# Arena footing quesiton



## Indigosblue (May 9, 2011)

i'm no expert, but you generally have to have multiple layers of sand and small rocks and sometimes clay. You have to work with the ground you've got. If you have very clay-filled dirt then poring arena dirt on it will probably just clump it. You need some sort of draining system to keep the dirt from clumping. Also, if you do decide to get sand always take out the poop ASAP, as that can also make the footing hard if trampled in. I would suggest going for it but please do more research with local companies who know what your area needs. My BO is facing a horrible footing job right now and the whole indoor arena is being torn out as a result. Parking boats in a arena for the winter shouldn't be too much of a problem as long as you have drainage. When the ground thaws, sometimes water can seep into an arena if it is not properly drained (and there is lots of snow) so please be careful how you go about doing this. I wish you the best of luck, but without seeing the arena where you want to pour sand into, it's a bit hard to help =P


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## SaratogaTB (Jun 14, 2010)

Sorry this is a little off topic, but when you say arena, does that always mean something that's covered?

I am looking for a place with an indoor, and someone wrote to me about having a "dressage arena". Does that mean its covered?


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## Lonannuniel (Jun 13, 2008)

Indigosblue ~ thank you for responding! at the moment, it's just compacted dirt for flooring. I'm realizing now that scraping it off for the winter isn't an option ( after doing some research about the different layers, drainage, etc.) but if having boats on it for a few months won't ruin it, that's fine with me. 

Is there a type of footing that 'bounces back' more easily than another?

SaratogaTB- It could mean covered, but ( around here anyways ) when people have a covered arena, they usually say 'indoor arena' as opposed to just 'dressage arena'. but i think that would be something you would need to ask the barn owner. hope that helps!


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## Indigosblue (May 9, 2011)

Lonannuniel: As far as i know there are different grades of sand, and you need to buy something especially for horse arenas, not just plain old sand. That's the extent of my sand knowledge, sorry =P I've never seen any problems as long as you take proper care of the arena, so i think anything that is meant for an arena will do. However, i have seen a perfectly good arena go to ruin in about a year due to negligence, and the sand turned very hard and packed. Mostly the people didn't harrow enough, didn't pick up the poop (BIG problem) and didn't water enough to keep the dust down. If you do these things your arena should stay fine, i believe. I personally never knew you could mess up an arena until i saw what happened to my last barn, lol. I would maybe ask a professional though, since i've never built my own arena, just watched others do it (and botch it).

SaratogaTB: here in Canada there are MANY types of indoor arenas, so maybe the person was just telling you the type? If you specifically asked her about an indoor and she said it was dressage i would assume there to be a dressage indoor arena, but you might want to check to be 100% sure. Here we have anything from small indoor round-pens to HUGE western arenas and jumping arenas. If the arena is dressage you know the dimensions, but otherwise it's always good to ask for the dimensions of the arena.

I hope all of this helps =P


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