# Erosion in pasture in high-traffic areas



## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

When it's very wet, it almost part of having horses.
1) Keep all organic material (including sawdust and manure) away. It will only make it worse.
2) We have terrible clay here, too, and about the best you can do is grade the areas to channel water away from them as quickly as possible so there is no standing water. Someone with a bobcat can do it in a couple hours.

If you don't grade it to improve the drainage, sand/gravel/etc. will help for a short time, but will disappear into the mud quickly.


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## BadWolf (Oct 12, 2012)

I had no idea that sawdust could make it worse. That idea is scratched.

My dad's tractor has a grader blade. I have no idea how to use it, but I'll do some research and see if I can figure it out. 

I know that mud is just part of it, but if I can keep both boots on my feet this winter, that would be awesome! Hahaha 

If anyone has any tips on how to use a grader, that would be very helpful.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

BadWolf said:


> I had no idea that sawdust could make it worse. That idea is scratched.


BTW, around the hay ring, we rake up all the hay around the outside of the ring and toss it back in everyday. I'm sure you've noticed that hay around the ring makes a nice "mat" when wet and cuts down on the "sucking" mud at the start, but it takes forever to dry and eventually the mud takes over. That's the problem with anything organic...it just holds the water.
We recently regraded our stock tank/hay ring/run-in area in preparation for the winter. I'll try to get some pics tomorrow.


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

Grading is at least an acquired skill and at best, almost an art. It's tough. You have to have reference points to work from and picture in your mind the desired end result. Plan and visualize as much as you can before you start, but be prepared for lots of "do-overs." Grading when it is wet, is next to impossible, so you first have to create drainage lines to help to dry it out a bit.

Once you have the grade done with the clay, you can put crushed rock or a heavy pit run on top of the clay to keep the surface dry. The water will percolate through the stone and run off on top of the clay underneath.

Pea gravel is terrible stuff for this as well - it never settles. Sawdust is free because it's worse than pea gravel


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

NorthernMama said:


> Grading is at least an acquired skill and at best, almost an art. It's tough. You have to have reference points to work from and picture in your mind the desired end result. Plan and visualize as much as you can before you start, but be prepared for lots of "do-overs."


This is very true. We had our hay supplier do our grading since they are also in the business of grading and building horse rings/arenas. I discussed what I thought would work with them and they gave me all the reasons way it wouldn't last long :-( I let them grade it based on their experience/recommendation and it's been _wonderful_. The biggest thing a learned was that you have to work _with_ the natural terrain and drainage; if you try something "unnatural", nature will win out in the end as to where all that water goes.


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## BadWolf (Oct 12, 2012)

The paths the water takes are very obvious, so that should help guide us.
Although, I'd hate to accidentally make it worse...

I know costs vary from place to place, but in general, is grading an expensive thing to have done?


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

We had grading done along 3 sides of our barn/run-in and the stock tank/hay ring areas built up to channel water away from them, and added 8" of stone screenings to the run in (12'x30') for $1000; more or less $500 for the grading/labor and $500 for the stone.


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## BigGirlsRideWarmbloods (Mar 28, 2010)

For small high traffic areas like gates, stall doors and water troughs, I use rubber stall mats. 

I renovated my turnouts, gradeing, drainage, 5/8ths- footing — the works, but the horses still make well worn trails in those areas. So I bought 4X6 rubber mats and laid them in the heavy use areas. Has worked really really well.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## BigGirlsRideWarmbloods (Mar 28, 2010)

As for the cost to renovate my turnouts they're about 1500-2000 square feet total and I did all the work myself. My neighbor is a civil engineer and helped me map my drainage. He said that b/c of the natural slope of the terrain I couldn't help but have the water drain towards my barn, but I could fix it by creating a larger French drain that diverted the water away. So I stripped the dirt down to the bedrock with a tractor I rented from Home Depot. And then evened out the natural slope. I then used the mini-backhoe on the rented tractor and dug my French the entire length of the turnout and the barn and out the side, and then I created a larger drainage pit/cistern. Some place for the excess water to go, that would hold it until it could be absorbed by the ground naturally.

Then I back filled with layers of geotextile fabric then 6-9 inches of 1.25 drain rock (3" slope), plate compacted, more fabric, 6-9" of sand. WHICH WAS A HUGE MISTAKE. It shifts very easily despite picking manure nightly, any organic matter made the sand hold water and turned to mud.

I had to take my horses off of it, remove ANYTHING NOT SAND, plate compacted it and then added the 5/8ths minus with some but minimals fines (since it was going on the sand).
Then plate compacted again. 

The whole thing without the sand footing debacle, cost me about $750-$1000. BUT I had talked with my local county conservation district before hand and gotten pre-approve for a cost sharing grant, for implementing an environmentally friendly practice, they reimbursed me 50% of the total, materials, equipment rentals, and even the sand footing and the 5/8ths minus replacement footing. It took me a weekend doing it by myself.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

I throw sand on top as it helps wick the moisture and dry the clay. I'll drag an old box spring with an atv across the area to scuffle it which helps it dry. It might be best if you can move each to a new spot until the present ones can recover. Running across the hay area with harrows will help pull the hay out of the clay and spread it around. Mine are the old style with steel pins. In about three years that spot will become nice healthy ground.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

Ah, the JOYS of backyard horse keeping. There is ALWAYS a job to do! **BIG sigh**
Those areas are just gonna get worn down bc of heavy use. If you can, keep horses off of heavily grazed areas to let them recover and keep them in turnout in a dry lot with a sheltered feeding area. I have 4 fenced in pasture/turnout areas. Right now my horses get the area around the barn and shelter, no access to the 3/4 acre South Pasture, and access to the 3 acres rectangular pasture. The South Pasture is recovering and I move stall cleanout to the parts that now have no grass during the winter. Since September I have grass coming in on the areas that were covered with manure last winter bc there are also grass seeds there that weren't eaten OR passed through. When I first moved in the North Pasture was in corn. MY HORSES reseeded it, and I was feeding grass hay all year round. NOW, I only have to feed hay from mid-October to mid-April, unless there is a drought and they keep it nibbled down enough that I do NOT have to restrict their grazing during the early Spring, as I do with the South Pasture, where the growth is quick and it's too rich.
Since I garden with horse and chicken bedding I can tell you that without turning wood shavings take a full 5 years to break down. In the meantime they can be used to smother weeds, if you have problem areas. When they DO breakdown they make very good compost and WILL grow grass and vegetables.
I am keeping them off of my 55' x 65' training area bc they'll just play now when it's muddy and chop it up. When I have good footing I'll want it dry and flat.
Try to avoid using sand. If it's constantly wet and deep you'll create a bog and a horse could get stuck in it. Adding cut saplings to muddy areas under gates helps them to get traction during the winter and it takes longer to break down. You will want to rake the area and carefully lay down the saplings, but I've done it and it does help. ANY hay or weeds will keep a wet area wet longer and THAT is why gardeners use hay and straw as compost to keep their beds from drying out.
Also, try moving your water tank to a sunny location so that it can dry out around it.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

If you can get the areas dug out and filled with stone and then drainage sand (the sort used in septic systems) or smooth pea gravel laid on top that will work
Rubber mats are probably the fastest way to solve the problem
These are the areas that can cause scratches/mud fever so should be dealt with


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## BadWolf (Oct 12, 2012)

Rubber mats sound great for a few places! Love a quick fix!
Maybe I can get some during all these holiday sales.

Thanks everyone


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