I have a wonderful 100x200 outdoor arena. Perfectly crowned and graded, it has held up very nicely for almost 15 years. Originally the contractor put 3" sand on it, but I made him come back and take an inch off. I would say through time and weather, I’ve lost almost another inch .I need to fluff it back up. It’s fine for flatting right now, but thats also because we are seasonally super wet. Once it totally dries out and bakes a bit, that ring is going to be hard. Do i just add another inch of sand or has anyone used a mix-in with great success? I am a traditionalist, so I do love the sand, but every time I go to a show and ride on the nice shredded felt , I think about how great that would be to have at home! I am not looking to get rid of what I currently have, but I am open to other suggestions to what to add-TIA
Some thread recently someone posted something about how the felt/fiber footing aren’t meant for daily use, only short term, and can actually cause problems/injuries with daily use. I can’t find the thread for the life of me, though.
I’d just add more sand, myself. Maybe rubber mulch.
I’d add sand.
I would worry that the rubber may one day be considered an environmental hazard and require abatement if you ever sell. I vote for sand.
I love my sand/fiber mix. As an added bonus it will take a ton of water so remains nice and rideable even after super heavy rains.
Thanks all for the replies! So we actually went out in the ring and dug around a bit and I DO have more sand then I thought! I’ve been using a TR-3 and mostly only the back rake option, never the rippers. Once we put the rippers down, they broke up some of the sand that had compacted down. I honestly did not think sand would pack down that much but it did. We can clearly see the base, it is a totally different material and super hard, so we’ve been working on breaking up that sand-pack and suddenly, I’ve got my beautiful ring back! So I guess it will stay a sand ring for now. Now I just need to price out pull behind water tanks! There’s always something…
I didn’t read the post and all the replies. But be careful with synthetics. Some of them are too sticky and create torque on the horses’ feet and soft tissue structures.
They aren’t meant to be ridden in daily at home, but for show venues because they will stay solid with heavy rainfall.
I prefer dirt or sand.
