My BO is looking to add something to the dirt and magnesium footing in an indoor arena to fluff it up so it is not as compact. She grades it very frequently This arena gets a lot of use and she is wanting to add something that will be kind to the horses joints and feet. Rubber shreds I don’t think are the answer. Any suggestions?
[QUOTE=CindyCRNA;8673991]
My BO is looking to add something to the dirt and magnesium footing in an indoor arena to fluff it up so it is not as compact. She grades it very frequently This arena gets a lot of use and she is wanting to add something that will be kind to the horses joints and feet. Rubber shreds I don’t think are the answer. Any suggestions?[/QUOTE]
I’m not sure what it’s called but the BO just added ground-up carpet to the indoor. All the boarders love it. The horses seem to as well. I’ll try to remember to ask her what it’s called and where she got it.
If it’s literally just dirt and magnesium, you could add a little river sand, would give it some movement.
sawdust
What kind of dirt? How old? It sounds like it might be getting to where it needs to be replaced. If it compacts that easily, then the additives will tend to just float off into the walls and corners and the dirt will still compact down. You need the right kind of sand to work with the other stuff. If you add sand to what you have without taking out old, broken down footing, you may wind up with footing that’s too deep.
I’m coming to second the ground up carpet. It’s a lovely difference after being added to our indoor. Nice and springy, almost.
Only downside I’ve encountered is if you let horses out in the arena, carpet is a little difficult to remove from their tail. Nothing awful, just a bit of a PITA.
[QUOTE=IPEsq;8675194]
What kind of dirt? How old? It sounds like it might be getting to where it needs to be replaced. If it compacts that easily, then the additives will tend to just float off into the walls and corners and the dirt will still compact down. .[/QUOTE]
Agree with this - if the footing is OLD, it may need to be replaced. Sand breaks down over time. Once it breaks down, adding new footing is really a waste of money. You need to get ride of the old footing first, THEN replace it. Most sand/natural footing is good for 5 to 10 years, depending on its quality, how much it is used, etc.
So, if it is just too shallow, add more footing. But if it is silty and packs hard, it may be time to scrape it out and get new footing.
By “graded”, do you mean dragged?
The footing in the arena where I board sees a LOT of traffic (big lesson program) and was getting pounded into concrete until the BO got a proper drag for it. She had been using something closer to a rake (what you see at show grounds as the final step of grooming the rings) and it was just moving the top few inches around. When she got the real drag, things improved.
There is now a system for deep-dragging the ring once a week and dragging it less deep once a week. It’s taken a few months to get the footing to a fluffy state that does not compact between the two, but it’s definitely working. She has added sand twice since I have been boarding there (almost 10 years) and has also added wood chips at least once, maybe twice…but, IMO, the game changer was that drag.
It has also helped with the dust (which was terrible in the winter and high summer) because the deep dragging mixes the moisture from watering more thoroughly.
The barn is fairly new, less than 2 years old. The dirt looks to be top soil with a good amount of magnesium and practically dust free.
Dotneko, wouldn’t sawdust break down quickly?
Ecileh, yes, I’m sorry. Dragged. They keep it looking very nice. They just want more “spring”.
Third for the carpet fibers. Chattahoochee Hills Eventing uses it and it’s awesome for footing.
I recommend crumb-not shredded-rubber. I put some in 20 years ago and it still there and working.
The shredded rubber, as well as the ground up sneakers are less expensive but tend to breakdown and vanish.
Wood fibers or sawdust get dusty, and can get slippery.
My footing is a mix of shredded and crumb rubber. I have had it for over 30 years. Though my arena does not have a lot of traffic now it was used a lot before. I add either calcium or sodium chloride once a year to prevent dust. I never drag it just rake the outside track by hand occasionally.
Everyone that has used my arena has liked the footing. I don’t understand the aversion to using rubber.
I have mostly dirt and recently added mag and a bit of wood chips. They are very small, almost the size of pea gravel or smaller. They gave my footing a bit more loft - it tended to pack down. I also drag it every 10-12 rides so it doesn’t get the chance to pack. It’s just about perfect now!
We have a sand/sawdust mix. It is 20 years old. I add either a top dress of sand or sawdust yearly. We have sprinklers, so not dusty.
We use a mix of fabric and rug fibers mixed with sand. It’s excellent in the outdoor too.
For added spring, organics of some sort. Whatever is available to you, at a reasonable price. Rich people and high end competitive venues get the baled stuff from Europe, shredded Nike leftovers (leather/rubber), or some other lovely springy stuff available at large prices. Poor people use sawdust, or peat, or rubber if available. It all breaks up the packing-like-concrete aspect of straight non organics. Perhaps the more expensive stuff lasts longer? IDK.
Footing needs to be a mixture, of sand (of some sort of size, angular is best), organics (for spring), and clay (to avoid cuppy slipping). Then water as needed, work as needed.
Well the fluffiest thing I can think of is a fluffy kitty. And what makes them fluffy is the hair… So how about some cat hair? There’s plenty at my house!!! 
