Maintenance

 

Maintenance is key to the life and performance of your footing, yet it is easy to overlook this simplest of tasks. You should evaluate your arena and footing on a regular basis to get the most from your investment.

 

Harrows

For the best arenas and footing, you need the correct tools to maintain the arena properly.

 

FootingFirst has collaborated with two top companies to help design harrows. Redmaster Harrows and Reist Harrows are both well made, and work well on many different types of footing. These harrows are set on wheels. Once they have been adjusted, your arena base should be well protected. With the new types of footing, the harrows work on only the immediate surface, so an aggressive harrow will not be good for your arena.

 

If you add any sort of fiber to an arena, you may get away with a Parma groomer, which can work well and is less expensive.

 

Maintenance tips: Get the most out of your footing

1. Make sure your arena’s footing is at an equal depth across the arena. Take a small potting trowel and mark it from 1" to 4" and walk around your arena, randomly checking the depth in different places.

 

2. Harrow your arena in different directions each day.

• Take care not to harrow the same way, as that will gradually move even the most sturdy, stable footing.
• When you harrow the footing, make sure you are not digging too deep and touching the base.
• Harrow the arena when its moisture content is even, and never when the arena is soaking wet or too dry. Depending on the type of footing you have, this could be detrimental to that surface.

 

3. Pick up the manure in any arena. This will prolong the life of every arena, including good sand arenas.

 

4. Bring in the pros on a periodic basis. Have your arena checked by a FootingFirst representative at least every other year, or every year, if possible.