What is your thoughts of the grids and french drains? More Miracles in the Singing Horse Matrix, Christmas & New Year 2021 Message from Singing Horse Herd, LTYH Podcast: Non-Verbal Observation & Acknowledgment, Connect Deeper with the Singing Horse Herd, Horse Wisdom: Who Are You, REALLY? Their paddock is 8000 sq feet, so cost is definitely an issue. Only a few dont fall through. If you let any organic matter build up, it will break down into soil/mush which will defeat the whole purpose, as your horses will now be standing on a wet surface. Thought it was super great idea and she layered it with old hay/brush/sticks and other stuff (hence the lasagna reference) and said it had held up for two winters now! So the plan is just to do stall mats in the 1212 stall areas. The same problem occurs when you shovel manure. If you have hard ground underneath, you may be able to get away with 2-3 layers of gravel: Bottom: Large roadbase (3 minus) I am in the UK. Use Gravel Or Crushed Limestone. You may always install. A muddy backyard in a small property can be solved with ease by covering the mud with concrete. Also check out this post by an Oregon farm as it has a lot of good tips for what works and what doesnt. Please let us know how it goes for you. In muddy areas, perhaps you would even start with 2-4 quarry spalls (basically what you refer to as a 3 clean rock; clean means doesnt have fines). In order to alleviate mud problems, consider laying a base of #3 or #4 Limestones on top of which you can layer 2B or 2A . The chips are soft and they can lay on them but more often they pee on them. The cost per yard can start at $30 and go up to $45. Now, keep in mind that Dr. Swinkers advice is not tailored for a heavy rainfall area. I have already tried to scrape down a few layers last year and dig a trench through the center of their paddock but it hasnt worked as i didnt grade the area well enough.. Im so happy I found your website! 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. Thanks! crushed limestone for muddy yard. If you live in a climate that only gets occasional rain, or a short rainy season, then you may be able to just lay either a commercial-grade shielding fabric or a specialized plastic draingrid on top of the hard pan soil, then layer 2-4 inches of 3/4 inch minus pea gravel and top that with a 2-inch layer of 1/4 inch minus limestone gravel, or crusher dust. Again, this article is fantastic! The result is a durable, all-weather surface that is acceptable for animals.. So another friend of mine who builds both roads and horse trails in provincial parks, says that you cant just put the 3-inch rock layer down. Sand tends to overwear the feet but of all the footings for paddocks, it tends to be my second choice because at least their feet stay dry. 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. They dont lie down in there and only really use it for a shelter. The cost of crushed limestone can vary depending on the quality. Limestone crushed to the 1- and 1/2-inch size, mixed with pulverized limestone, can be used as the layer between the soil and the stone blocks according to the J. what do you think? You'll find that natural decomposed granite offers better drainage and is great for keeping plants warmer during the winter. This is a boarding facility so all my expense. 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. 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. Here are a few reasons why crushed limestone can be a good choice. Heres all the things I did not anticipate, so you can benefit from my learning curve: 1. 1,000 - 1,200 lb. Ive been researching every option, trying to come up with the best (and economical) course of action, so I apreciate your in depth article. You have to be sort of careful of sharp twigs if not screened but I have not had any problems over 19 years. Larry. You can order bulk limestone in Virginia today! Having said all that, if you have an active herd like mine and youve got an area thats sheltered from rain theyre still going to move it around and carve it out over the winter. Middle: 3/4 minus gravel Crushed Limestone Is Ideal for Livestock Stalls Powdered dolomite lime is excellent for all types of plant agriculture, and solid hydrating limestone is great for building. If you are already starting with fairly hard footing underneath, crusher dust may not be your best option but on the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley [of BC, Canada], it is rare for it not to be an improvement.. My dilemma has been what product to put underneath. 2. My horses dont wear shoes. 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. We have a rescue donkey and rescue OTTB that love to roll in mud but after 4 days of rain, its too much mud! The crushed drain rock is going to roll more than the quarried rock. Gravel or 5 ml washed sand. BUT, what am I going to put on their paddock surface to create a paddock footing with adequate drainage? Keep us posted! Since I am not a millionaire, and Im weighing in on what direction to go, the gravel layers actually seems pretty affordable with less maintenance. Use geotextile for enhanced filtration and erosion control when constructing the arena base. Can be used for landscaping, back fill and mixing concrete. Gravel for paths is sold by type and size. Unless you are willing to have the top layer scraped off (and evened out again), and new crusher dust (1/4 minus) laid down every year ($$) its just never going to work well in a rainy climate. You may also be able to get away with just doing 3/4 minus and then 1/4 crusher dust if your subsoil (hardpan) is hard and not too deep. Currently, Im adding bran and mineral oil into the hay cubes, and also doing the once a month Sand Clear (for both horses, as a precautionary). Signup for our newsletter to get notified about our next ride. No bark or greenery. , Post a before and after pic when youre done Joanna (with your sheep in it!) Listen To Your Horse Energy, Body & Environment, Stories from Animal Communicator Ginny Jablonski, Trailer Learning (Play) When you Dont have a Horse Trailer, Horses Give Livestream Demo of Animal Communication, Big Mama Aude: Heal Your Heart-Belly Wounding, How to Prepare Bone Broth & Give the Bones to Your Dogs (safely! 