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.

What is the best surface 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.

How do you groom a horse arena?

Daily grooming goals include cleaning up foot prints, removing ruts on the rail and around jumps, and keeping the surface level and consistent. Daily grooming is best. However, if there are only a few rides each day, then every other day may be sufficient.

How deep should a horse arena be?

In an article from Horse Journals, Wolfgang Winkler, owner of 4W’s Consulting in Metchosin, BC says that “the depth of the cushion can vary a lot from about one to two inches for a dressage or jumper horse to six to eight inches for a cutting horse.”

What do you use to drag a horse arena?

Dragging Your Arena If your arena is small, you can do this by dragging a hand-held arena rake. If your arena is larger, you’ll likely need heavier equipment. Arena drags come in a variety of sizes. When you pull an arena drag with a tractor, their teeth spread out the footing, repositioning the layers.

How do you prepare ground for horse arena?

Key strategies

1. Do your homework.
2. Avoid low-lying areas, and pick a spot where any fall will help to carry water away.
3. Excavate to a good base before trucking in materials.
4. Don’t skimp on base layers.
5. Ignore drainage and there’s a good chance your arena will fail.
6. Plan the project for the drier months.

How much sand do I need for my horse arena?

For plain sand arenas, 2-3 inches of a fine sand is recommended. Again, always consult with an experienced riding arena builder to select the correct sand and its depth. A coarse sand will shift around a lot and should not be deeper than 2 inches.

What sand do you use in a horse arena?

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.

How do you drag a horse ring?

Standard Pattern

1. Start by dividing the ring in half down the centerline.
2. Keeping the same sized oval, work your way to the right or left of the original drag marks.
3. Finish by dragging the outer perimeter.
4. Throughout the standard pattern, be sure to keep the corners smooth and the speed of the drag consistent.

What is the best arena drag?

The patented TR3® Rake is America’s favorite arena drag and is one of the best selling professional quality arena drag on the market. Many of the industry’s top horsemen use and recommend the TR3® Rake for any equine discipline.

Is sand good footing for horses?

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.