Crushed stone is also less likely to get kicked out into the yard. muddy , trail users frequently walk to the outside. But as I pointed out above, examine the crusher before you order it, to make sure it is just crushed rock fines and doesnt contain any clay particles. NATIVE SOUTH TEXAS RIVER ROCK. Fantastic information Pippa thanks so much for letting us know! I have a horse and donkey. 1.5 inches equals .125 feet To ensure adequate drainage for the stable when using any type of flooring, elevate the top of the stall floor at least 12 inches above the outside ground level. I have hired a contractor with a huge tracked skid steer who specialises in fine grading to fill my trench back in and grade and scrape their entire paddock so that it has a nice gentle slope. Even though we moved some gravel over from other parts of the paddock, the gravel had sunk down into the soil all over, so there wasnt much left to scavenge. She began riding at age 2 in Kenya, and got her first horse at age 8 in Alberta, and so continues a life-long journey and love affair with these amazing creatures. However, on the flip side of that argument, here's what a Farrier has to say about why she prefers crusher dust: "As a farrier, my favourite footing in this area is crusher dust. I was interested to see if it would work, as a woman had written in (who also lives in this Pacific Northwest climate) to tell me that its never worked for her horses. I live in western Oregon and am oh-so-tired-of-mud and looking for an affordable mud free paddock recipe, so to speak. In that case, I think it would depend on how your drainage is set up from your stalls A barn with good drainage probably requires a different material under the mats, than a stall with poor/no drainage. Boredom = monkeys . Great info. Both areas were destroyed in a couple of months once the rains started the cloth was either sticking up all over the place (the other woman said her horses would then grab it in their teeth and pull on it we just cut it off), or it had disappeared into the muck. Mud creates mud. Use Gravel Or Crushed Limestone. Just what I needed for my muddy hillside Tennessee horse farm. I live in Maple Ridge and I am about to attempt this for my two horses on a rental property But, if its drier and they do lie down in there, then yes, a really small, smooth pea gravel or sand would be WAY more comfy for them. Thank-you! The discussion seems to be wide ranging and I would appreciate your thoughts. And that should be no problem for their hooves either its such a short time. Our rock and gravel delivery services have been used to install driveways, drainage systems, garden paths, roads, and much more. Remember that you need to remove all organic matter from the surface of your gravel to ensure it is kept clean and can drain properly. Please feel free to share your experience and experiments in the Comments section below. Rotted chips basically become soil. Several grades from 3/8-7/8 inches will do the job if the color and grade better suits the landscaping. It creates a firm clean surface that, when supported by the Lighthoof panels, is long lasting, safe, and easy to maintain. Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed primarily of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the form of the mineral calcite. This is a boarding facility so all my expense. Then I thought: What if they get a thrush infection and I need to keep them completely off mud I wont be able to do that without cross-fencing the paddock! Thats a relief. This dust forms a cement-like bond when compacted. ), they told me that the Cloverdale Racetrack uses limestone gravel for their track. It consists of a coarse aggregate base and a finer cover layer. Shamanic Journey & Psychic Predictions from 5 Years Ago! Honestly, the best solution is concrete all the stables in the UK (same climate) use concrete for high traffic areas. Course you could always do gravel this year whatever packs down solid the best (in my region thats barrier cloth, followed by 3 rock, then 3/4 minus gravel followed by 1/4 crusher dust) and see how it goes with the mats on top of that. OR perhaps you live in a region that just gets occasional downpours or flooding, so you dont think youll need the geotextile layer, or the same layers of rock/gravel. I think it also depends on the crusher I got one load that was insanely dusty, I was concerned about them inhaling it. One thing that I did and would highly recommend is after having the 3 minus delivered we rented a 1000 lb plate compactor and compacted the arena surface for a full week, many, many, many times. Nevertheless, if its working well for you, then its always good to have options . Mitchell uses the Nilex 4551 Non-woven Geotextile when he builds horse trails in provincial parks. No the woodchips are not from the bark which is very tannic. And repeat, ongoing. It also lasts far longer than mulch. For my super rainy climate (the Pacific Northwest coast) after trying cheaper variations and having to spend an additional $2,000 on gravel every year, because it just kept sinking I finally hired my friend Mitchell, who gets the commercial-grade barrier material from Nilex, to come in and do it right for