1.5 inches equals .125 feet My mare has Cushings and sometimes laminitis. Be aware that there are different types of crusher dust and the type that sets up very firm is what I prefer. We dont know if it built up over years of ingesting a little at a time, or if he somehow swallowed a whole bunch at once. This will help tremendously. Why Do The Horses Always Have Better Ideas Than Me? When choosing gravel, pea gravel, or limestone gravel, most experts say you should get crushed rock particles no larger than 3/4-inch, or they are not comfortable for the horses to stand on. I would definitely wait until August and do it then. Growsource supplies and delivers gravel and rock products for projects of all sizesfrom five to 10 yards (depending on the delivery area) at a time. 3. Texas Aggregate & Base Materials can fill all your base material needs from recycled concrete, rip-rap, limestone, sand or gravel. Note: hiring the tractor cost me $400. I wonder if he was eating the crusher seeking to address a mineral deficiency You can just offer the plain (unflavored, no molasses) basic Hoffmans Minerals in a feeder/bucket in a covered area and let them help themselves. This may seem like a small point, but trust me, it makes a huge difference to the time spent scooping manure AND the loss of expensive gravel that gets tossed out with the manure. That cost me $840 including delivery. 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). The perm agg base coarse is basically a coarse 1-1/4 minus, and the perm agg top coarse is a coarse 5/8 minus (basically a 3/4 minus). 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. And that way I can keep them on pasture year-round in this super rainy Pacific Northwest climate. Heres my French Drain post if you need it: Let us know what you decide and how it goes! I really appreciate the knowledge you shared. 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. The trench feeding the dry well from the gutter downspout should be 11 feet deep and six inches wide, sloping gradually toward the dry well. They have a program that subsidizes horse owners to improve drainage. If you can afford concrete I would 100% go with that!! 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- One way to fix mud holes in the driveway is by filling it with small, crushed stone. One word of caution: Ive been using it for 6 years, no problems, but recently, recently, almost lost one of my horses to colic. See more related content in our article about, Pros and Cons of Prefinished Hardwood Flooring. This rock has rock dust and smaller pieces of rock added to the mixture. Applying straw, pine shavings, or organic mulch to a muddy yard is an excellent temporary remedy. 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. I have friends who have used almost the same formula but without the compacting and have to pick the rocks regularly (at least weekly, if not more often). Hes recovering, but its been a slow, agonizing process. The more frisky/active your horses are, the more they tear up the gravel. Its just not healthy for the horses or us for that matter. So they obviously had serious deficiencies (their hooves were pretty bad too and thin tails). You can also subscribe without commenting. It seems there is nothing harder for wear-and-tear on gravel than horses hooves! But thanks for sharing as Im sure others on here may love the tip . I dont know if this will help anyone, beyond being aware of it, as Im not sure myself how to prevent it. Either that or you need to lay the plastic drainage mats but thats even more expensive. To create driveways. So make sure your two layers, over your Nilex Geotextile, are at least 10 inches deep. Very interesting Pippa. 1. And yes, because horses hooves pound gravel and shift it around unevenly, eventually you will have spots where the geocloth is exposed usually at the edges of an area. Im going to pick his oh-so-experienced brain and see if he knows anything we dont already know or has some tips or tweaks that make a world of difference. I have found your article here really helpful! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 1. All I had to do was put fresh on top. Ive never seen 3-inch woodchips for sale anywhere in the Vancouver area. There is much truth to this quip, as adding something to a muddy road often has . 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. crushed limestone for muddy yard. Nilex is a worldwide company, but if you cant get that material, then just show your supplier the spec sheet and get them to match it. Just purchased Nov of 17 and boy it was a wet muddy mess for my 3 because I only had one month to get so much done before I could move them in. Rain on your crusher dust quickly takes care of this problem though. I live in England and have winter paddocks. So interesting! You then start to add layers of more crushed stone or rock, but the size of the stones gets progressively smaller as you get closer to the surface.