# Anyone made a hard standing (muddy fields)



## VoyPor (17 January 2010)

Hi everyone - getting really fed up with muddy fields in Winter - very depressing going through mud all the time.

Has anyone made a hard standing and how much does it cost and what do you need?

Was thinking of needing a digger to scrape away all the existing mud until get to hard ground - then using a membrane - etc. is that correct?

Thanks.


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## measles (17 January 2010)

We scraped away and put scalpings down but they have all eventually been churned through, helped by one particularly stressy horse who wanted back in..


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## S_N (17 January 2010)

Good question!  I was throwing this idea around the other night.  Would be great to do this in one area, where the water is and where they are fed.  I was also thinking of the field guard grass matts - anyone used those?  At least they aren't permanent.


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## millitiger (17 January 2010)

i wouldn't do it now while the ground is all churned up- best to wait until summer and do it when the ground is much firmer.

you can use different types of hardcore or stones and then top off with scrapings and roll and roll and roll until it is settled.

we did all of our tracks and gateways and it made a huge difference.


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## dorani (17 January 2010)

[ QUOTE ]
Good question!  I was throwing this idea around the other night.  Would be great to do this in one area, where the water is and where they are fed.  I was also thinking of the field guard grass matts - anyone used those?  At least they aren't permanent. 

[/ QUOTE ]

I put field mats down in the summer but they disappeared under the mud long ago!


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## Eaglestone (17 January 2010)

I eventually, after trying grass mats etc, decided to scrape away about 6 inches of top soil and then lay Findon Sand Stone on top, which was compacted, by running the digger back and forth, then a further square meter of finer Findon Sand Stone on top of that and then compact that with the digger again.  I worked it out to be about 6-8 inches of stone, to ensure a really good base, which after a while blends in well.

It has been brilliant through the snow and I am so pleased I got it sorted last Summer  
	
	
		
		
	


	





Cost wise for a 20' x 20' area, the stone cost me about £170, the digger about £70 and the man that can cost me about £100 ... so £340, so this may be more than most people are prepared to pay  
	
	
		
		
	


	





Don't forget to factor in where you are going to put the huge amount of soil you scrape off, as this was at least 2 big trailer loads !!!  
	
	
		
		
	


	









ETS .... I also had some land drains put underneath .... these are the plastic holey pipes ...  

Good Luck


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## rcm_73 (17 January 2010)

A livery I was on dug away the top layer of earth from muddy gateways and filled it with road scrapings which I believe he got free when they were resurfacing a neaby road. It worked really well the first year it was down and am pretty sure it's still dry there now.


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## MiJodsR2BlinkinTite (17 January 2010)

I took the plunge two years ago and got someone (professional) to put in some drainage and also put some stone down on the gateways.

Now, the driest part of my field is the bottom bit where it was just like a bog previously!

Also, you don't get the situation of hairy horrible horse pulling you in one direction in the gateway, and you go witih the  horse and leave your wellies standing in the mud!

Go for it, its the best money I've ever spent.


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## VictoriaEDT (17 January 2010)

My groundworker scraped away the mud with a digger and then put down rough stone and then put 20m hardcore on top and rolled it - now more than perfect and he did this last feb!

this cost £600 with 36T of hardcore and 24T of rough stone


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## _daisy_ (17 January 2010)

weve just been discussing the same thing as weve had a guy doing some work in our field before it thaws out too much.
hes pricing it up, to remove the top soil (well mud lol) then replace with stone and then a layer of scalpings on the top - our area is going to around the sze of an arena so were expecting to pay £250p/d for man and digger and then roughly £1000 for the stone etc - getting his quote tomorrow so ill let you know how much its going to cost.
after digger a 3ft deep trench down tthe whole of my field today weve realised we need in done asap so the horses have somewhere decent to stand through the winter


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## Dido (28 October 2011)

I am looking into making a standing area that is covered.  Put hay in the middle so that my three horses can come and go as they please.  I think I have found a solution!  'ECOGRID Elastic' look it up on the web.  For 38sq ft I have been quoted £638. with membrane and inclusive of VAT.


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## Dido (28 October 2011)

'ECOGRID elastic' Is what I am planning to use of my heavy clay soil.  I am requiring a 'covered' hard standing area where they come and feed on hay during the season that hay is fed.  ECOGRID seems to fit the bill.  Google it.


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## meesha (28 October 2011)

I would always put terram under stone - so scrape away top soil - lay terram then stone and roll it   On our clay soil if you dont have the terram the stone (no matter how much you put down) seems to dissapear into the ground.  Alternatively - put in a "turonout" area or arena !! and keep them on there when its wet - mine sleep on theirs which adjions my harstanding with field shelter with rubber matting (18x12 ft) where hay is hung etc -


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## HappyNeds (28 October 2011)

Just to let you know - if you are doing to be removing soil with a digger to lay hard-core or some sort of hard surface within the field, then technically this counts as earth-works and you would need planning permission.  It's something small like only 4 square meters of ground-works permitted in a field without planning permission.  In reality, if no one complains then no one pays any attention and everything is fine.  If however, you have a horrible neighbour to your field like we do who apparently doesn't have a life of their own an insists on watching us all the time, and reporting everything we do to the council you could be issued with an enforcement notice.  By the way, we haven't done anything wrong - but we still keep getting reported!  Just thought I'd let you know in case you suffer from interferring neighbours like we do!


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## Honey08 (28 October 2011)

We just did an area that is about 20mx10m just outside the yard to park the two trailers and a caravan etc.  A farmer brought three trailer loads of rough (not sieved) hardcore which was free, but it cost £200 for the farmer to bring it and flatten it.  It left a pretty rough area.  We then had three lorry loads of road chippings delivered - they were working in the local area, which means they sell them for cheaper - they were £100 per lorry load (18 tons) and would have cost more if they'd come from the depo...  I've never known anyone give good quality chippings away for free.  We then had to pay to have them flattened - will be another £100 probably.  Expensive, but the area will never be muddy again and we have clay soil and wet fields.  

One lorry load would do two or three boggy gateways.  Its always better if you can dig it our first, but we have just chucked it on top of mud in the past - as long as its deep enough it does stay.

Re grass mats - they don't really do anything, but are good for walkways where humans walk.  We put a stable rubber mat down in one of the summer gateways, which churns up a bit, and this has worked very well.  If you don't have deep boggy clay soil it may work ok.

Do be aware that the area around the hardcored area in a gateway will get muddy.  You can't escape it, but it does help!  Sometimes I'd like to do the whole of our land!


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## Honey08 (28 October 2011)

Dido said:



			'ECOGRID elastic' Is what I am planning to use of my heavy clay soil.  I am requiring a 'covered' hard standing area where they come and feed on hay during the season that hay is fed.  ECOGRID seems to fit the bill.  Google it.
		
Click to expand...

You really sound like a salesman!  think its the capitals!


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