How do you groom the arena?
How do you groom the arena?
Arena Maintenance Goals
- Keep sand particles and footing products mixed.
- Loosen a compact surface.
- Tighten a loose surface.
- Level out the surface – divots, deep/shallow spots, hard spots, etc.
- Eliminate ruts in high traffic areas.
- Pull in migrating materials.
- Minimize dust and promote drainage.
How often should you drag an arena?
An arena should be dragged as soon as any of ruts or holes appear. How frequently an arena needs to be dragged depends primarily on how many horses work on it. A personal arena that has one or two horses work per day may only need to be dragged once a week. A busy lesson barn’s arena may need dragging every day.
Can you drag a wet arena?
Monitor the moisture content of your arena and realize that an outdoor arena requires a lot more water. Don’t try to drag or ride too soon on wet ground; this can damage your base.
How often should you harrow an arena?
On a sand arena, before you drag, use a shovel with a flat bottom edge to pull footing material from the edges back onto the track. In an arena with average use, this will need to be done every fifth or sixth time you harrow (or about every 10 days).
What is the best sand to use in a horse arena?
Angular sand provides better stability than rounded sand particles, which behave similar to millions of ball bearings underfoot. Sand is often one of the cheapest materials to use for arena footing material, yet the hard, angular, washed sand that is most suitable as a riding surface is among the most expensive sands.
How do you smooth a horse arena?
Drag the Arena Regularly Dragging your arena helps to redistribute and smooth out the arena surface. If an arena is not dragged regularly, you may find that it develops shallow areas where the horses can punch through to the base. Once you’ve punched through to the base, your arena will need to be rebuilt.
How deep should the sand be in a riding arena?
The depth of arena footing sand depends on the sand quality and the riding discipline. Usually, 3-4 inches of a fine sand is used for dressage and jumping arenas with a geotextile sand additive. For plain sand arenas, 2-3 inches of a fine sand is recommended.
