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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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