Cob Jockey

I feel like it's time for a proper review of my barn's TruTex footing, which I mentioned briefly when we put it in a year ago, in November of 2017.  If you remember, footing was the only thing I compromised on initially when I moved Connor to the new barn in May of 2017.  My old barn had gorgeous Thoroturf and GGT rings, so I was definitely spoiled.  But now, our footing is just as good as my old barn's, and for a fraction of the price.

Not my barn.  Wouldn't that be awesome though? PC: TruTex website

First, what is TruTex?  Their tagline is "Making Luxury Arena Footing Affordable".   It's a purpose-made fiber additive that can be added to any kind of existing arena footing to give it the same stability, structure, water retention and shock absorption of any luxury footing brand.  Popular in Europe, it's just starting to catch on in the US.

PC: TruTex website

If you remember, the footing at my new barn was deep and shifty when I got here.  It would be alright the day you watered and dragged it, but quickly fell apart after that, requiring tons of maintenance.

PC above two images: TruTex website

As a rider, on the old, shifty footing a tendon injury was always in the back of my mind, and my very footing-conscious horse was never quite as confident on it as he was at our old barn, especially at the canter.

Before TruTex.  He always felt sticky and unsure of himself on the old footing, especially during tight turns in the canter as shown as the beginning of this GIF when I practically have to kick him out of the turn.

Then we got TruTex.  Our footing is still the same sand we had before, but it rides just like the high dollar footings I was used to from the old barn, no kidding.  And it only cost $3,000 to take our pretty big indoor from deep and shifty, to comparable to the best footing systems in the world.

After TruTex - much more confident on a similar turn.  I kicked him here too, but only to make the distance on the circle of death when we were alternating 4 strides and then 5 strides between the poles.

Over the past year, we've installed it in both the indoor and the outdoor, and I genuinely could not be happier with it.  It's stable under Connor's feet, absorbs shock extremely well, springs back after impact, and immediately after it was installed, Connor felt more confident under saddle than he ever had on the old footing.

From a maintenance perspective, the outdoor stays safely rideable in conditions that would have sent us scurrying for the indoor in the past.  And it requires so much less watering and dragging than it did before we added TruTex.



So besides the fact that it's a great product that's totally transformed my barn's footing and that it's the cheapest way to get high quality footing I know of, why do I think TruTex is going to take the US market by storm in 2019?  Short answer: I don't think any other vendor in the footing market makes it this easy.  If you've ever shopped for footing before, you'll appreciate the following:

• You get a quote by plugging in your arena's dimensions on the website.  Most footing companies require you to go through a sales rep for that kind of info.
• It ships directly to your front door.
• It requires no special tools or skill to install.
• It can rehab any type of existing footing, and doesn't require you to start over completely with your existing arena.
• It's compatible with any kind of sand.

Cross section of an arena with TruTex fibers throughout the sand PC: TruTex website