Insights when building a Horse Arena
Many of our customers ask us about the key factors involved when building a horse arena. There are many factors to take into consideration and we have tried to detail the ones that must be thought through before embarking on what can be quite a daunting project.
Naturally many of our equestrian clients are either in rural or semi-rural settings and many environmental factors must be considered. If you are unsure of any of the detail, we have tried to cover here please contact us as we are more than happy to discuss the process in more detail.
The first and most obvious question. What size should the Arena be? The Olympic Size and preferred by serious Horse Trainers are 60 x 20 Metres. The alternative and used by those with size constraints is 40x 20 Metres.
Once you understand the size of the Arena you want to build the next issue is understanding the best location on your property and properly understanding the Terrain and Soil. You never know what is under the surface. A simple soil sample or test can be a very small expense and a worthwhile exercise.
Once you understand the size of the Arena you want to build the next issue is understanding the best location on your property and properly understanding the Terrain and Soil. You never know what is under the surface. A simple soil sample or test can be a very small expense and a worthwhile exercise.
A soil sample will also help understand drainage and machinery required for the preparation of the site.
Site access is also a large consideration. Many of our clients like their Arena’s away from the main house or property on their site. This can add extra complexities when trying to get the machinery needed to the proposed site and of course add a little wet weather and we sometimes can have a major effect on the entire project.
Base – what type of base will suit the weather, soil, and drainage at your location. We always recommend visiting a site using the base you select to see how it performs after back weather and heavy use. No one can guarantee no bogging however the more research the better.
To fill the site or cut? There are costs incurred for both options and its very dependent on the location you select. We always recommend pricing both options. Levels can be deceiving and it’s easy to think a site is flat– from a distance of course.
Drainage is of course a very important consideration. It will depend on the style of site cut, natural fall around the surrounding area, and that all-important soil sample.
This is the most important consideration, and the base is the most important part of that. You must have a fall and that should slope away to where your water drainage direction will be. There should be ideally about 1% fall.
One of the other factors to consider when thinking about drainage around the area which is sometimes overlooked is Mosquitos. Wherever Water lays, Mosquitoes Breed. These in turn bring great risk to your Horses and especially these Days, Ross River Virus, Hendra Virus, Murray Valley Encephalitis and more, can all be passed on via these insects.
Council requirements and local bylaws. It always pays to check with your local council, a simple phone call or email can save a lot of extra expense at a later date.
Fencing the site. Consider all the factors. Some of our customers ask should they have fences? Here are a few reasons why:
Risk Management
Negligence at Law
The Training of the Horse
The replication of Show conditions
To ride your corners well and the Fence is handy for training…like Leg Yielding
Simple tip – Arena Access – make sure the gate is large enough to allow tractors and trucks back into the Arena.
If you need more help and would like to discuss in more detail options for your Horse Arena please contact our team at Benson Ecavation.
