Horsey horsey...
Discussion
For those talking about finding/building a yard this might be of interest… we brought an 11 acre field a few years ago then spent 18 months getting permission to build a yard, mainly for ourselves but with a view to having a few liveries to help cover some costs, yes we must be completely mad as in no way does it make any financial sense, but we had it in our heads that we wanted to build, se went ahead!
The field as was:
Arena, American barn base, winter turnout pens car park etc
A little water feature going in:
Central track so we aren’t knee deep in mud during the winter
Still lots to finish off, not least getting the water connected solar/battery power, fields going over with a power narrow, actually I don’t really want to think about what’s left to do…
Anyway if anyones interested then I will post more as it progresses.
The field as was:
Arena, American barn base, winter turnout pens car park etc
A little water feature going in:
Central track so we aren’t knee deep in mud during the winter
Still lots to finish off, not least getting the water connected solar/battery power, fields going over with a power narrow, actually I don’t really want to think about what’s left to do…
Anyway if anyones interested then I will post more as it progresses.
Some good progress this week on the American barn.
Sadly, planning requires us to paint it black on the outside - that’s going to be a fun job.
Water being connected next week so when the heat dies down we should be able to use the leaky pipe arena irrigation system to get some moisture in the sand so the surface can be mixed. You can see the system in place here before sand being laid. Hope it works!
Still lots of fencing to be finished off and still waiting on the farmer to top and harrow the fields…
Sadly, planning requires us to paint it black on the outside - that’s going to be a fun job.
Water being connected next week so when the heat dies down we should be able to use the leaky pipe arena irrigation system to get some moisture in the sand so the surface can be mixed. You can see the system in place here before sand being laid. Hope it works!
Still lots of fencing to be finished off and still waiting on the farmer to top and harrow the fields…
Brilliant. Are you north or south of the border?
Shocks, transport let us down so we won’t be competing on the 17th anymore but may come to spectate. Planning to do the EK show though.
The dotta had a jumping leason tonight and very nearly
Came a cropper. Winded herself and got a hell of a fright but she soldiered on.
Shocks, transport let us down so we won’t be competing on the 17th anymore but may come to spectate. Planning to do the EK show though.
The dotta had a jumping leason tonight and very nearly
Came a cropper. Winded herself and got a hell of a fright but she soldiered on.
Looks like an interesting project that, CantDecide.
Out of interest what tipped you towards that method of arena irrigation?
We’re also building a new arena at the moment and making sure the surface stays at the appropriate level of moisture has been one of the challenges. We’re going more traditional with sprinkler heads fed from harvested water (we’re fortunate to have a natural source) to avoid using lots of potable water. Hadn’t considered leaky pipe as I’d (perhaps incorrectly) assume that it was hard to get to the very top surface.
Would be interested in how you get on with it as we’re also building an indoor soon and would prefer to avoid sprinklers in there.
Out of interest what tipped you towards that method of arena irrigation?
We’re also building a new arena at the moment and making sure the surface stays at the appropriate level of moisture has been one of the challenges. We’re going more traditional with sprinkler heads fed from harvested water (we’re fortunate to have a natural source) to avoid using lots of potable water. Hadn’t considered leaky pipe as I’d (perhaps incorrectly) assume that it was hard to get to the very top surface.
Would be interested in how you get on with it as we’re also building an indoor soon and would prefer to avoid sprinklers in there.
Very interested to see the building works so please do keep updating
We have an indoor manege which we currently water by portable sprinkler but I do have planning to site a container outside and put in a proper sprinkler system. Not sure how to do this yet but interested in what you are both doing
We have an indoor manege which we currently water by portable sprinkler but I do have planning to site a container outside and put in a proper sprinkler system. Not sure how to do this yet but interested in what you are both doing
For our outdoor (60x20) we’re putting in:
Large tank (10-15k litres)
High flow pump
Pressure management valve tbc
63mm ring (50, or 63 feed to 50 each side might have been enough but decided to reduce the risk of it being too small)
32mm risers
14x rotating sprinkler heads fitted using 3/4 inch connectors. The Hunter ones claim 14m radius with good pressure so hoping I can get enough overlap to deal with any light breeze.
The tank will store harvested water, hopefully allowing it to be dumped on the arena in a big hit. If all goes to plan it’ll drop 500l/min if set to max optimal flow.