me. parts of the Pacific Northwest and the U.K., is that there is no hard compacted soil, or shale, or rock beneath the topsoil! Gravel/Crushed Rock fills approximately 1/3 cu. Thanks you so much! If the supplier charges by the yard, then the costs can be about $27 . All Rights Reserved. Thanks for all the valuable info. The Bahama product is a coral based limestone type rock it is not harvested as live coral it is basically rock mined like any other rock product and is then shipped and widely used for landscape purposes such as driveways and underneath pavers. This is where we can choose to support our horses in a wholistic manner. Our farrier does not love the pea gravel. . Walking Paths. The other stuff is too loose and just moves out of the way like pea gravel. If you can afford concrete I would 100% go with that!! If it has to cope with as much water as your paddock, then go ahead and do it the same as they likely wont be trying to lie down on it anyway. I thought I could get a few friends out and spread the gravel using rakes, but when I looked at the size of the piles and realized how heavy the gravel was, I decided to hire a local farmer to come spread it for me. and has a variety of uses including as back fill and ground cover in landscaping. Top soil has been removed and 2-3 stone laid down with willow or other non-poisonous wood chips laid on top to depth of 6-12. By February, all the horses hooves were still in great condition (they are also fed low sugar hay, which makes a huge difference to hoof health) and the surface was still in good shape. Okay so when you say stall mats were talking about a completely enclosed area 3 walls and a roof, right? If it doesnt work well, then next year, pour concrete and your gravel base is already done. I have been on two rental properties and each time didnt think it was worth doing the geotextile, but even if you only stay 2 years, its worth it. So, how do you fix and dry up a wet yard? But trying to clean gaps in rubber mats that are shifting as the ground shifts, becomes a BIG hassle. The one thing you notice when youre trying to price out gravel or crusher dust, is that pricing tends to be in cubic yards. And that way I can keep them on pasture year-round in this super rainy Pacific Northwest climate. TCS # 132 1 1/4 Fill Material View Spec Sheet View Additional Information. When it gets real cold and freezes up, its nothing but thousands of frozen footprints that they can hardly walk on. I know several stables that just dump fresh crusher dust on their paddocks every year to replenish the surface because they didnt follow the steps I outlined above, they just dump the crusher right on the earth. Crushed limestone gravel is relatively inexpensive and makes for an attractive, natural looking but durable walking surface. Plan on spending anywhere between $32 and $55 per cubic yard of clean crushed rock and $15 to $37 per cubic yard of minus crushed rock. Im doing some research on how to sort out the high traffic area of stall threshold in a barn I just started managing. Now, keep in mind that Dr. Swinkers advice is not tailored for a heavy rainfall area. How Did The Paddock Hold Up Over The Year? Great info Donna thanks so much for sharing your knowledge! Bulk crushed stone and gravel prices are $10 to $50 per ton on average. When I called a local nursery that sells everything (pea gravel, crusher dust, limestone, sand, mulch etc. Either that or you need to lay the plastic drainage mats but thats even more expensive. What is your thoughts of the grids and french drains? They can get a little waterlogged mid winter and usually it means they are old and not as absorbant and I take the depth down. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. Contact Us, How to Fix a Muddy Yard (Prevent Water Build-Up Tips). Limestone helps keep the soil pH higher. The product is commonly used as erosion control, as a heavy drainage material, as a stabilizer or for landscaping. Have you ever read about this? Next, on top of the 3 rock, spread another 5 inch deep layer of 3/4 inch minus gravel (sometimes called Road Base). Most plants like to grow in soil that is slightly basic, or in other words, has a pH above 7.0. HOW are these plants, actually helping or addressing an imbalance in your soil? When you say horse rooms Im assuming you mean stalls or stables? It permanently stains anything it comes in contact with (shoes, clothing, white horse feathers). Seriously, DO it. The other important thing with gravel, is that it requires regular grading/maintenance. The permeable pavers offered by TRUEGRID are an inexpensive, durable, effective, and long-lasting solution to muddy driveways. Note: Some people like to put a layer of crusher dust as their top layer, but Ive found the fines in crusher really interfere with drainage, as they form this solid packed layer on top of all the gravel. Hey Rick, so pleased it was helpful! 