Neighbor put up an indoor horse arena. The floor is a mix of sand and shredded rubber laid down on top of a compacted limestone base. The dust is something awful, so he waters it, but the moisture takes the sand to the bottom of the mix and compacts it on top of the limestone so it stays damp and the top surface stays dry, which creates more dust. He was going to get a harrow to stir up that damp base of sand and get it mixed back in with the rubber pellets. I suggested a rototiller might work better. He's got a decent sized tractor, so he can pull just about anything. The arena is about 170'x80'. Any thoughts?
Attachment to mix material in horse arena
- Thread starter BeezFun
- Start date
charlz
Elite Member
How thick is the layer? i.e. how far down is the 'bottom'?
A harrow would likely do it unless you are talking further down than say 2" or so but he could also look at an arena groomer:
Arena_Groomer
A harrow would likely do it unless you are talking further down than say 2" or so but he could also look at an arena groomer:
Arena_Groomer
I've used a landscape rake to remix a horse arena 'dirt' mixture. You don't want to do it racetrack style though, start at one end and make a spiral pattern so you don't dig a groove into the arena track. I've also used a rototiller, but you don't want to go down very far or else you are gonna have some very lame horses. If money is no object, a power rake and a tamper works very well. Best arena situation was an owner who installed sprinkler heads from the trusses. That gave him the ability to spray liquid he injected into the sprinkler feed to reduce the dust (dish soap maybe?)
You are still gonna need an arena groomer for routine leveling, though...
You are still gonna need an arena groomer for routine leveling, though...
whistlepig
Elite Member
I would try a weighted tine harrow first. Some places rent these. A rototiller would scare me because of tearing up the base causing high and low places in the footing.
jenkinsph
Super Star Member
I suspect he will have problems as long as he has a high content of fines to dust in the mixture. The horses will continue to stir up the dust and it will never end.
Sand and rubber are mixed together in a layer about 3-4" deep. It's a very poor surface in my opinion because it never compacts into a bed, it just stays soft and mushy like walking on a very dry beach with deep sand. Thanks for groomer link.
I think you're right. These folks bought the place next door and they really love horses but don't have much experience. I've only been to a few professional arenas and they use some kind of soil that compacts well and holds water to keep the dust down. This mix of sand and rubber ends up being more like pea gravel. It never binds together and it's like walking in ball bearings. Horses don't like it either.
I have the same type of arena...just bigger and outdoors. Tell him to look at the TR-3 Arena Rake with a profile blade. He can set the depth of the profile blade and it will go above his base without damaging it but will mix things up quite well. He can also add Arena Moist to an indoor arena and it will hold water better and keep the dust down.He can get it from the same company as the TR-3. He needs to be careful with what rake he uses on sand because anything with teeth can get into his base. After a while, he'll learn to hate the rubber.....I had friends do that and happily I avoided it when I built mine.
No need to wait, they already hate the rubber. Too soon old, too late smart. Hard to believe with this thing called the web people still buy things without checking it out thoroughly. I don't even buy a brake controller without checking all kinds of forums. This must have cost them thousands of dollars, and now it's almost impossible to undo without taking out everything. Thanks for tip on groomer, I'll pass it on.
jenkinsph
Super Star Member
I would think if you can afford an indoor arena that you can afford a good arena grooming tool (there are several good ones) and the right dirt on the floor.