I’m debating what to put in my arena. I did one with plywood many years ago–it didn’t age well. I’ve seen some from Europe made of plastic, so the sprinklers will never ruin it, and it won’t need maintenance. And there’s the vertical boards that everyone seems to use.
Ideas? Pros and cons? Thanks!
We’ve used Douglas Fir 2x10s (hard, hard wood), stacked horizontally.
We get rough cut, oak boards 1.25 inches x 6"x twice the desired height, at the local saw mill.We cut the boards in half and nail them vertically between the horizontal studs of the arena or stall/run-in walls. We have NEVER had one cracked or broken…or chewed!! Cheapest, STRONGEST solution. Note…it is best to drill the nail holes in advance!!
We used 2"x6" T&G 5’ high slanted vertically, with another 5’ straight up horizontally above that. There is bracing behind it all. Very very solid. Ingates also designed to close to solid wall all the way around. Marine varnished. I love the natural wood look.
Our covered arena has only pipe panels around the arena.
We had a problem with feral hogs getting in there and digging around.
We cut 3/4" outdoor rated plywood sheets in half lengthwise, painted them the color of the panels, a light tan and wired them to the bottom of the panels, to keep the hogs out of there.
Is working fine for that and looks nice, you hardly notice them.
Many here are using those treated planks cut out of old telephone poles.
The trouble with taller sides to the arena is that, if you have people watching from the side lines, some seating down, like we have, they can’t see the action in there if the sides of the arena are too high.
To keep costs down I used T1-11 exterior plywood siding. Four ft. high - cut 8’ sheets in half. Siding is up off the ground to prevent edge rot/delamination – sits atop 2x12 treated boards.
It was 26 yrs ago so I’m not 100% sure of the bottom board but I think it was a 1" X 10" pressure treated and then over top of that was a 3/4" plywood. I used to treat every year with Thompson’s Water Seal and so far haven’t had a problem.
Forgot to add that then the carpenter added a 1/4 round at the top. It looked lovely with the 1/4 round. 
What angle do you guys use for your kickboards?
I used 3/4" roofing boards set 12" above the ground. I put treated 2x6 boards under the plywood to keep it away from the dirt.
[QUOTE=pluvinel;9008108]
What angle do you guys use for your kickboards?[/QUOTE]
Straight vertical.
I have seen some spectacular wrecks with horses missing a turn and climbing those slanted walls.
In fact, I ended up with a broken leg, courtesy of a colt I was starting that didn’t quite get his legs turning in our oval indoor and hit close to the bottom of the sliding wall and fell into the wall, mashing my leg in there.
It is mere physics, a large mass like horses are, supported by four legs under it, if it hits with any momentum on a wall at that angle with the legs close to it, it can’t do but slide into it.
Similar to when our feet go out from under us on ice, a wipeout.
The reason people started slanting walls in riding arenas is under the impression that would give more room for the horse’s upper body and rider’s legs if the horse was close to the bottom, which is right.
A guess what can be worse, if a horse steps on that slanting wall and a very sudden wipeout, or getting your leg scratched along the wall.
Straight, no angle. I’ve seen too many horses climb a slanted wall or step through it. I also drive, and the slant is great for rubbing hubs. No thanks.
Agreed. Straight. There are no other places in a horses’s world where walls are slanted – for good reasons. ^^^^
I can’t recall where I heard of this, but someone was talking about using the super durable plastic material that is used in ice rinks / hockey arenas on both their stall walls and arena kickboards. It’s designed to take a ton of abuse, is super easy to clean, very durable, handles the cold perfectly, etc etc etc. Sounds like an interesting idea, though I’ve never looked into it as far as pricing or availability.
[QUOTE=mjs8;9009995]
I can’t recall where I heard of this, but someone was talking about using the super durable plastic material that is used in ice rinks / hockey arenas on both their stall walls and arena kickboards. It’s designed to take a ton of abuse, is super easy to clean, very durable, handles the cold perfectly, etc etc etc. Sounds like an interesting idea, though I’ve never looked into it as far as pricing or availability.[/QUOTE]
We looked into it and it was at least double the cost of the 3/4" exterior plywood, painted and we didn’t even figure shipping it to us, we can get the plywood locally.
Someone told me if you go with the plastic, be sure it is the thicker one, or it will warp over time.
They used it in their round pen and the thinner one they had didn’t hold it’s shape well there.
We use the plastic 4’ x 8’ sheets in the washroom, but that is a different material and they would be costly for a whole arena.
You may want to look at those, Home Depot here carries them.
[QUOTE=mjs8;9009995]
I can’t recall where I heard of this, but someone was talking about using the super durable plastic material that is used in ice rinks / hockey arenas on both their stall walls and arena kickboards. It’s designed to take a ton of abuse, is super easy to clean, very durable, handles the cold perfectly, etc etc etc. Sounds like an interesting idea, though I’ve never looked into it as far as pricing or availability.[/QUOTE]
This stuff. Called PolyMax.
http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/prod1;ft_polymax_sheets;pg106835.html
It would be pricy to use for kick boards. Though I’ve been toying with using it on top of wood boards for stall dividers. Good to know (from Bluey) that the thinner stuff warps.
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