# Muddy gate area and run-in



## hflmusicislife (Dec 15, 2010)

Lately the weather has been horrible, going back and forth between snow/rain/sleet and below freezing so that the hoof prints solidify! We only have one gate between the big pastures and the barn, so it's pretty mucky right now. We have one big run in that's also really wet. It's on a bit of a downhill, so every time it rains, the water runs right in. I'm going to try to get a gutter on it (not sure why there wasn't one to begin with...) soon to help divert the water away, but I don't think there's any way we could create any better drainage there. The only thing I could think of is a ditch, but there's no way to safely do that. 

Any ideas on how to fix either issue? We don't want to spend much as money is a big tight right now, but it's a pain sliding all over when we try to bring in/out. I know there's no cheap "fix" to mud, but even something that would be helpful for a season would be good. I'm thinking a rubber mat by the gate might help (maybe with a bale of straw matted down too?) but have no idea what to do with the run in that isn't a huge project. Ideally we'll be able to completely redo the run-in in the spring, but it'd be nice to fix it up a little for the rest of the winter. Any advice would be appreciated!


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## SouthernTrails (Dec 19, 2008)

.

We had a similar problem and made something similar to a french drain, worked pretty well.

We dug a ditch, laid in perforated plastic pipe and covered it with 3/5 gravel rock, the Horses noticed it but walked out of the barn and over it with no problem.


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