If you dont care about the hows and the whys and the research and you just want the solution fast, then heres what I recommend after not only turning this area into a dry paddock but also after increasing my herd to 11 horses, moving to another property, and creating a dry paddock there! Thank you for the clear answer , and it is my pleasure to present you an invitation to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to see the Arabian horses in their first homeland. Best article ever- I needed up making it a little simpler and doing geo textile then 6 in granite fines and have no mud in my barn yard- I have also not had to top it up in any way, although I pick manure daily, and also harrow it weekly as I dont want to mess up my base by having holes in my sand from the horses playing out there! Ground always shifts. I was all ready to order my gravel and tractor (my two new horses arrive at the end of April) until I read that you shouldnt do this work when the soil is muddy. Same issue of course. Im also going to tell you about the things Ive tried that didnt work so well for me. Do not just go buy geo-textile cloth from your local nursery or hardware store (tried that, doesnt work!). I read it for research in preparation to write a blog post about a horse farm that uses 1/4 minus for their horse arena and event venue. 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. However, at my current property, after doing everything exactly right, with the commercial-grade barrier cloth and all the right layers, by the end of the winter there were still craters and low spots in the footing. You should dig the hole 4 feet deep and just as wide. Unfortunately, my landscaper/road builder/horse trail builder guy says that you need to scrape off the dirty layer of gravel at least once a year, and re-grade where needed. I live in a dry, desert region in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and I have purebred Arabian horses. Crushed limestone typically produced by mining limestone or dolomite rock deposits. Thanks so much for your article. (from Kelmor in Chilliwack) We did not do a geo textile cloth (although I had one in my first hog fuel arena). The same Farrier I quoted above also says: It locks together and makes a very firm surface with just enough give to allow for maximum traction. Clear stone is sometimes known as drainage stone. Ill report back! Thinking about limestone gravel or C30 sand. Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed primarily of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the form of the mineral calcite. This will help tremendously. Contact Us, How to Fix a Muddy Yard (Prevent Water Build-Up Tips). . When hes building horse trails, he puts down the Nilex geotextile, then 5-6 inches of 3 rock, then 6 inches of road base (3/4 minus). It is a material that people are familiar with in almost all parts of the world. I prefer the smaller tractors since they can maneuver better around posts and corners so there is less hand-finishing work for me to do. One of the most common uses of crushed limestone is in laying driveways. 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. Ive noticed those small plastic grids to lay on the ground surface to fill with gravel but they are pretty spendy. The whole idea of having a gravel or crusher dust top layer is to prevent wet organic matter (soil, grass, hay, leaves, manure etc.) Clear all soft organic soil, grass, down to the compacted subgrade soil. The paddocks are in one area on a slant so if the chips get a bit tired and over wet I can shovel out the wetter edges. As I have 2 horses I intend to build a small turnout paddock for the winter months. be very careful Our rock and gravel delivery services have been used to install driveways, drainage systems, garden paths, roads, and much more. Thanks you so much! yd. 74.9 million tons used for cement manufacturing and the share of limestone are significant in it. and I love the photos!!!! Applying straw, pine shavings, or organic mulch to a muddy yard is an excellent temporary remedy. Dont be tempted then to just throw more gravel down, thinking its got a good base now. The 3/4 inch gravel gets stuck in your manure fork and you end up throwing away a little bit of your money every day when you clean the paddock: 3. Use something like this Nilex non-woven geotextile with a load capacity that can withstand rock, gravel and horses hooves. RECYCLED ASPHALT. The sand/gravel mix we have used is called Hoggin here and the best description I can find is on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoggin. Heres what 3/4 inch minus looks like and it costs me $700 including delivery: The truck arrived and dumped both loads of gravel near the shelters. 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. 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. The thing that packs down the hardest especially if you water/soak it and use a 1000 lb compactor is Crusher dust. And I would think youd want to use sharper-edged gravel (not smooth) so it can bite into the limestone and hold I discovered this by adding a load of smooth gravel on top of my crusher dust (1/4 gravel) to see what would happen, and it just slid around and was useless. They also recommended I use 6 inches of it. Post some before/after pics for us if you can You can upload them right here. Over the last two years we have found that the compacted chalk works well under a straw bed inside. https://www.listentoyourhorse.com/equine-permaculture-in-rainy-climates-system-for-sustainable-pastures/, https://www.listentoyourhorse.com/adventures-in-culvert-drainage-for-my-horse-paddock/, Ginny Interviews Jini for the Interspecies Evolution Podcast, Montaros Emancipation My Freedom is Your Freedom, Heart Opening Meditation with the Herd & Land, Montaros Journey: Healing the Wounded Angry Masculine, Messages from Burdock (Burrs), Raven & The Herd, The Herd Out My Window Esoteric Musings, Laminitis, Cushings, Founder Healing Session for Your Horse, Pain, Injury, Competition Brainwashing & Dissociation, The Geography of Belonging Horses & Love in Zimbabwe. Next, use a power tiller to churn up the existing soil inside the forms to the proper depthabout 4 inches for a walkway or 6 inches for a driveway or other large slab. The gravel and/or crusher dust only lasts one season and so you have to pay out the same amount every year. So, how do you fix and dry up a wet yard? No bark or greenery. That's where limestone from Baker Lime can help. (Aggregate = rocks; permeable = allows water to pass through.). Gravel is available in two main types: crushed stone and naturally formed gravel. Sorry I havent seen or experimented with stall footing. I am sure alpaca or lama might work too? Installing a crushed limestone driveway can set homeowners back by about $1.25 to $2 per square foot of driveway space. As you can see from the 2 photos directly above, it is much easier to rake all the leaves off of the