The alternative (and more common) approach for sprinklers is to use smaller pipe work and incorporate solenoid valves and a control system so that the arena gets watered in sections (and can be run off mains water). Wasn’t keen on having the valves/wiring/control systems as potential extra points of failure. If the design works then the only points of failure are pump and sprinkler heads, both of which are accessible and I can keep spares for/swap easily.
Obviously water hits the top surface first, which I think will reduce the risk of the surface blowing away.
First time doing a sand arena (our others are rubber) so there might be some further trial and error. Should know in a few weeks if it works!
I am not convinced that it’s the best design for an indoor as I want to avoid water on then walls so keen on hearing more about the leaky pipe.
Water has been a big thing for us as we’re trying to avoid unnecessary use of drinking water for applications that don’t need it. Arena watering is the obvious one, but also taps for pressure washers, wash bays, all the troughs, potentially even toilets in the buildings. Different levels of filtering as appropriate.
Large tank (10-15k litres)
High flow pump
Pressure management valve tbc
63mm ring (50, or 63 feed to 50 each side might have been enough but decided to reduce the risk of it being too small)
32mm risers
14x rotating sprinkler heads fitted using 3/4 inch connectors. The Hunter ones claim 14m radius with good pressure so hoping I can get enough overlap to deal with any light breeze.
The tank will store harvested water, hopefully allowing it to be dumped on the arena in a big hit. If all goes to plan it’ll drop 500l/min if set to max optimal flow.
The alternative (and more common) approach for sprinklers is to use smaller pipe work and incorporate solenoid valves and a control system so that the arena gets watered in sections (and can be run off mains water). Wasn’t keen on having the valves/wiring/control systems as potential extra points of failure. If the design works then the only points of failure are pump and sprinkler heads, both of which are accessible and I can keep spares for/swap easily.
Obviously water hits the top surface first, which I think will reduce the risk of the surface blowing away.
First time doing a sand arena (our others are rubber) so there might be some further trial and error. Should know in a few weeks if it works!
I am not convinced that it’s the best design for an indoor as I want to avoid water on then walls so keen on hearing more about the leaky pipe.
Water has been a big thing for us as we’re trying to avoid unnecessary use of drinking water for applications that don’t need it. Arena watering is the obvious one, but also taps for pressure washers, wash bays, all the troughs, potentially even toilets in the buildings. Different levels of filtering as appropriate.
Looking at the weather for early next week and we're likely to bring the horses in during the day and put fans on in their stables
Shelter in the fields is not great here and most of our horses are not used to anything near 40C (one used to be fine at 32-35 for months on end but even then its 5 years since he had that
Will put out extra water in the fields at night
Shelter in the fields is not great here and most of our horses are not used to anything near 40C (one used to be fine at 32-35 for months on end but even then its 5 years since he had that
Will put out extra water in the fields at night
LooneyTunes said:
Looks like an interesting project that, CantDecide.
Out of interest what tipped you towards that method of arena irrigation?
We’re also building a new arena at the moment and making sure the surface stays at the appropriate level of moisture has been one of the challenges. We’re going more traditional with sprinkler heads fed from harvested water (we’re fortunate to have a natural source) to avoid using lots of potable water. Hadn’t considered leaky pipe as I’d (perhaps incorrectly) assume that it was hard to get to the very top surface.
Would be interested in how you get on with it as we’re also building an indoor soon and would prefer to avoid sprinklers in there.
Sounds like also have a very interesting project going on.Out of interest what tipped you towards that method of arena irrigation?
We’re also building a new arena at the moment and making sure the surface stays at the appropriate level of moisture has been one of the challenges. We’re going more traditional with sprinkler heads fed from harvested water (we’re fortunate to have a natural source) to avoid using lots of potable water. Hadn’t considered leaky pipe as I’d (perhaps incorrectly) assume that it was hard to get to the very top surface.
Would be interested in how you get on with it as we’re also building an indoor soon and would prefer to avoid sprinklers in there.
We were strongly recommended this by the contractor - they don’t actually do the work, that is all done my ‘Mr Leaky Pipe’ and the main reason is to stop the arena riding deep, especially in this sort of ridiculous dry weather we are having. The water will spread up by capillary action, but keep the base nice and most holding it together. We have gone with a combi-ride surface, yet to be mixed as its way too dry (water not yet connected). It works on a timer, we can just schedule an hour a day (or whatever is needed during the dry times).
The problem with sprinklers we’ve been told by the contracts and another arena owner we know well is that it evaporates almost on contact and unless you can pour huge volumes on (which it sounds like you may be able to with that setup) then it is almost not worth it.
