Building an arena is an investment that will benefit you and your horses for many years to come. One of the most essential elements in an arena is ensuring you have proper footing. Not only is it more comfortable for your horses, but it is safer and establishes correct training techniques. In this article, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about arena footing and how you can select the best arena footing for horses.
What is footing?
Horse arena footing includes products that are mixed with new or existing sand to provide support, aid in concussion and shock absorption, and help return energy to the horse for superior performance and safety. Footing helps with drainage and performance, helping to keep your arena in the best possible shape for riding. There are many different footing products, most of which are made from clean, non-toxic, pre-consumer recycled materials, safe horses and humans.
Different types of footing
There are two main types of footing to choose from when you build an arena:
Textile and fiber horse arena footing products
- Help to stabilize the sand and retain moisture
- Bind loose sand particles so hooves stay on top of the surface
- Require a specific sand blend, water, and grooming equipment
Rubber footing products
- Create a void between sand particles, reduces hardness, and improves cushion and drainage
- Ideal when you don’t have access to water
How footing impacts your riding performance
The quality of arena footing affects every element of your riding performance. The ideal horse arena footing should support your horse’s biomechanics: the landing, the loading, and the rollover/push-off phases. The footing should provide the proper firmness, cushion, and grip for superior performance. Proper horse footing can make all the difference–it prevents injury to both horse and rider, effectively reduces dust in the area, and ensures a better training experience for everyone in the arena.
How to choose the right footing for your arena
The ideal footing surface in an arena combines sand and footing additives to create the best surface possible for riding. Because there are many different riding disciplines and arena needs, there isn’t one type of footing that is best for all arenas. When determining what is best for your arena, Premier Equestrian considers the type of sand, watering options, drainage options, drainage needs, grooming, maintenance, traffic, and riding discipline to determine what footing blend will be the ideal footing for your arena.
The best arena footing for horses starts with the basics
The success of your arena relies mainly on the arena footing you install. But understanding and installing horse arena footing can be simple. Now that you’ve learned much of the basics about what you need to know about arena footing, including why it is essential and how it affects our horses, you can move forward with planning your arena.
