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 Buttered Noodles Snacker
Posts: 4377
  
Location: NC | I recently bought a house which is great except with all this rain it is STAYING wet. The soil has a lot of clay in it and it is just holding water and on top of that we have had more rain then normal. Where I lived before was very rocky which meant shoes were needed but it was pretty much ALWAYS dry enough to ride. I don't know what to do to work my horses. Anyone have any tips or words or encouragement? I can't afford a covered arena. I have thought about maybe trying to build up an area for a round pen. build it up with rock then, crush and run, then either sand or crushed rock (can't remember the name). |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | I live in a swamp with silty clay dirt. The house and barn are on a small ridge next to a bayou. I have a grassy area that slopes towards the bayou and drains enough that I can ride there most days. The gravel road is an option if their feet are tough enough. My gelding bruises easily, especially when the ground is staying wet, so I quit doing more than a walk on it with him.
Ditches are your friend. Hauling in sand will help, but it will take A LOT. |
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Buttered Noodles Snacker
Posts: 4377
Location: NC | Do you think really focusing on growing grass would help? I am not sure if thicker grass would offer better footing or if it would just hold the water worse?? |
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  Twin Sister to Queen Boobie
Posts: 13315
Location: East Tennessee but who knows?! | The good thing about trashy ground is that it teaches them to handle themselves in it. When it's trashy I go ride in the pasture and do a lot of trottting. The grass helps them stick a little more. I'll also do hill work up hill. I'll walk down the hills. If I can find a safe road to ride on, I'll ride there too. Other than that I'll haul out.
Now is the time to get stuff hauled in with fuel so cheap! At our old place I had chat (tiny gravel/gravel screenings) in the round pen. Couldn't really run a set on it but stayed super dry and it was half the cost of sand. It drains very fast so you can ride on it quicker. It would have made a great base for sand too. |
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Buttered Noodles Snacker
Posts: 4377
Location: NC | Fairweather - 2015-01-23 11:50 AM The good thing about trashy ground is that it teaches them to handle themselves in it. When it's trashy I go ride in the pasture and do a lot of trottting. The grass helps them stick a little more. I'll also do hill work up hill. I'll walk down the hills. If I can find a safe road to ride on, I'll ride there too. Other than that I'll haul out.
Now is the time to get stuff hauled in with fuel so cheap! At our old place I had chat (tiny gravel/gravel screenings) in the round pen. Couldn't really run a set on it but stayed super dry and it was half the cost of sand. It drains very fast so you can ride on it quicker. It would have made a great base for sand too.
'Screenings' was the word I was looking for. Thats what a friend of mine filled her round pen up with and it stays pretty dry all the time so when we have these wet speels she can atleast go trott/lope circles and stuff. Which she has more of a rounded square that is like 80' square so more room to do stuff. but I would be happy with just being able to loung in a round pen. |
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Expert
Posts: 1586
Location: west of East Texas | I don't mind riding mine in the pasture when it's swampy. it works another set of muscles in different ways and builds more strength and stamina. I just don't work as long and instead of long trotting we may just walk/slow trot (or slog through it). It's kind of like doing 100 reps with a 5 lb weight (dry days) or doing 20 reps with a 20 lb weight (wet swampy days). I also ride mine around in the stock tanks and wade in the creeks for a heavier workout. |
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 Hog Tie My Mojo
Posts: 4847
Location: Opelousas, LA | HorsesNHarleys - 2015-01-23 11:44 AM Do you think really focusing on growing grass would help? I am not sure if thicker grass would offer better footing or if it would just hold the water worse??
Yes, grass will help. If it wasn't for my front pasture, I wouldn't be able to ride at all for about four months out of the year. All I can do is long trot and lope big circles but at least they stay fit. It is still slick so if I think one may get frisky I will pony them first because it would be easy to fall if one bucked or spooked really bad.
My arena is mostly clay, it has been years since any sand has been added, and if I leave it tilled up before a rain it will be weeks before I can use it again. It has helped so much to pack it down before a rain, I use my truck and a heavy drag flipped tines up. If I make sure it is packed tight most of the water will run off and I can use it after a 2-3 dry days. It is a pain to till it up and only get to ride a couple of days before I have to pack it again but it is cheaper than leasing an indoor and paying fuel to get there.
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Buttered Noodles Snacker
Posts: 4377
Location: NC | I am going to focus on overseeding the pastures and maybe look into hauling some screenings in.
Fairweather- did you just dump the screenings onto the ground in your roundpen or did you build up a base first? |
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