Rubber an Alternative to Traditional
Footing Surfaces
by Heather Warren
(Pacific Horse Journal, excerpt p.44)
Building an arena is an expensive process, and with the rising prices of sand and hogfuel, many people are looking for a footing which won't wash away with the rains or break down into a dusty powder.
In the west, ground rubber is appearing in many arenas, indoor and outdoor, and since it doesn't decompose, it is quite cost-effective when compared to footings which have to be replenished or replaced after a few years.
Pam Jorgensen, marketing manager of Equi-tread, a Vancouver Island company marketing rubber from a plant in Vancouver, says a standard large dressage arena (20m X 60m) would cost $2,400 to cover. She cautions buyers to ensure the purity of rubber, as shredding products which contain strapping and other material produces an inferior product.
Cost varies from company to company, and trucking fees have to be considered. Rubber surfacing for arenas comes under many names: rubber crumb, ground rubber, shaved rubber and shredded rubber. They may differ in the size of granules, but they are composed of the same thing - used tires and other rubber products.
The product is touted as environmentally friendly, as it is derived from recycled products and does not decompose, so will not leach into the soil and groundwater. In fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency concluded in a report in 1986 that shredded rubber has no harmful effects and passed all the EPA toxicity tests.
One of the attractions to horse people is the cushioning effect of rubber. Manufacturers claim that this cushioning effect reduces strains and leg injuries, and it does not pack down with use. Many playgrounds and playing fields use rubber crumb for its "forgiving" properties.
Rubber, which is completely dust-free, must be mixed with some sort of drainage base, such as sand, which can be already in place. Due to its light weight, it can be raked in by hand or left to be worked in by the horses. Most manufacturers recommend a ratio of one inch of shredded rubber to two inches of sand.
Brookwood Equestrian Center, a hunter jumper barn which operates on of the biggest school strings in Tacoma, WA, tried a new mixture with shredded rubber in its outdoor arena - combining it with pea gravel. Initially, it had a surface of pea sand mixed with rubber, bought second-hand from another arena. But problems arose when the rubber kept working its way to the surface when the sand packed down.
The new mixture has worked out very well so far, in the four months it has been in use.
"We're very excited by the way it turned out," says Brookwood's Larry Michealson. "It stays blended, and we have to drag it half as often."
"We've had no footing-related problems - it's a good cushion and has a soft texture."
In fact, his five trainers noted a vast improvement in the school string. "They saw a big difference. The horses are happier, more willing and forward-moving and not as tired at the end of the day."
Equi-tread, on Vancouver Island, may be reached at (250) 337-8265