What Material Is Used In Horse Arena?

Sand is the key ingredient for a good riding arena surface. Choosing the wrong sand for horse arenas can create problems and be very expensive over time. We’ll help you source the best sand and footing product for your arena needs.

What is the best material for a horse arena?

Sand is a great choice for horse arenas because it can be combined with topsoil, wood chips, rubber, and other materials to create the ideal surface. For example, topsoil or wood can be combined with our sand to improve moisture retention. Rubber can be added to increase padding for horse hooves.

What is an arena made of?

It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators, and may be covered by a roof. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the lowest point, allowing maximum visibility. Arenas are usually designed to accommodate a multitude of spectators.

What is used in horse arena?

silica sand
The most commonly used riding surface is washed and processed silica sand, laid to a depth of 4”-5”, well compacted, and augmented with other materials according to the intended style of use. The sand properties are crucial to the performance and longevity of the arena.

What type of sand is used in horse arenas?

Riding arena surfaces should contain cleaned and screened, medium to coarse, hard, sharp sand. Fine sand will break down more readily into small enough particles to be lofted as dust. “Cleaned” means the material has been washed of silt and clay, making the sand less compactable and less dusty.

How thick is sand on a horse arena?

Horse Arena Sand is a coarse sand suitable for lunging rings, arenas and tracks. 50-75m depth is generally suitable for most lunging rings or horse arenas. 25-50mm is generally suitable for tracks but it’s up to the discretion of the trainer. Less is best and you can always get more.

What is the best surface for horses to walk on?

Rock products, also known as sand and gravel, are a great choice for paddock footing because they are extremely slow to break down, don’t hold moisture or bacteria, and can be supported for a stronger base.

Why do horse arenas have sand?

Silica sand is commonly used for horse arenas due to the hardness of the sand particle. It is a natural sand that resists weather and breakdown due to the hardness so lasts longer as an arena or track footing. The sub-angular sand particles will lessen the ability to compact and provide traction under hoof.

Is River sand good for horse arena?

River sand is made from thoroughly ground stone dust, making it a strong choice for racing or riding arenas or any other arena surface that requires extra durability.

What are the layers of an arena?

As you develop your dressage arena or competition facility, it is important to keep in mind that there are three primary layers to address: the top dressing, the subsurface, and the base. You may be familiar with choosing high-quality footing and arena sand to provide cushion during jumps and trots.

How much does sand cost for a horse arena?

Sand. To get decent footing for your arena, you can expect to spend around $1 to $2 per square foot. Sand footing is probably the most common and diverse of these materials and most arenas are going to have some sand included in their footing composition.

Can you use concrete sand for horse arena?

In some cases, a well balanced concrete sand can work but typically, mason sand is easier to stabilize. The sand is the most important ingredient in your footing layer and makes a huge difference in how the surface will interact with the horse, to either support injury prevention or promote lameness.

Are wood chips good for a riding arena?

Wood chip is the ideal all-weather riding surface.
Ideal for both indoor and outdoor, wood chip is an ideal choice. If you choose to use it in an outdoor arena, you can feel best pleased with the fact that you can use the arena all year round.

How much does it cost to build an arena for horses?

The cost to build a riding arena averages $150,000, with a typical range of $40,000 to $500,000. Prefab kits made of steel or fabric start at $5 per square foot. Custom wood construction runs up to $50 per square foot. A riding arena offers a place to exercise and train your horses.

How many tons of sand do you need for a horse arena?

50 to 300 tons
A standard size horse arena will need anywhere from 50 to 300 tons of sand. The biggest determining factor is the dimensions, or size, of the arena and the depth of the footing. Many styles of riding only need 2 to 4 inches of footing for their arena while some need more than 8 inches of depth.

How deep should the sand be in a dressage arena?

3-4 inches
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.

What is the best base for a horse arena?

We highly recommend using a blinded stone system to separate your riding arena surface from the drainage stone. This system uses a 4/20mm hardstone for the drainage, with a smaller stone, such as a 2/6mm, laid on top. The blinding layer is compacted to provide a level base for your chosen surface.

How deep should my arena footing be?

For the footing, 2 to 4 inches atop the base is fairly standard. For the most active sports (cow horse, roping, barrel racing), the deeper footing may be best, while the shallower depths work for reining and other Western sports.

How do you keep dust down in a horse arena?

Equestrians most often sprinkle calcium chloride and magnesium chloride salt additives throughout their arena so they can absorb moisture present. These additions along with air humidity do an excellent job preventing dust in your indoor or outdoor training facility.

Is concrete slippery for horses?

Concrete flooring is very common in stables. It is very durable and easy to clean and is hard to damage. It can be slippery, so while very smooth finished concrete may be attractive and easy to sweep in feed and tack rooms, textured concrete is better for stalls and aisles.

Should horses be on concrete?

Horse stall floors can be concrete, but they need covering either with a pliable material such as a rubber mat or at least 8 inches of bedding material. A bare concrete stall floor could injure a horse. Many horse owners select floor material for their horse stalls based on how easy it is to keep clean.