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Concrete fines or just sand?

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Concrete fines or just sand?
  • Hello,

    i am in the process of building a horse run in 16’ x 30’ for my two 3 year old Shires. They are both half brothers and get along very well with each other so no problem there. They are on turnout 24/7 and have a hay feeder with a grate they eat out of since I bought them in 2017. My problem is I can’t make up my mind wether to use concrete fines or just leave it sandy Inside the run in.  The area where the run in is being built is all sand high ground. I was planning on using lanscape fabric then concrete fines no mats. Is this okay or should I just leave the sand? They love laying in that sandy area to sun themselves. One of them had chronic thrush and that is my reason for wanting to use concrete fines. I am located in central Florida so no problem with feeezing snow. looking forward to hearing all of your experiences. Thanks in advance.

  • Welcome Apollo.

    Here in central Texas I have red granite gravel in  a couple of my stalls.

    It is a step up from sand. Not big chunks of gravel.

    The rest of the pens are just dirt.

    I would be fearful the concrete fines would be too powdery.

  • I heard the concrete fines compact or hardened and I wonder how good is that with drainage. ‍♀️ Thanks for your response.

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  • Fla-dah, I know very little about.   Being basically a sand bar, I suppose you would need something that does compact better than sand.  We use Decomposed Granite as a base here in California and often washed Plaster sand on top of that for a cushion.  Where we use the sand as a topper in shelters, we usually do put in mats as we don't want the horses taking up the sand with their feed.  We don't like dealing with enteroliths (gut stones).  Your horses are large and have big feet that will do a good job of compacting.  I would be leery of putting them on anything that would compact too hard.  Most especially if that is where they will sleep.  If you have a run-in shed mats might solve that problem.  Otherwise they might come up with sores and digestive issues.

  •  Thanks again.

    @studebaker

    Fla-dah, I know very little about. Being basically a sand bar, I suppose you would need something that does compact better than sand. We use Decomposed Granite as a base here in California and often washed Plaster sand on top of that for a cushion. Where we use the sand as a topper in shelters, we usually do put in mats as we don't want the horses taking up the sand with their feed. We don't like dealing with enteroliths (gut stones). Your horses are large and have big feet that will do a good job of compacting. I would be leery of putting them on anything that would compact too hard. Most especially if that is where they will sleep. If you have a run-in shed mats might solve that problem. Otherwise they might come up with sores and digestive issues.

    Thank you for your response. We do have a lot of sand.  Their hay is placed inside a feeder box not on the ground, although they might eat a few that fall on the ground but they normally don’t since they get hay 24/7.  My problem with mats is since they are so big almost 18 hands they tend to make the mats go all out of shape and become problematic.  I think I’m just going to try the concrete fines and see what happens. If it doesn’t workout then lesson learned. Thanks again.

  • Hello Apollo,

    we put mats with holes under the sand. Sand is spread over it. This way the horses can roll in the sand, but the ground cannot get too wet and the water can still run off through the holes in the mats.

    Good luck and best regards

    from John Williams