We must try to collect the rain water from the barn roofs so we have some additional options if required.
Edited by CantDecide on Friday 15th July 21:09
Edited by CantDecide on Friday 15th July 21:11
Yes, evaporation can definitely be an issue with sprinklers and people often don’t look at how much water they’ll need. Dropping 5k/litres on an arena (which could be needed if it’s very dry) quickly gets expensive if you’re on a meter and doing it regularly…. but if you don’t give it enough then you might as well not bother.
Please do let us know how you get on with the LP as I’d definitely consider it for the indoor if it works well.
Please do let us know how you get on with the LP as I’d definitely consider it for the indoor if it works well.
Davie_GLA said:
Brilliant. Are you north or south of the border?
Shocks, transport let us down so we won’t be competing on the 17th anymore but may come to spectate. Planning to do the EK show though.
The dotta had a jumping leason tonight and very nearly
Came a cropper. Winded herself and got a hell of a fright but she soldiered on.
No worries - on way to our yard to get loaded, she’s in the 60, 70 classes I think so look for us there and say hi Shocks, transport let us down so we won’t be competing on the 17th anymore but may come to spectate. Planning to do the EK show though.
The dotta had a jumping leason tonight and very nearly
Came a cropper. Winded herself and got a hell of a fright but she soldiered on.
An update on the yard, which has taken much longer than expected, obviously not helped by the exceptional hot dry summer.
Anglian Water have been messing us around big time, due to connect on 20th July and cancel on 19th as they pipe ‘might be plastic’ and they need six weeks to write an impact plan. Six weeks later and they haven’t done it but have decided to dig a hole on the 14th to see if the pipe is plastic so we shall see what happens then.
American barn and hay barn are complete and we have spend a good few hours staining the exterior black (except doors) as required by planning - thank goodness for a small electric sprayer from ScrewFix which made the job so much easier.
Arena is just waiting on the surface to be mixed (tomorrow) and a few more touch up items - fencing on the winter turn out and a gate and few other bits of fencing to finish.
The other big hurdle has been the fields which were in a bad state and we have been waiting on some rain to soften things so we could get them power harrowed and re-seeded - this started Friday, hopefully complete next week. It does mean we won’t be able to let the horses on most of the land until later next year, but would be feeding hay over the winter anyway. Fingers crossed it all gets pretty much finished next week (oh except the solar which will be another couple of weeks).
Anglian Water have been messing us around big time, due to connect on 20th July and cancel on 19th as they pipe ‘might be plastic’ and they need six weeks to write an impact plan. Six weeks later and they haven’t done it but have decided to dig a hole on the 14th to see if the pipe is plastic so we shall see what happens then.
American barn and hay barn are complete and we have spend a good few hours staining the exterior black (except doors) as required by planning - thank goodness for a small electric sprayer from ScrewFix which made the job so much easier.
Arena is just waiting on the surface to be mixed (tomorrow) and a few more touch up items - fencing on the winter turn out and a gate and few other bits of fencing to finish.
The other big hurdle has been the fields which were in a bad state and we have been waiting on some rain to soften things so we could get them power harrowed and re-seeded - this started Friday, hopefully complete next week. It does mean we won’t be able to let the horses on most of the land until later next year, but would be feeding hay over the winter anyway. Fingers crossed it all gets pretty much finished next week (oh except the solar which will be another couple of weeks).
Looking good!
We are shopping course horse number 2 and I can’t wait. I’ve spent a fortune on pre sales vetting only for the horse to be a mechanical disaster or to discover it has been drugged as it’s insane most of the time…
We continue…
We are shopping course horse number 2 and I can’t wait. I’ve spent a fortune on pre sales vetting only for the horse to be a mechanical disaster or to discover it has been drugged as it’s insane most of the time…
We continue…
Edited by Davie_GLA on Monday 12th September 09:10
Someone seems to have replaced your horse with a Giraffe who is wearing a horses head mask...
In other news we have finally found another steed! Pre-Vetting done and a few "behavioral" things we need to manage that seem to be common in Thoroughbreds but here we go again!
My bank account might as well just be linked to Le Mieux accounts.
In other news we have finally found another steed! Pre-Vetting done and a few "behavioral" things we need to manage that seem to be common in Thoroughbreds but here we go again!
My bank account might as well just be linked to Le Mieux accounts.
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