5. A great book to give a whole other perspective on this is Wilding by Isabella Tree. That cost me $840 including delivery. It does require maintenance but is sustainable. Ive also not had one issue of gravel puncturing or injuring their soles when horses hooves have a place to dry out regularly, and they have a variety of surfaces to choose from, in my experience, their hooves and soles harden up and just take care of themselves. You can also examine the crusher dust and see which suppliers contains the least amount of dust. https://www.listentoyourhorse.com/equine-permaculture-in-rainy-climates-system-for-sustainable-pastures/, great info, i really appreciate you sharing with others as it takes time to post such info with pictures, too. So the plan is just to do stall mats in the 1212 stall areas. Call 360-318-8554 to order rock or gravel delivered in Whatcom County. The only other consideration is if you want to bring a heavy truck on the paths in that case you definitely need to go with a layer of 3-inch minus road base, then whatever you want on top of that for your horses hooves. First layer of rock should be 40mm crushed rock, with no fines in it. Be aware that there are different types of crusher dust and the type that sets up very firm is what I prefer. If you live in a place that only occasionally gets wet/floods, then you may be able to skip this step. Might be a case of dont ask apologize later if you have to Some of those bylaws are aimed at developers though and they may not bother with small usage it varies though, some are more rabid dog about it. Live and learn! Larry. You will probably have to clear the top surface of the yard after a while and then let it air dry. These are the best options for driveway surfaces gravel, because they are small stones combined with rock dust, which makes a more solid driving surface. Your site is so inspiring and YOU are so generous! Well, I laid the paddock footing in August. Not only does this make them very hard to brush clean, but the particles are super fine dust that occasionally irritate the horses eyes and are certainly not healthy for you or your horse to be inhaling. Meditation Claim Your Reality in this Crazy World, When your Horse says No Perhaps the Process IS the Point, How to Manifest the Land of Your Dreams Part 4. Lime is spread on lawns that are not growing well to help the soil become more hospitable for grass. Scrape off the dirty layer (from dirt and small bits of manure) and re-surface/grade. On a full rainy day, these patches fill with standing water there is no drainage: So why not just use the 3/4 inch gravel? So now that I have all the information needed to make a good decision about what is the best paddock surface for horses in a wet, rainy climate its time to look at what Im prepared to spend! A friend of mine who builds roads in the Vancouver area and whose father builds horse arenas told me that you can go down 6 feet and you still wont hit any kind of hard soil or anything that would provide a barrier to your gravel sinking away. For the people that love crusher dust, they seem to love it because it packs down hard and forms a cement-like surface that doesnt sink into mud. Spreading temporary ground cover for mud, like pine flakes, crushed limestone, or feline litter, will absorb the mud and also allow you to shovel it bent on remove the excess water. One yard of #57 limestone gravel weighs approximately 1.4tons. Ive never seen 3-inch woodchips for sale anywhere in the Vancouver area. Your email address will not be published. I am also a muddy hillside east Tennessee horsefarm owner. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If you were to follow Dr. Swinkers advice, you could use pea gravel 0r 3/4-inch minus gravel on the bottom and crusher dust on top (crusher is really just tiny gravel with gravel particle dust), or limestone gravel and crusher dust, or limestone gravel and sand. If 2 inches of 1/2 inch angular rock plus 2 inches granite fines (so 4 inches total) would work in your barn yard, then it will work on your paths. Heres what the 1/4 inch minus crusher dust looks like on the paddock: And heres what the 3/4 inch gravel looks like on the paddock: I figured this would be a really good test to see which gravel held up best under the horses hooves during the rainy season, because I had them side-by-side for direct comparison! Rip rap is large nearly boulder-size crushed stone. Id highly recommend going to look at farms that offer to let you see theirs and take a good hard look at their horses feet. So the only surface Ive seen work is concrete. Also handy in the shed to clean out all dust. (normally everything here gets wet from rain, but dries the next day to hard surface). I would put drains (herring bone or french) if I did it again just to avoid water logs. When youre scraping the soft soil off (see step 2 below) try to grade the area so water will be encouraged by slope and gravity to flow where you want it to. Just hold on Sue, Ive got a guy coming out this week who contracts with the city here to create all their parks with horse trails, drain peat bogs, etc. Regardless of the problem, drying and repairing the muddy yard is necessary. Ideal for situations where you need it to pack together, crushed stone is the product you want for walkways & driveways, or anywhere you need a good, hard base. One way to fix mud holes in the driveway is by filling it with small, crushed stone. A number of articles Ive read on this subject suggest using a minimum