Horse arena ground prep

Dragonpharm · Feb 8, 2022

I'm looking into setting up an outdoor arena for my daughter. Have some questions for anyone that may have built one. In my research I've found a ton of information. Unfortunately there are a lot of different ideas and some are way out of reach for this year's budget. I'm considering just grading the area to remove vegetation and roughly level then hauling in washed sand to build up footing. I know it would probably be best to put down a geotextile fabric and 5-6" of rock first but that may be cost prohibitive right now. Has anyone done a basic arena this way? The sooner I get this ready for her the happier she will be. If I make it too involved it will be over budget and likely take a long time to complete.

Should have mentioned, our soil is a light clay and sand mix. It doesn't hold water very well. Several neighbors had to have clay hauled in for ponds.

Thanks in advance for any input.

Gee Ray · Feb 8, 2022

What kind of tools do you have to work with? Box blade, disk, cultivator or tiller?

drssg · Feb 8, 2022

I don't know anyone that has used the approach you describe. I think the main impact of different approaches is the percentage of time that the arena is usable.

We did tons of riding during my childhood on a level section of a field, which had zero prep work.

Anything outdoors will be unusable when the ground is frozen solid or covered in snow. Unless you have fantastic natural drainage, it will be unusable after heavy rains.

The more costly approaches can ensure the footing is to the rider's liking (not too hard, soft, deep, or shallow) and it can decrease the amount of time it's too wet.

I don't see anything wrong with trying the low-cost solution that you describe. Worst case, you may decide to use a more involved approach later.

If that happens, I recommend finding an experienced arena excavator in your area. This is a job where the cost of materials can be more substantial than the cost of labor, and you can waste a lot of material money on a faulty approach.

5030 · Feb 8, 2022

Have a female friend with an outdoor arena and she uses a Harley Rake to prep hers. Same soil you have.

ponytug · Feb 8, 2022

My first question is what kind of riding? Barrel racing is different from dressage, which is different from jumping or western pleasure, or training a young horse. Some horses are tougher than others, and more tolerant of imperfect footing. (Often due to conformation.)

If it were me, I would spring for the geotextile (it keeps your precious sand from disappearing into the soil), and if the budget permits, round 3/8" pea gravel for hoof soundness, if pea gravel isn't in the budget, washed sand works, too, just not too deep, and make sure it is free flowing. Builders sand is a non-starter. Avoiding any footing that sticks, or is too slick, with some cushioning is the goal. If you can set up the arena with a 1-2% grade perpendicular to the long axis, it will shed rain water faster, and be ready for use sooner.

I put French drains under geotextile and round pea gravel to convert my clay swap to an all weather riding arena (limited dressage, mostly schooling horses, and turn out). My only regret is not spreading lime (to stabilize the clay) and mixing it into the top six inches before compacting it; we had a few super clay spots that just plain liquified for the first two to three years before stabilizing.

All the best,

Peter

WM75Guy · Feb 9, 2022

Like Ponytug stated, the riding discipline determines the type of arena. For dressage you want a firm footing. Western will need a deeper, softer footing. I was able to create our dressage arena by tilling the sandy soil and having it levelled by a dozer with a laser guided blade. We just mixed in some mulch to give it a firmer footing. We drag it smooth and then water it before riding to keep the dust down.

In this video of Olympic dressage competition, you can see that the horses don't hardly make a dent in the arena surface.

Dragonpharm · Feb 9, 2022

Gee Ray said:
What kind of tools do you have to work with? Box blade, disk, cultivator or tiller?

Presently deciding on box blade vs tow behind scraper. Will have at least a drag harrow as well. Harrow may turn into two. One for the tractor and a smaller one for ATV so that my daughter can groom round pen as well. I have my eye on a disc on Marketplace now too. Tiller would be useful but not much else use after this project.

Dragonpharm · Feb 9, 2022

drssg said:
I don't know anyone that has used the approach you describe. I think the main impact of different approaches is the percentage of time that the arena is usable.

We did tons of riding during my childhood on a level section of a field, which had zero prep work.

Anything outdoors will be unusable when the ground is frozen solid or covered in snow. Unless you have fantastic natural drainage, it will be unusable after heavy rains.

The more costly approaches can ensure the footing is to the rider's liking (not too hard, soft, deep, or shallow) and it can decrease the amount of time it's too wet.

I don't see anything wrong with trying the low-cost solution that you describe. Worst case, you may decide to use a more involved approach later.

If that happens, I recommend finding an experienced arena excavator in your area. This is a job where the cost of materials can be more substantial than the cost of labor, and you can waste a lot of material money on a faulty approach.

I have an excavator that has done a lot of work for me. Unfortunately he hasn't any experience with arenas, just typical excavation.

Dragonpharm · Feb 9, 2022

ponytug said:
My first question is what kind of riding? Barrel racing is different from dressage, which is different from jumping or western pleasure, or training a young horse. Some horses are tougher than others, and more tolerant of imperfect footing. (Often due to conformation.)

If it were me, I would spring for the geotextile (it keeps your precious sand from disappearing into the soil), and if the budget permits, round 3/8" pea gravel for hoof soundness, if pea gravel isn't in the budget, washed sand works, too, just not too deep, and make sure it is free flowing. Builders sand is a non-starter. Avoiding any footing that sticks, or is too slick, with some cushioning is the goal. If you can set up the arena with a 1-2% grade perpendicular to the long axis, it will shed rain water faster, and be ready for use sooner.

I put French drains under geotextile and round pea gravel to convert my clay swap to an all weather riding arena (limited dressage, mostly schooling horses, and turn out). My only regret is not spreading lime (to stabilize the clay) and mixing it into the top six inches before compacting it; we had a few super clay spots that just plain liquified for the first two to three years before stabilizing.

All the best,

Peter

Mostly general training and some barrel training. My daughter has 2 quarter horses and an OTTB. She has decided the race horse needs to be a barrel horse. Probably one of the mares also if she can manage. Plus she has mammoth donkeys to train.