Wood chips for outdoor arena

[AnnaCrew]

Are wood chips suitable for outdoor arena?

We have heavy clay soil, and when it is dry (as at present) it is too hard to do any serious training just on grass field. When it is wet, it is slippery and also too soft, so again - too hard for any serious job. We definitely need a better ground for training arena.

We have cold and wet winters so sand arenas usually become rock hard for about 4 months a year. I was thinking about something really cheap as at present we can not invest in nice perfect material for arena.

So now I have an idea about wood chips - we have our own forest, so for us it is the cheapest material and it is not a problem to add more each next 2-3 years when it will rot - forest needs to be cleaned anyway.

Do you have practical experience with wood chips for riding arena?
We have mostly deciduous wood (alder), so it will rot quickly, but it would improve the clay anyway making area softer. Arena area is already rock free and leveled.

Is there any serious minuses that I must consider? Hoof care is one thing, but anything else?

[txladybug]

I have unlimited access to hardwood mulch. I use it over plain dirt in my rp and 120 x 250 outdoor arena. It is great except for the larger pieces 2" and up can get jammed into the sulcus. If you can someone to chip the wood into FINE mulch than it is awesome for arenas. Check out fibar (http://www.fibar.com/horses/index.htm). That is the texture of mulch you need. If the chipper blades are dull or adjusted badly they will chip thicker/twiggier mulch. Ask your tree service for a mulch sample first. Crummy chipper = crummy mulch.

Apply it about 4" deep and expect it to compost down. If your area is very wet, it will be lost at a greater rate.

Good luck!

[KSAQHA]

The way that stuff disappears with the wind from my flower garden, you might be dismayed at how often it would need replacing!

[txladybug]

Yeah, I replace several yards a year but I have free mulch.

[AnnaCrew]

Thank you! Yes, my mulch would be free, and transport will cost nearly zero, as arena is about 500 meters from the forest. I hope that wind will be not a major problem as we do not have often long lasting dry periods here, and major summer wind will blow uphill there so again - not so easy to blow away.

Will check the size, good point. Anything else?

[goodhors]

Clay dirt can change it's texture with the addition of organic material. If you have free wood chopped to a finer texture, you might try working it down into the soil. Maybe pick one part to experiment on.

In my garden, we use the rototiller, to work additions into the dirt. I take the tiller down at least a foot, work in the ammendments thru all that area of soil. With the soil ammendment additions, even steadily decaying away, they prevent the particles of clay from sticking together. Sticking together makes such large clumps of "clay" dirt, that dry into hard surface. Even with water added, ammendments added to the clay particles, work at changing the dirt consistancy. Clay particles are kept apart making the dirt binding not work so well, reducing slppery feel, making dirt better draining in the garden.

This is an idea to try, with the wood stuff being so available. Wood is slower to break down than other organic materials, so could be great in a riding ring. I use sawdust bedding, so have been adding that stall bedding to our fields for a long time. I lightly disc the fields in spring and fall, to open the hard dirt of late summer, help work material into the soil. I have now got lots of organic matter in my clay soil, so it is just 'better dirt" than before.

I am not using my soil with ammendments for an arena, mostly is in the garden and horse pastures. I do think getting the wood dust down into the dirt, mixed in, should help change the nature of the slippery clay in the riding arena.

I have not seen adding sand to the clay, to be helpful either. Stays slippery. Sand or sandy mixes, only works if you put down enough to make a whole new layer, deep enough it is all above the clay, not going to mix with use.

You could still put some wood stuff on top, for cushion. I have not had success with using manure, wood sawdust as THE footing for a riding arena myself, like in winter. That addition gets slippery itself, makes a deeper mushy layer when wet, when put over regular field soil.

[txladybug]

Initially the tree service can apply it in piles around the arena. We then use a skidsteer/bobcat to roughly grade it out. We then hand rake it for fine grading. We also have clay soils and it does "lighten up" the soil over time. We also use this mulch in our "sacrifice" dirt lot paddocks to keep the mud down.

My best mulch comes from local "cedar" which is really Ashe Juniper. Hardwood (oak is local to us) would be my next choice. Lastly would be soft woods such as pines. The softwoods would be quickest to compost and would not last as long.

The main thing is SIZE of the pieces, look at the sieve sizing specifications for fibar. Fine texture is ideal for cushioning properties.

Our mulch only washes away on a slope of 10% grade or greater. My arena is a 2% grade and hardly any washes away.

[Equibrit]

Are wood chips suitable for outdoor arena?

We have heavy clay soil, and when it is dry (as at present) it is too hard to do any serious training just on grass field. When it is wet, it is slippery and also too soft, so again - too hard for any serious job. We definitely need a better ground for training arena.

We have cold and wet winters so sand arenas usually become rock hard for about 4 months a year. I was thinking about something really cheap as at present we can not invest in nice perfect material for arena.

So now I have an idea about wood chips - we have our own forest, so for us it is the cheapest material and it is not a problem to add more each next 2-3 years when it will rot - forest needs to be cleaned anyway.

Do you have practical experience with wood chips for riding arena?
We have mostly deciduous wood (alder), so it will rot quickly, but it would improve the clay anyway making area softer. Arena area is already rock free and leveled.

Is there any serious minuses that I must consider? Hoof care is one thing, but anything else?

I have been the victim of wood chips on clay. The horse (17 hand 3 yo Holsteiner) went down when the chips moved under his feet and I had to jump and roll - right quick ! They really are NOT A GOOD IDEA. It was dumb luck that we weren't both injured. Damp sawdust would be better.

[JSwan]

Wood chips on clay means greasy footing. When the chips start breaking down you get greasy blackish footing.

I did this outside my barn last fall because I ran out of cash for stone dust.

By December or January I had nothing but chippy goo. Oh joy. - But - the ground was pretty wet.

[Calvincrowe]

Slick. Slick and wet or slick and dry.(hmmm.. that sounds slightly racy!) That has been my experience with adding wood chips to arena footing outdoors.

[WendellsGirl]

So what is the best choice? Have a heavy clay content to our soil, too. Right now our riding area is a glorified dirt paddock, but I'd like to improve it without a huge investment.

[Fancy That]

So what is the best choice? Have a heavy clay content to our soil, too. Right now our riding area is a glorified dirt paddock, but I'd like to improve it without a huge investment.

WG - I could have written your post!! I'm bumping this so we can get some good advice and suggestions.

Our "arena" is a 100 x 200 area that hubby used the bobcat on. See?

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk150/elaineshickman/Horses%20First%20Days%20Twin%20Oaks/DSC01580.jpg


It's pure native clay :( Summer time is fine if it gets dragged but super DUSTY! (we just plowed and graded it)

Can't afford a "real arena" right now. Looking forward to suggestions.

[Bedrock]

I have wood chips, get them free from the local tree guy. Works great in my outdoor, Not slippery at all as long as I mix some sand in.I think the "grittiness" of the sand prevents the chips from being slippery. Of course I would love the same rubber as I have in my indoor, but I am not paying for that investment to watch it "BLOW" away.

[deltawave]

Gosh, the few that I've ridden in were all terribly slippery if it was even the least bit wet. I'd pay close attention to the people that have done this and gotten it to work; obviously the ones I've ridden in were NOT done properly.

[enjoytheride]

Hogsfuel arenas (cedar chips which are longer lasting then pine) are popular in England, try asking on a british bb about it.

[merrygoround]

My experience was that even mixed with sand, they were slippery, and I had the bruises to prove it. :(

[txladybug]

If they are slippery, then they were probably applied too deep or the sub soil is poorly drained. Your arena should slope gently like 1-2% to prevent poor drainage.