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 Expert
Posts: 5293
  
| I have battled muddy pens for years. For whatever reason they get mucky and are slow to dry when we get lots of rain back to back. Since we are headed into El Niño out here in CA I am just dreading it.  My horses do have shelters that stay dry but of course they refuse to use them when it rains. Lol I've even considered boarding them in winter but that's crazy. There has to be a solution. I have tried the wood chips like you see in playgrounds. But sometimes they have wood pieces toxic to horses. If it gets really bad I have been known to spread 30 bags of shavings. That gets quite costly. I was thinking sand but really hate to do that. Anyone have any tricks of the trade ? |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Maybe find some old round bales and spread the hay out in your pens and find some sand to mix in with the hay.  |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| Pea gravel |
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Expert
Posts: 5293
| Yep. CA doesn't have round bales. Lol. We do have a place that has rock near by. Pea gravel might be a good idea!
I thought I had an answer last year with the bedding pellets. Those really did a great job of absorbing the water and keeping the mud down. Only problem is my horses tried to eat them! They have hay in front of them 24/7 but oh no. Let's eat the pellets.
Edited by FLITASTIC 2015-12-29 8:43 PM
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | FLITASTIC - 2015-12-29 8:39 PM Yep. CA doesn't have round bales. Lol. We do have a place that has rock near by. Pea gravel might be a good idea! What no round bales!!!!!! Now thats just unamerican lol 
Edited by Southtxponygirl 2015-12-29 8:42 PM
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Expert
Posts: 5293
| Southtxponygirl - 2015-12-29 6:41 PM
FLITASTIC - 2015-12-29 8:39 PM Yep. CA doesn't have round bales. Lol. We do have a place that has rock near by. Pea gravel might be a good idea! What no round bales!!!!!! Now thats just unamerican lol
I know!! I have never even seen one in person. Lol. Now my feed store does have straw bales that might just work but my
Horses would probably eat that to! |
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | FLITASTIC - 2015-12-29 8:44 PM Southtxponygirl - 2015-12-29 6:41 PM FLITASTIC - 2015-12-29 8:39 PM Yep. CA doesn't have round bales. Lol. We do have a place that has rock near by. Pea gravel might be a good idea! What no round bales!!!!!! Now thats just unamerican lol I know!! I have never even seen one in person. Lol. Now my feed store does have straw bales that might just work but my Horses would probably eat that to!
Dang you need to come to Texas so you can at least touch a round bale, lol We have plenty  |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 883
Location: Southern Indiana | Our lot has rock in. We just got new so its pretty rocky, but it eventually forms a solid base. It only get mucky in the corners from manure. They have stalls and a lean to to stand under if they want off the rocks, but it hasn't ever seemed to be a problem. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| FLITASTIC - 2015-12-29 8:44 PM
Southtxponygirl - 2015-12-29 6:41 PM
FLITASTIC - 2015-12-29 8:39 PM Yep. CA doesn't have round bales. Lol. We do have a place that has rock near by. Pea gravel might be a good idea! What no round bales!!!!!! Now thats just unamerican lol
I know!! I have never even seen one in person. Lol. Now my feed store does have straw bales that might just work but my
Horses would probably eat that to!
I don't suggest doing straw unless you can get a backhoe in and clean them out.
We feed green feed during the winter, and when the moisture comes, it makes such a mess we have to remove layers of straw and manure each spring or we would be walking in knee deep mud |
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Miss Southern Sunshine
Posts: 7427
Location: South Central Florida | even sand can get mucky. I have a.friend that has ground granite. Iv never seen it since. They are 8n North Florida and Im not sure I like it, but it was dry even in a wet season. It was a littlenthickernthan sand.. |
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | cheryl makofka - 2015-12-29 8:58 PM FLITASTIC - 2015-12-29 8:44 PM Southtxponygirl - 2015-12-29 6:41 PM FLITASTIC - 2015-12-29 8:39 PM Yep. CA doesn't have round bales. Lol. We do have a place that has rock near by. Pea gravel might be a good idea! What no round bales!!!!!! Now thats just unamerican lol I know!! I have never even seen one in person. Lol. Now my feed store does have straw bales that might just work but my Horses would probably eat that to! I don't suggest doing straw unless you can get a backhoe in and clean them out. We feed green feed during the winter, and when the moisture comes, it makes such a mess we have to remove layers of straw and manure each spring or we would be walking in knee deep mud
Oh the smell, I bet its just so lovely.. lol
We need a little emoticon holding its little nose, lol |
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| Lots and lots and lots of pea gravel. Like a foot deep. It's great for their feet and soft to walk on. You can do pea gravel in the shelters too, and spread shavings in there for a soft place to lay down. |
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Expert
Posts: 5293
| classicpotatochip - 2015-12-29 7:58 PM
Lots and lots and lots of pea gravel. Like a foot deep. It's great for their feet and soft to walk on. You can do pea gravel in the shelters too, and spread shavings in there for a soft place to lay down.
And how would I acquire such large amounts of pea gravel? Lol. |
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Common Sense and then some
Location: So. California | FLITASTIC - 2015-12-29 9:26 PM classicpotatochip - 2015-12-29 7:58 PM Lots and lots and lots of pea gravel. Like a foot deep. It's great for their feet and soft to walk on. You can do pea gravel in the shelters too, and spread shavings in there for a soft place to lay down. And how would I acquire such large amounts of pea gravel? Lol.
Well, since you asked... 
http://get.westernmaterials.net/sand-gravel/?gclid=CLXV0en0gsoCFZBcfgod55YL2A |
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 A Barrel Of Monkeys
Posts: 12972
Location: Texas | I've used road base in super muddy areas before and it worked out great. Seems everything else sinks into the mud. |
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 I hate cooking and cleaning
Posts: 3314
Location: Jersey Girl | I would recommend getting screenings to put down. It will allow the water to drain off.
