Experience with making an arena

   / Experience with making an arena #11  
Grant,
Also if you decide to just use the existing dirt just plow that sod under and disc it really well and don't even worry about taking off the sod. Mine was all sod where I built last year and I just plowed and disced it up and it was fine.

18-35034-TRACTO~1.GIF
 
   / Experience with making an arena #12  
Mark,
Grant is right. The tile I'm talking about is either 4 or 6" black plastic flexible tubing. It has holes cut in it that lets the water drain off of where ever it is. You can buy it with a "sock" over it that doesn't let dirt in and plug it up and then you don't have to use gravel. The sock is made out of a very durable material that lets water through but not dirt and keeps them from plugging up over the years.

18-35034-TRACTO~1.GIF
 
   / Experience with making an arena
  • Thread Starter
#13  
Richard,
Our arena would be just for practice. My wife is selling her main jumper and would be working the draft horse and riding her other jumper to keep him in shape. She decided that show jumping didn't fit too well with the idea of getting pregnant the next year or two. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
I like your idea of railroad ties and 2X6 with field fence. Right now we have a round pen the previous owner made of 4x4s and heavy hogwire panels. It's right where we plan to put the new arena. It has a sand footing but it's been there a long time and the sand is degraded so I plan to pull the sand to the side and decide later what to do with it.
Please send me a photo(s) when you get them of the basic arena. Also where did you get the sleeved drain tile? Maybe there is an outlet around here. Home Depot and another lumber store want too much for the tile here and don't have the sleeves! Did you use your auger for the holes? I'll probably email you a drawing of the site and see what you think about where the tile should go. Thanks.
18-32934-tractorsig2.JPG
 
   / Experience with making an arena #14  
Grant,
Yes you can use 4x4's or whatever for the posts. I've found the railroad ties last the longest and are the strongest and cheapest. The tile I get from the local contractor's supply. I saw it at Lowe's when I was there too. If you don't have anywhere to drain it to you can dig a ditch on the side of your arena to run the tile into. I've seen a few guys do it this way. Just have to cap off the end of the tiles with a drain so they don't get plugged up. There is also a kit that you can buy that you can drain them into but that gets pricey. You can also use cattle panels instead of the woven wire but it's more money. For the holes I used the auger on some but I bought a post pounder at a farm sale three years ago that works wonders. The railroad ties are usually 8' or so. I usually bury them so there is 6 foot sticking up. This makes a very sturdy pen that even the clydesdale will bounce off of. I don't think I mentioned before that the lumbar is rough lumbar so it is a full 2x6, but you can use any size from 2x4 to 2x12. I think 2x6 is fine though. All you're really using it for is a guide any. I also have a friend that I helped that built his with high tensile fence. He used 3 or 4" posts with 2 posts in between and then the high tensile wire in between that. I helped a guy last fall that used old pipe from Oklahoma that they had used for drilling. The pipe was cheap but you have to weld it all together. One thing though it will never rot!

As little as it sounds like the pen will get used I would definitely just go with a regular dirt arena. You will spend as much on sand as you will the whole arena. My indoor that I built a few years ago by the house is only 50x70 and to get four inches of sand in it I had to have 150 tons of sand delivered. It cost almost eight hundred dollars just for the sand and trucking. You're talking about more than double that one's size. As far as the sand that is already there I would just disc it in with dirt there that you have. Spread it out with your blade and just plow and disc it and you should be fine.

If your wife is planning on getting pregnant you probably won't even use the arena after that!!!! My kid's are five and three and my wife just started last year to get back into the horses again. You don't realize how much time kids take until you have them. Ours are finally at the age where they can be outside with us all the time and do things. We went on our first family trail ride and get away last summer and it was the best time I've ever had. I was so proud of my little girls riding all on their own. We had a blast! I bought a living quarters horse trailer and it was just great. We hope to do alot more camping and horse riding this year.


18-35034-TRACTO~1.GIF
 
   / Experience with making an arena #15  
Here in Arkansas that tile with the holes in it for drainage is called a "French drain"

6-27459-jimsford.gif
jim
 
   / Experience with making an arena
  • Thread Starter
#16  
Richard,
Attached is my attempt at drawing a site map. The red is the arena boundary, the blue lines are where tile drains would go. It's not to scale and the changes in elevation are approximate. The barn and future arena sit on a fairly flat area like a small plateau and I think it's impractical to drain east. It's actually farther to the edge of the "plateau" than I've drawn. The thick blue line is where I need to put in tile anyway to help divert water off the roof and from a low spot near the barn. Is it possible to run the arena drains into that larger one emptying to the south? I know a ditch would work better but I'm not sure I could put one there.
18-32934-tractorsig2.JPG
 

Attachments

  • 33-37187-Arenadrainagemap.JPG
    33-37187-Arenadrainagemap.JPG
    21.6 KB · Views: 141
   / Experience with making an arena #17  
Grant,
You bet you can run them all into one and it will work just fine. What I did off of my barn is I ran 4" tiles into a 6" tile and ran that to the gulley where all the run off water goes. Just make sure that it all runs downhill to where you want to go. I have a transit that I use but you don't have to use one. Hey also don't make the mistake of putting the tile with the holes down. I've seen some people do that and wonder why it never drained. The tile will have holes either on the top or the bottom. Put it with the holes to the top. I know that goes without saying but some people aren't even aware that it makes a difference. I will get you some pics tomorrow if I get out of here in time to get home before it gets dark. I finally got my digital back today from being repaired.

18-35034-TRACTO~1.GIF
 
   / Experience with making an arena #18  
<font color=blue>...I know that goes without saying...</font color=blue>

Richard, you truly do underestimate the depths of my ignorance/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif.

I assumed the holes went down/w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif. And I ain't a goin' to tell you why I thought that way, neither.

mark
markcg_sig.gif


I just reread that and I think I'm quoting Harv - need to give credit where it's due /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by markcg2000 on 03/13/01 10:42 AM (server time).</FONT></P>
 
   / Experience with making an arena #19  
Mark: Don't feel bad. I've looked at that black perforated pipe numerous times, in planning for future projects, and I just assumed the holes were all the way around the pipe. I never realized that there was a top and bottom.

DaveH
 
   / Experience with making an arena
  • Thread Starter
#20  
Richard,
Okay, I thought of a few more questions. How much did you slope your underground tiles from one end to the other, both the arena ones and the main drainage? Did you just dig a two foot trench and gradually fill in over the length using a level to make sure it slopes downward? Did you rent a ditch witch to dig that many trenchs? When you get a good rain, do you see a substantial amount of water coming out your main?

Mark, don't feel bad at all. I am a novice at all this myself and only can thank God that I had some construction experience out of high school that helps me understand a few things along the way. I went from being divorced 4 years ago to married, owning 4 horses, a tractor and a barn with acreage to fix up and take care of now and I wouldn't have it any other way. I have to ask questions about every project I do and this board has been a great help in answering many of them!
18-32934-tractorsig2.JPG
 

Tractor & Equipment Auctions

2019 Kawasaki KAF620-S Mule 4x4 Utility Cart (A45336)
2019 Kawasaki...
Kerian 50” Potato Sizer (A47369)
Kerian 50” Potato...
2004 Honda Pilot SUV (A46684)
2004 Honda Pilot...
Kubota K7872A 12in Quick Attach Tooth Bucket Attachment (A46683)
Kubota K7872A 12in...
2015 AFFO Portable Restroom T/A Trailer with Trash Storage Compartment (A45336)
2015 AFFO Portable...
2021 John Deere 333G Two-Speed Hi Flow Compact Track Loader Skid Steer (A46683)
2021 John Deere...
 
Top