Footing Redo!

When I moved to this barn in May, I knew I was compromising on only one thing over my old barn: the indoor arena footing.

Connor being sticky in the old footing.

It was round grain sand, and deep, and shifty.  Even just walking through it as a person was hard work, so I can't imagine what it was like for the horses.

From almost the moment my trainer first started talking to the barn owners, redoing the footing in both arenas was made a priority.  Not totally removing it and starting over, that's pricey, but using additives to get it where it needed to be.

I was skeptical.  It was just not great, and let's say, we were spoiled before:

But I was proved SO wrong!

This may not be as beautiful as the white sand of my old barn, but it's every bit as good now!  They scraped it down to the base, leveled the base, got rid of some of the round sand, added in some angular sand, and added in some purpose made (read: not recycled) fiber, and IT IS AMAZING! 

My trainer worked with a footing salesman to create the exact right mixture to give us both firmness and cushioning, and they NAILED it.  It's not even done yet and it's amazing.

I didn't have a lesson last night, but my trainer happened to be out at the barn and she watched me and Connor go.  She said, and I felt the same thing, that he looked very confident on it.  His strong Welsh Cob sense of self preservation makes him extremely sensitive to dodgy or changeable footing and you can really tell when he's unsure of himself.  He's an excellent litmus test for whether the footing upgrade was a good one or not.

Truth be told, that arena was so deep and shifty before, it's the first time since I've owned Connor that a tendon injury has been in the back of my mind.  That concern is totally gone with the new footing, though.  And with the outdoor getting the same treatment, I can hardly contain my excitement. 

I am so, so thankful to have him close and to have my one major complaint about this place fixed now.