Arena Drag

[Mike_Kanzer]

Slightly out of the ordinary attachment question-
Does anyone have any experience with a Riata ranch II arena drag? It is a pull behind arena drag with vertical spikes and a metal "comb"-like attachment that levels and grooms a horse arena. It attaches to a 2" ball attached to the tractor's drawbar. I'm thinking of getting one for my 80 x 180 sand ring. Any experience with this?

 

[Eric_Phillips]

Have you also looked at the TR3 rake Welcome to Absolute Innvoations: Manufacturer of the TR3 Rake.
I have not used either but I am looking for a rake also.

 

[Mike_Kanzer]

The TR3 has the advantage of being a 3pt hitch drag and also has an additional floating or fixed drag bar. The biggest problem is the price. The 5ft model which supposedly would work on my tractor (70" wheel base) was quoted at 3750$ with an optional 150$ edge scraper (free shipping). The Riata RII (7ft) is 2650$ inclusive of shipping. TR3 will not quote you a price on their web site. When you call them their reps are pretty aggressive about their product, though I know it is a very good drag.

 

[donais]

you might also look at the "arenavator" i think around 2000.00 made by gearmore. my knock off works great ...jon

 

[JerryV]

The Riata does not have much digging power for packed ground; would be fine for pure sand but for that it is overpriced. theTR3 is better for packed ground but you might also look at the Arena Dragon at arenadragon.com. It cost much less than the TR3 and Riata. I am the manufacturer of them and we have been using them for 7 years now. It is very easy to operate and maintain. The prices are listed on the web site.

 

[n8wrl]

The TR3 has the advantage of being a 3pt hitch drag and also has an additional floating or fixed drag bar. The biggest problem is the price. The 5ft model which supposedly would work on my tractor (70" wheel base) was quoted at 3750$ with an optional 150$ edge scraper (free shipping). The Riata RII (7ft) is 2650$ inclusive of shipping. TR3 will not quote you a price on their web site. When you call them their reps are pretty aggressive about their product, though I know it is a very good drag.

I have a TR3 and love it. I suspect they have pretty aggressive end-of-quarter or end-of-year pricing - I got mine around xmas for much less than that.

-Brian

 

[bartco]

hello! i know this thread is old, but we are looking for an arena drag and i found this thru googling.
question, how much is "much less" that you purchased the TR3 for around Christmas time? and is the only way to purchase this thru their web site?
thanks for the info, i have printed out company information on TR3, Riata, Handozer and Arena Dragon!

 

[wwalkersd]

Another arena drag to consider is the Red Master Harrow. We have two of them, a single row and a double row with the paddle wheel, and we find they work great. Our arenas have a compacted DG base with sand over, and we've mixed Nike Airfoot with the sand to hold moisture and provide more cush.

 

[Mike120]

I've got a TR3 that I use for my neighbor's dirt arena and our sand arena. With the sand arena I take out the teeth and replace them with the profile blade to keep from disturbing the base. With it tilted back (I use a hydraulic top-link), the comb does a good job.

For dirt, it's not as good as the teeth are spaced pretty far apart. Unless you make multiple passes, you end up with a nice surface with a washboard underneath. I've found that one pass with the TR3 to break up the compaction, a second pass with a tiller to smooth out the washboard, and a third pass with the TR3 to smooth/level the surface works best.

Dirt arenas are cheaper, but more work to maintain correctly. Sand arenas are expensive, but easire to maintain. I'm also very picky about footing....

 

[Rara Avis]

TR3 Rake Arena Drag by ABI Equine >>> Best Selling Arena Equipment

There are newer options available...

But I recommend a set of the blade teeth are use mostly in the landscaping industry and mount below the leveling blade. They extend 2 inches below the grade. The teeth allow loose sand to flow through as rocks and debris collect in the blade.

With the scarifiers raised...the blade teeth will massage the top 2 inches of the area surface...

 

[wwalkersd]

Do any of you owners have a feeling for how accurate the horsepower requirements for the TR3 are? I've got a line on a good used 6.5' TR3 for a great price for the therapeutic riding program where I volunteer, but the tractor I'm buying for the program is a Ford 2N. The Ford's rated 23 HP, and the 6.5' TR3 is listed as 27 HP minimum. No go? I guess I could put an 8N head on the 2N and get 27 HP, but that's still just scraping by. In my previous experience at my own place, overloading the tractor resulted in a lot of repairs.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Do any of you owners have a feeling for how accurate the horsepower requirements for the TR3 are? I've got a line on a good used 6.5' TR3 for a great price for the therapeutic riding program where I volunteer, but the tractor I'm buying for the program is a Ford 2N. The Ford's rated 23 HP, and the 6.5' TR3 is listed as 27 HP minimum. No go? I guess I could put an 8N head on the 2N and get 27 HP, but that's still just scraping by. In my previous experience at my own place, overloading the tractor resulted in a lot of repairs.

The TR3 is multi purpose. Some tasks take more HP. Arenas drag easy because you are always keeping them "loose". Even a 15HP BX1500 will pull a 6' arena drag. 27 would do fine unless you are talking other uses such as highly compacted earth.
larry

 

[wwalkersd]

Thanks, all. I bought the TR3. As it turns out, the Ford 2N had no problem pulling the TR3 (lifting it was another matter, lifted fine when cold, not at all when hot. I'm seeing a pump rebuild in my future). The TR3 did an awesome job on the dirt arena. I did two sets of passes, one in the long side direction and one in the short side direction, and the result was a nice, cushy arena with no ruts. We definitely need the blade teeth, or a landscape rake, maybe, to pull the rocks out of the arena after the TR3 stirs 'em up.

 

[wwalkersd]

P.S. The director of the therapeutic riding program for which I bought the TR3 reported that the TR3 does a far, far better job than the Parma unit that the adjacent stable has. She previously had them doing her arena (at great expense). The TR3 will pay for itself pretty quickly.