x 70.

[Hilary]

I think if you are going to add footing you need to recompact the bluestone so it’s pretty firm. As for weeds? I know they are unsightly but if you ride a lot the wear will keep them at bay and mow them if they look bad?? There are only so many hours in a day and so many things on a farm to worry about, weeds in the ring tend to fall to the end of my list. But if you want them gone with the least amount of work, Round Up.

[tangledweb]

I bought a place with an abandoned bluestone ring. Regular dragging with a chain harrow and periodic roundup helped, but in the end I bought a better implement that could get deeper into the footing. I have a TR3 that I really like, but anything heavy enough to actually dig in probably works. You might well need more footing as well, but a good rake will keep weeds at bay and will make the most of whatever footing there is.

[Pony_Fixer]

@Foxglove

Cannot address the added footing as my ring is “naturally” clay and sand --clay base with sand on top --just the way the ground is here. But, the weeds are something I deal with yearly. I found RoundUP works best for me. I have a two gallon sprayer and do it on foot by hand three times every summer --sometimes more --never less. It takes about 30 min to walk the entire ring and spray it. I did use an “extended kill” on the edges just to see if it worked better than Roundup --supposed to applied once a year and keep everything dead for a year. It didn’t. Back to RoundUp. My ring is 200 x 70.

So do you pull up the dead weeds? Or do they come up with regular maintenance?

[Pony_Fixer]

@Hilary

I think if you are going to add footing you need to recompact the bluestone so it’s pretty firm. As for weeds? I know they are unsightly but if you ride a lot the wear will keep them at bay and mow them if they look bad?? There are only so many hours in a day and so many things on a farm to worry about, weeds in the ring tend to fall to the end of my list. But if you want them gone with the least amount of work, Round Up.

I understand. The bluestone is VERY firm, which is why I thought I may as well just make it a base. With a rake like a TR3 as referenced below I could probably fluff it up some, but it’s damn firm right now–which is partly why it is hard to get the weeds to shake loose. Of course, I suppose the roots could be adding to the compactness of the footing and removing them could make the bluestone looser. I guess time will tell on that one. I ride 4 times a week all winter and almost daily in summer–but only one horse. It’s not enough to wear more than a small track.

[Pony_Fixer]

@tangledweb

I bought a place with an abandoned bluestone ring. Regular dragging with a chain harrow and periodic roundup helped, but in the end I bought a better implement that could get deeper into the footing. I have a TR3 that I really like, but anything heavy enough to actually dig in probably works. You might well need more footing as well, but a good rake will keep weeds at bay and will make the most of whatever footing there is.

Well those are definitely fancy rakes, but I’m not sure I want to go to that expense. I put weight on the harrow which helped (nothing like what a TR3 rake would be, of course). Maybe I’ll regret it later but I’m can’t justify the expense of that kind of equipment at the moment. That’s great information though.

[Serigraph]

I live in your area and I wouldn’t do anything different than what you are doing now. At my first farm I had a ring put in with a compacted clay base and added screenings and rode until I needed to add more on top. Did just fine and when it got hard I would drag with a tine harrow I got many years ago from TS (about 400 dollars). You can add cinder blocks and position the tines down for betting gripping in. I don’t see any need to buy a TR3 personally. I rode about as much as you do and at times sprayed a bit, but mostly the draggin kept the weeds down (mine was not neglected so it’s a bit of a different situation). I would personally just keep dragging and riding.

[JB]

The only trouble adding weight to a drag like you have (sounds similar to mine) is that you might end up digging into whatever’s below the screenings, and that might be a big mistake. Can you dig in a corner, a small spot, and see what’s under it, and how far?

You can salt the ring, that will kill greenery and keep new stuff from growing for a while. Or, since it is in the state it’s in now, if it’s at least not SO hard you can’t ride on it, just keep riding, and drag a LOT, daily if you can (but not when it’s too wet),and see how things work out. Ask around and see if there’s something like the TR3 which might let you run a “blade” some distance down and not only cut up roots, but loosen things better than any topical drag can do, even with tines down.

[Pony_Fixer]

@JB

The only trouble adding weight to a drag like you have (sounds similar to mine) is that you might end up digging into whatever’s below the screenings, and that might be a big mistake. Can you dig in a corner, a small spot, and see what’s under it, and how far?

You can salt the ring, that will kill greenery and keep new stuff from growing for a while. Or, since it is in the state it’s in now, if it’s at least not SO hard you can’t ride on it, just keep riding, and drag a LOT, daily if you can (but not when it’s too wet),and see how things work out. Ask around and see if there’s something like the TR3 which might let you run a “blade” some distance down and not only cut up roots, but loosen things better than any topical drag can do, even with tines down.

Even with weight on the drag, tines down, I’m only getting down maybe an inch. And I’ve yet to see anything resembling the clay base that I assume is under there. I can dig up a corner and get a better idea though (great thought!). Salting the ring is also an excellent idea and probably a lot cheaper than Round Up!

