East-West Arena Construction Blog

Most horse people have been schooled in basic safety about riding- always wear a helmet, always wear a boot with a heel, check your girth after getting on, don't approach a horse from the rear and things like that. However, you'll note that these tips are all about keeping people safe. It's good to keep people safe. But a surprising number of experienced riders don't think enough about horse safety.

Although horses are very large, powerful animals they are surprisingly delicate and are very prone to injury. As prey animals they tend to panic easily and turn even the most minor mishap into a major crisis. They also have finicky digestive tracts, long skinny breakable legs and prehensile lips. 

Despite its name, the influence of the footing laid down in horse arenas doesn't stop at the hooves. Interactions between the horse's hooves and the footing below can have an all-over effect on the horse's body. Many amateur competition steeds and pleasure riding horses end up retiring early due to complications such as navicular disease. Additionally, race horses may sustain leg and joint injuries while still in their prime, causing them to withdraw from major competition. This led many to wonder; is it the ground they're trotting on?

Dressage riders invest a lot of time and money into their mounts. The last thing they want is for bad arena footing to create injuries that require their horses to be laid up for a period of time while it recovers. GGT Dressage Blend is the highest quality and safest footing for Dressage

Looking to build a new arena? Thoughtfulness in the design is the only way to assure you end up with an arena that is enjoyable to use, safe for the horses, and holds up over time. These steps are just as important for a private arena as for a public facility. Here are the best practices in equestrian arena design. 

In August 2014 the Oregon State Fairgrounds cancelled the 4-H equestrian and equestrian game events at Oregon's annual fair. Participants who had qualified for the State competition had already traveled to the Fairgrounds at considerable expense and were quite upset at the last-minute cancellation. The events were cancelled entirely due to the poor condition of the footing in the arena. 

Therapeutic Riding Centers exist because of the horse. Not just any horse, but the retired horse still willing to give to their new type of riders with special needs. These horses come already in their late 20's with leg and foot injuries or disease but have a lot of fight left. We should kiss the ground they walk on some programs actually do-by using high quality footing material in their arenas.

You've probably heard about GGT footing, maybe even ridden on it. It's used in many of the top equestrian facilities in the world, such as the Kentucky Horse Park and the Devon Show Grounds. The GGT stands for German Geo Textile, the name of the company that manufactures the footing additive. 

Equestrian footing companies design the most important part of equestrian facilities- the surfaces the horses work on. Some equestrian footing companies simply advise local contractors on how to build the base and footing, but others have their own builders on staff that perform the construction as well as doing the designing. 

In April 2014 the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) released a White Paper describing years of study of the effect of various horse footings on the health of horses competing in the FEI sports and regular racing. The full document can be downloaded from the FEI. The following is a brief summary of the FEI's findings about jumping horses and footing. 

Not every horse owner and rider knows what to consider when it involves the riding surface for their horses. Little do some of them know that one of the most important elements in the development of their horse during its training is choosing the right Horse Arena Footing. When working at a high level of performance your horse will tend to experience a lot of stress, which makes it important to have good arena footing to make your equine partner as comfortable as possible.