of 3 inches of footing (surface drainage material), or to use the same depth your mud gets to. My own experience (keep reading) confirms this. What do you think?I will have gravel drains or hydro blow running across the roads to drain them- Really appreciate your help-. Over the last two years we have found that the compacted chalk works well under a straw bed inside. I live in a dry, desert region in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and I have purebred Arabian horses. The process involves breaking of collected rocks down to the specific sizes with the help of different rock crushers/machines. This size rock resembles lemons or grapefruits and provides a firm base for the driveway. A couple of extra tips; be very careful The cost per yard can start at $30 and go up to $45. how essential is the geotextile if you have scraped down a few feet? NOT smooth edges, with dust fines) then I havent seen any movement even in heavy, weeks-long rain. 4 inch Dig 2 inches of lime stone compacted. Touring the world with friends one mile and pub at a time; best perks for running killer dbd. Gravel or 5 ml washed sand. If you are ordering crusher dust, its best if you can get a look at it, to make sure it is just rock fines and doesnt have clay (or a lot of sand particles) in it. A couple years ago I had a 40 acre place with a separate 4-stall, 3-sided tractor shed about 150 yards from the house. The bottom layer is called a permeable aggregate base coarse and the top is a permeable aggregate top coarse. Im definitely going to send your article to my boss and see what she thinks. Thank you very much for this information, I am in Colorado, down on the plains, so we dont get a lot of rain, but for sure the snow then the horses runs fall apart. If your horses are restricted to a small area, they may then start pulling on the cloth to play with it. So 3/4 inch minus gravel means that the largest particle size is 3/4 of an inch and all the gravel in the load is guaranteed to be 3/4 inch or smaller. It is mainly used in applications by bodies of water, which is why you commonly see it along streams, rivers and similar locations. Im curious to know if you ended up redoing the paddock surface area this year again? Thank you for your response. it should be good. This seriously impacts my decision-making process. When I showed it to my friend Mitchell, he said the two problems with what I did were (a) I did not use industrial-grade geotextile, and (b) I did not put enough rock and gravel on top of the cloth. My question is this: When I do the paddock area with the 3 layers of stone like you explained; what do you recommend for inside the run in? My least favourite footing is hogfuel and Id probably have them stand in mud over hogfuel because when hogfuel is new, it is very acidic and it etches out the sole of the foot, leaving the foot more vulnerable (Ive seen hooves so bad on it that a hoofpick can poke through the sole easily. In 2018, I did an experiment with laying standard hardware store geotextile cloth down on the compacted subgrade soil, in a new section of my horses paddock area. But that is the law. Glass Mosaic Tile (13.26 sq. See how to fix a muddy yard including the different causes of soggy grass, tips to prevent mud from building up, and effective solutions to fix water built-up. I also found it really helpful to install a French Drain in my current paddock to help funnel the water off/away from the paddock and this made a huge difference in the effectiveness of my paddock surface. There are many opinions of course as to which is best, in fact it can be a bit overwhelming at times so I would appreciate any guidance. You may always install. It wouldnt be the most interesting thing Ive ever written, but it might be useful. So instead of implementing what I know would be a great solution, instead, Im trying to figure out the most cost-effective way of making sure my horses dont get thrush and can maintain healthy hooves through this years wet, rainy Winter and Spring. For one tone of crushed limestone, you would pay around $25 to $35. Now Im going to moving my other mare over so wanted to check whats the best footing as I live on Vancouver Island, the place with the most rainfall on the planet. We just had our stable built, with excavation down to the hard soil. Perhaps just 3/4 minus gravel laid 4 inches deep and 2 inches of crusher dust (1/4 minus) on top would be sufficient?? Also can you find any forums or message boards where people have experimented with both? This system still involves some heavy work but it is sustainable. Obviously droppings always need removing. Thinking about limestone gravel or C30 sand. ft. ($53.81 /case) $5.07 Save 20% ( 139) Model# GDRCOBRG Merola Tile Coppa Brown Gold 12 in. Catherine here. Gravel is extremely simple to put on lawns and offers a long-term solution. Approximately 9 cu. Gravel for paths is sold by type and size. In this front area I call the paddock are their water tubs and 2 walk-in shelters, each with its own slow feeder and rubber mats. Im open to hear any new tips you may have to for my situation. And include the UK terminology because thats even harder to figure out Post a link here if/when you do!