It’s not so hard now that I can’t ride on it–but come summer it will be. I can ride out in my fields too, so regardless of weather I always have somewhere to ride (so far it drains fantastically and is dry within hours even after heavy rains). My horse is at I-1, so I worry about footing (despite getting to I-1 with no ring at all since the farm I leased previously only had fields–so we aren’t complete DQs, haha). So I do want to get some footing on it, but if it’s better to wait until what I have is in better shape then I will be patient. There are certainly many other things on the farm to throw my money at!

[JB]

@Pony Fixer

Even with weight on the drag, tines down, I’m only getting down maybe an inch. And I’ve yet to see anything resembling the clay base that I assume is under there. I can dig up a corner and get a better idea though (great thought!). Salting the ring is also an excellent idea and probably a lot cheaper than Round Up!

Ok good (maybe? lol) that you’re still only getting down about 1". Definitely dig and see what’s under there and how far down. Salting might not be cheaper, but it’s going to provide better results long-term.

It’s not so hard now that I can’t ride on it–but come summer it will be. I can ride out in my fields too, so regardless of weather I always have somewhere to ride (so far it drains fantastically and is dry within hours even after heavy rains).

You might be surprised what you have after a couple of months of riding and very regular dragging, especially if you can drag while it’s damp.

My horse is at I-1, so I worry about footing (despite getting to I-1 with no ring at all since the farm I leased previously only had fields–so we aren’t complete DQs, haha). So I do want to get some footing on it, but if it’s better to wait until what I have is in better shape then I will be patient. There are certainly many other things on the farm to throw my money at!

You can definitely do things in stages. If you get the weeds under control, then at some point you can get it leveled/graded, and tamped back down to be your new base, and add good footing on top

[Foxglove]

Do I pull up dead weeds? No. I have a spring tooth harrow set at 4". After I spray, and about weekly, I drag my ring. The harrow catches any weed dead bodies. Rather satisfying to see the weeds all dead and lifeless . . .

[tangledweb]

If you think rakes are expensive, just wait till you price sand and gravel. Having an arena at home is awesome but it does take some upkeep. On the bright side, I think marginal footing regularly raked is nicer to ride on than fancy footing that’s not maintained.

[My_Two_Cents]

Talk to an agronomist about killing your weeds. There may be a residual that would be cost effective that would adhere to the footing. When it rains and the salt runs off it may kill everything else in it’s water run off path.

[mmeqcenter]

Salt is not plants’ friend. If you’re going to get new sand and use the current as a base, get several big bags of driveway salt, mix it all up in the base then compact it back down. Should help prevent a majority of the weeds.

[Equibrit]

A root rake on the tractor will pull weeds. (after glyphosate)
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too…-YYaAsz_8P8HAQ

[subk]

You really need to figure out what’s under there and then what the ideal setting/depth of a rake would be. Then I’d find someone to pay to drag it with the appropriate equipment to get it loosened down to the the right depth. Right now you are literally scratching the surface with your drag. If it drains great it sounds like it was “put in right.” Once you get the original surface loosened to the appropriate depth I suspect that is all you will need to do. Chapel Hill is not an equestrian wasteland I would suspect for not a lot of money you could get someone in with the right equipment–it would probably be cheaper in the long run to fix it correctly at the beginning. I assure you it is cheaper than putting more material on your ring!

[gumtree]

Weeds put out a lot of seeds. Seeds that can lay dormant. Round Up works on what is growing but is meant to dissipate in a couple of weeks. So another crop can be planted. So those weed seeds can and will germinate.

I use Ground Clear. Supposed to suppress anything from growing for up to a year. Takes about a week or so for everything to turn dead brown and the roots to “give it up”. Dragging a couple of times digs everything up nicely. The dead stuff can be raked up or left to biodegrade.

I have a chain drag for “top dressing”. But ours has a lot of “blue stone screenings” also. This stuff can and does settle “tight” and hard. Chain drags struggle loosing things up.

I built an inexpensive “aggressive drag”. An 8’X8’ frame out of pressure treated 6"X6". Lag bolted together with the corner block to reinforce. Drilled a bunch of holes in it, cut up rebar into 6" lengths and pound through the holes exposing about 2+ inches. Attach a chain on the “diagonal”. This does a very good job of breaking up the hard pack. Pulls up the dead weeds easily.

Top dress with the chain drag. Dragging a ring regularly keeps the weeds in check to non existent.

[gumtree]

@Equibrit

A root rake on the tractor will pull weeds. (after glyphosate)
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too…-YYaAsz_8P8HAQ

Also known as a York Rake.

[Pony_Fixer]

@tangledweb

If you think rakes are expensive, just wait till you price sand and gravel. Having an arena at home is awesome but it does take some upkeep. On the bright side, I think marginal footing regularly raked is nicer to ride on than fancy footing that’s not maintained.

I have priced out sand and it’s not bad–$1500 to $3000 depending on depth. I realize that isn’t trivial money but it’s not a recurring expense. Benefit of a small ring I guess.