The barn I have my horses at now is nothing but a mud pit. The only dry place is the run-in or the stall. We decided that in the spring we are going to get a load of screenings to put around the gate and run-in. |
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 Reaching for the stars....
Posts: 12708
| One note on rock (stone of any sort) -
My excavator thought he'd do me a favor and built up pads of stone dust with pea gravel toppers at my gate areas, since horses tend to congregate in that area. Thought it would keep it from being so muddy there. Well, that might have been a good idea if it wouldn't have blocked the natural drainage of my land. Now I have other areas (where the horses eat) that don't drain because the pads at the gates hold the water back. So my horses look like shetland ponies while they eat all winter once the ground closes since they are knee deep in slop at their feed spots. At least the pads the excavator built for my run in sheds work and keep those areas high and dry, no matter how much it rains. |
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Expert
Posts: 1409
Location: Oklahoma | I have bqttled this myself! Pea gravel very expensive in my area. What i used is the asphalt that is broke up after been a road. It will give a great base! And also i put in my stalls bc my gelding pees in same spot and one stall needed built up. I no longer have to worry bout holes from peeing and i can put shavings if i want sometimes when horses are turned out i dont use shavings my horse still like to pee in stall even tho he can go outside! Also i put in run and in front of feed room! Not slick at all when iced |
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Expert
Posts: 1409
Location: Oklahoma | Oh yeah forgot to mention my horses are barefoot no bother! |
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 I Chore in Chucks
Posts: 2882
Location: MD | I would lay down straw in the high traffic areas. maybe a mixture of pelleted bedding and straw? The pea gravel wont absorb any moisture so won't it just sink in or mix around to leave rocky dirt?
we are fortunate to have round bales, so I just leave them open and let my horses spread them around and it helps the whole area where they eat nice and dry-ish. |
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 Tried and True
Posts: 21185
Location: Where I am happiest | Your only answere is rock/gravel of your choice. Anything biodegradable is only going to add to your mud problem down the road. We have crushed rock in our paddocks off the barn and the walkways and driveways around the barns and paddocks and have NO mud anywhere what so ever. Before we had all this gravel hauled in you couldnt get around out there and our paddocks turned to chocolate pancake batter. Suck your boots right off. It was awful!! Now, we have no mud at all anywhere. Just call your local gravel pit and have them haul in the loads of whatever rock you chose to use. You will have to move your horses out of the pens for them to dump it and you can expect some of it to disappear into the mud beings though it is already wet and muddy. However, you can have more loads hauled in untill you get the base built up your looking for. |
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Expert
Posts: 4766
Location: Bandera, TX | Is there anyway you can have someone come in and grade the area of the "dry"lot to run with the grade of natural slope? Then put down material. This is what we did. Graded the compacted sub soil. Laid down french drains to go with the natural slope. Placed 4-5" of 1.5-2" gravel down. About 2" of course river sand then we mixed clay and chat that had no lime in it together for the top layer. We've had to replace the top layer twice due to erosion. The horses love it and I've had no problems with dried out feet due to limestone caliche.
My husband is shooting grades for new pens and he's told me to save up for lots more french drains this time. cause he's going to run it out about 50-75 foot past the new pens. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 672
| ThreeCorners - 2015-12-30 8:42 AM
Your only answere is rock/gravel of your choice. Anything biodegradable is only going to add to your mud problem down the road. We have crushed rock in our paddocks off the barn and the walkways and driveways around the barns and paddocks and have NO mud anywhere what so ever. Before we had all this gravel hauled in you couldnt get around out there and our paddocks turned to chocolate pancake batter. Suck your boots right off. It was awful!! Now, we have no mud at all anywhere. Just call your local gravel pit and have them haul in the loads of whatever rock you chose to use. You will have to move your horses out of the pens for them to dump it and you can expect some of it to disappear into the mud beings though it is already wet and muddy. However, you can have more loads hauled in untill you get the base built up your looking for.
Yes, any straw, round bales, or bedding will only add to the problem and make it harder to clean once it does start to dry out!
Rock is the best to allow draining. Be aware of how your land naturally drains and apply appropriate rock. There is a lot of information online for creating a good drainage system so you don't cause bigger problems down the road.. |
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Expert
Posts: 5293
| Can someone explain " Screenings" please....... I tried to google it but not really what I was hoping to find. thanks@ |
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 Swiffer PIcker Upper
Posts: 4015
Location: Four Corners Colorado | You might not be able to do it now but if you can wait until it dries out, you can put down cow carpet or road fabric and then put the gravel or screenings over that. That will keep it from disappreaing into the mud later. |
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Common Sense and then some
Location: So. California | What type of soil do you have in your area? Is it clay based? Sandy? |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1118
Location: The South | FLITASTIC - 2015-12-30 9:28 AM Can someone explain " Screenings" please....... I tried to google it but not really what I was hoping to find. thanks@
I had never heard of them before BHW, and they are probably the best thing ever. I don't know if I'll explain it right, but it's little pieces of gravel that fall through when the rock/gravel place is sorting the different sizes out. So it's really small pieces, but once they settle and get packed down you have a solid base. Behind our barn gets really muddy and doesn't get any sunlight, screenings have been a lifesaver. I'll see if I can take a picture of our pile and post it, I'm not very good at describing things. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1118
Location: The South | 
Edited by LindsayJordan84 2015-12-30 5:17 PM
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Expert
Posts: 5293
| Thanks all! There is a rock place literally 1 mile from me. Need to get some price quotes. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1008
| Gravel base with lime on top. The mud this year has been awful! |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1161
| any problems with gravel in the feet? |
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Ideas on MUD........