crusher dust. Wish I had better news for you! 4. Can anyone comment on the use and longevity of products like Lighthoof? Any advice? I received your email, but no need to send the link now I see. Gravel/Crushed Rock fills approximately 1/3 cu. Congrats though and how exciting! Crushed limestone gravel is relatively inexpensive and makes for an attractive, natural looking but durable walking surface. By the ton, the costs of crushed limestone will vary anywhere from $20 to as much as $30. Dr. Ann Swinker (professor of Equine Sciences) says: Ideally a two layer footing system works best when working with gravel. If the supplier charges by the yard, then the costs can be about $27 . But as mine are so hard on footing, and theres so many of them lunging around, I have to level and add more crusher every year or two. The crushed drain rock is going to roll more than the quarried rock. You'll find that natural decomposed granite offers better drainage and is great for keeping plants warmer during the winter. What do you think?I will have gravel drains or hydro blow running across the roads to drain them- Really appreciate your help-. Next, on top of the 3 rock, spread another 5 inch deep layer of 3/4 inch minus gravel (sometimes called Road Base). If theyre coming end of April, youre well over the worst of it. AND does it need the same amount of drainage capacity as your paddock, or less? If you have loose or sandy soil, you'll need a base layer. What are the environmental impacts of using a coral reef product? trailer back into the shed stall area 'cause the ground (field) in front of the tractor shed is Bahia grass and soft . Answer 2B and 2A are identical except that the 2A contains a small amount of Limestone dust (10) mixed in with the stone, which allows it to compact more effectively. If you ever test your soil and find it to be too acidic -- or below a pH of 7.0 -- a gardening expert would recommend adding lime to the . When the two materials are used together, the fine material fills in the voids left by the coarse material. Im in Virginia, USA and have been researching what to do for the muddy parts of our barn and our sacrifice lot. This year added more 57s, more screenings. Also, if you want your paddock to give your horses the opportunity to self-trim their hooves then definitely dont put crusher dust as your last layer on top. I think the three layer option seems to be the best. Boredom = monkeys . 4 inches equals .33 feet So you could probably get away with less for each layer and maybe dont even need the 3 rock. I dont know if this will help anyone, beyond being aware of it, as Im not sure myself how to prevent it. Yes the mats may pull away from the edges/wall as the ground underneath becomes uneven, but Im thinking that would be less hassle than multiple join-lines separating. Crushed rock with fines is called Crushed rock 40mm minus. After tilling is complete, spread the required amount . While you could use a number of materials to make your parking area, using gravel is a cost-effective option that provides you with a structurally sound end product. Or is that an attachment you put on your own tractor? Are wood chips the same thing that we call hog fuel or bark mulch here?? So far so good. What is Gravel? And yes, that 3 rock is endlessly coming up through the 3/4 minus, and the crusher dust I layered on top! 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. The most common concern about using crusher dust which is just tiny, crushed gravel is whether it will be too sharp for the hooves. The process involves breaking of collected rocks down to the specific sizes with the help of different rock crushers/machines. Ideally, gravel should be 3/8" but 3/4" would also work. king county (washington) considers gravel non permeable and wants you to get a grading permit to add any gravel. I guess it goes back for centuries in the European countries and the lady that wrote the list was from Scotland. what do you think? I have 3 acres and am looking to create a drylot for my 6 sheep Leaning towards the princess option, or somewhere inbetween. This is really labor intensive and I totally did not anticipate the amount of leaf raking I was going to have to do! For sure, a base layer of well-compacted, large, well-draining rock would have helped prevent the 1/4 minus from being taken over by the mud so quickly. I started with the crusher fines, but have not been happy with the pee spots, so Ill go back and do the pea gravel, or maybe put some sand down in the pee hole, then the next 2 layers? Paul. However, later experience taught me that depending on the type of crusher dust, and how hard the ground is when properly prepared, the horses wont lie down on it anyway so this is an unknown factor. It also lasts far longer than mulch. A great book to give a whole other perspective on this is Wilding by Isabella Tree. Best to get new woodchips and not from a poisonous tree and without any greenery. Rotted chips basically become soil. Best, Lime is spread on lawns that are not growing well to help the soil become more hospitable for grass. You can use this scraped-off earth to create a nice hill for them to climb/play on in their pasture, which will also create an area of high ground to stand or lie on during winter. Im concerned that if I use crusher dust or a smaller gravel, it will be easily churned into mud before the winters over. Then I added 4 inches of 3/4 inch minus gravel, and then 2 inches of crusher dust. Great info Donna thanks so much for sharing your knowledge! Lime is derived from limestone and is used in agriculture and gardening to balance the acidity level of soil. Occasionally if on slope older spent chips need shoveling up but they can go on ground, gardens, hardcore roads. I am considering granite stone dust or 89 Bahama at the moment which is a crushed coral product from its namesake. Thanks for the discussion. Its holding up well though and perhaps they will only need to re-do it every 3-5 years now; since theres such a good base on it now. Thank you so much for your extended read! Because the 4 of gravel that was on top, has either been moved around by punchy horse hooves, or been thrown out along with manure that breaks down into tiny particle sizes. Avoid high-clay soils as subsoils. A 1648 foot crushed limestone driveway can cost between $960 and $1,536. . The discussion seems to be wide ranging and I would appreciate your thoughts. The two layers lock together and when compacted, created a smooth surface for turf to be laid on top of. 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. Scroll. Great info. I think the punchiness of horses hooves disturbs the gravel so much, that all that needs to happen is for them to punch through to the geotextile in a very small spot and then that quickly enlarges. If you do this, be certain to fill up the ground back in with soil and sow turf seeds so the grass grows back as well as the ground doesn't lose absorbent planet.