Unless you're on the rodeo road, the majority of the runs you make are probably in your own horse arena. No doubt, you put hours of time into planning the layout, box dimensions, return alley and chute placement. But how much thought and effort did you put into the footing of your horse arena? We all know that footing in your horse arena is probably one of the most important elements to keeping horses sound, but you might be surprised just how deep it goes.
But there's one man, Bob Kiser, who does. To say he has his head in the sand is an understatement. He primarily builds the arenas for most of the major western horse shows such as the AQHA World Show, the NRHA Futurity, the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity and has helped such equestrian experts as Bob Avila and Carol Rose. This business has opened doors to hundreds of requests from horse trainers from every discipline.
"Since it would be impossible for me to go and build every arena, I have established several different consulting packages so that I can help as many people as possible," said Kiser. "This consulting consists of everything from phone consultation to soil analysis, material selection, arena design and entire site development."
Now he's beginning to move into the rodeo arena as more and more ropers realize the importance of his expertise. Wrangler NFR tie-down roper Stran Smith is even one of his clients.
"Footing in general is critical to the overall safety and performance of any horse." Kiser explained. "Eighty percent of all soundness-related issues come from poorly constructed and maintained arenas. So the footing on which you train and perform is essential to the horse, cattle and even the roper. Stran talked to me once about the amount of strain and compaction he felt on his own knees and body. Imagine what it's like for a horse at 1,200 pounds on poor arena footing."
So then what are the elements specifically pertinent to team ropers and calf ropers?
"For ropers it's important that the footing material be approximately three to four inches deep and made from a combination of sands, clay and silts," Kiser said. "Both the horses and the calves need a footing that is stable and won't allow their legs to give out underneath them. This is why pure sand won't work-it's too loose and is dangerous for the horse. Often you will see people compensate and make the sand eight to 10 inches deep trying to create stability, but this creates another issue; sore muscles from having to work twice as hard as they need to for both speed and maneuverability. If your ground is too deep, wet and sticky your horses and calves will get their feet caught up in it and it puts strain on their muscles and tendons. If the ground is too shallow, hard and compacted, the concussion on the joints creates incredible soreness and long-term injuries.
"With the right combinations of sand, clay and silt, a good roping arena will have both stability and cushion. Of course, this top material has to be on a good solid base. I don't recommend a crushed stone base because it is too hard, brittle and easy to damage. Rather, I like a base made out of the same materials as the top layer but with more clay and less sand so that it will compact but still have some give to it. It's much easier to maintain and better on the horses."
That's just the tip of the iceberg from Kiser. His evaluation and building process is insightful, based on years of experience and even intuition.
"The first thing I do when evaluating an arena is to walk on it and see if I find it consistent and comfortable with good cushion," Kiser said. "If I don't like it, think how the horse feels. Consistency is a key factor. If the base has holes all through it and the top material is deeper in some areas than others then I know the horses aren't safe and won't perform well.
