Good Footing – Don’t Lose Your Financial Grip

Footing is critical to our horse's training and performance.

Photo courtesy of Horse Journal

Riding out these economic times may get rocky, but you don’t have to break the bank when it comes to footing the bill for footing. National trends toward natural or recyclable products and keeping business local to reduce shipping surcharges and energy consumption are translating into economic strategies that can work for horse people, especially when facing one of their biggest investments.

We’ve talked about commercial footings several times over the years, but these arenas are pricey at best. This time we decided to find out how to work with local natural resources. In upcoming issues, we’ll discuss ways to control dust and commercial footings, both natural and artificial.

Look Locally
Morgan horse trainer Dottie Brittingham, of Independence Stable in Belchertown, Mass., said research and references were her farm budget’s best friends when it came to choosing a footing.

Having trained on various surfaces since the 1970s, when she wanted to erect her own 74' x 140' indoor arena, Brittingham researched her options in advance and talked to other farms for their feedback. “If you can identify exactly what you want and be specific, you can use a general contractor or excavator. They needn’t be horse experts.”

Knowing what she needed included taking stock of her competitive schedule and its venues: “I knew that I couldn’t go with an artificial footing, like rubber or felt, because my horses have to compete on dirt and grass.” She also needed a firm but giving, non-slip surface for driving horses put to wooden-wheeled carriages. Her footing had to have enough tiny stones to not compact too hard, yet not be so fine that airborne particles would make dust maintenance a chore.

Prior experience working with a barn in the Midwest that used rubber footing revealed to her the problematic nature of artificial surfaces: “When the owners wanted to remove it, they had a toxic waste product to deal with, so I prefer to stick with natural footing.”

Not all natural footings are created equal. Bark mulch proved too hard to level and broke down erratically, while many sandy mixes were too dusty, hard on hooves or, if granules were not sized right, difficult to drive on.

The solution was a natural dirt footing, described as a “silty mix,” from a local excavator whose expertise wasn’t horse footings, but septic systems. “Put the word ‘horse’ in front of a service and it seems the price goes up,” said Brittingham. Her excavator, Paul Lussier, worked closely with her to give her precisely the footing she wanted, personally delivering buckets of various samples for review. Once her choice was made, Lussier laid the footing down in increments, initially spreading a three-inch footing, and gradually building to a currently comfortable depth of six inches.