Regardless of the footing materials used, a regular maintenance routine is essential to getting the best out of your arena footing and avoiding costly repairs down the road
You change the oil in the tractor, the car, and grease and maintain all the other tools of horse management so why wouldn’t you also maintain your riding surface?
The objective of day-to-day arena maintenance is to keep the arena footing as consistent as possible whilst keeping your surface properties within the optimal range.
This allows the horse to perform with confidence about what is under his feet, ensure your arena is free of dust and will help to keep your footing in prime condition for longer.
What factors influence your maintenance schedule and requirements?
The riding style & number of horses using your arena, the type of sand and additives used, the efficiency of your equipment and your local climate are some of the factors to consider when deciding on a maintenance schedule and requirements for your arena.
Because of the moisture retention ability and the added stability provided by TruTex Fibers, many of our trainers find that they are able to reduce the amount of maintenance that their arena requires as their footing does not shift around so much or become overly compacted!
Arena Maintenance Objectives
– Level out the surface and smooth out any divots
– Keep the footing moist
– Keep the fibers and sand particles well blended together
– Loosen up the footing if it is becoming compacted
– Re-compress the footing if it is becoming too loose
Keeping the footing moist
Keeping your footing moist is an important part of a maintenance routine and helps to improve the stability of the footing and with keeping the fibers bonded together with the sand particles.
If your arena is an indoor or covered ring then you will need to have a system to be able to keep the footing moist. Whether that be a sprinkler system, a water tank or by utilizing the magical powers of MAG to avoid the need to water altogether. The method you use does not really matter as long as you can achieve the desired result.
In an outdoor arena, the necessity to water largely depends on your climate and how much you can take advantage of mother nature. In some instances, our trainers are able to get away with barely watering their outdoor arena, if at all. If you are located in a hot/dry climate then you would need to be more proactive with watering of course.
As a general rule of thumb, whatever frequency you were needing to water your arena beforehand in order to keep it moist would be able to be reduced (in some cases up to 50%) with the addition of TruTex fibers to your arena, since they retain the moisture over a longer period of time.
A compatible groomer is essential to getting the best results out of your footing
Key components of a suitable groomer
1. The working depth can be adjusted precisely
2. Thinner “coil” tines really “stir up“ the ground, intermixing and loosening the surface layer (the dividing layer and Sub-assembly are not affected
3. Additional pulverization and re-compressing of the loosened surface layer
**Please note that in using a groomer that is not suitable for use with fiber footing, it is likely to tear the fibers out of the sand instead of working them into it and you will not get the desired results from your footing.**
If you are unsure of the compatibility of your current drag, please contact us and we will be happy to assist you.