Muddy entrance to stall...still a problem

[Hillary_Indiana]

We have been trying to formulate different solutions to our problem (which only seems to be getting worse partly due to nasty weather). About 15 feet out on all sides of the entrance to the horse stall is just mucky mud, they're getting it caked on their hooves/legs daily. They have free access to their stall, and this is part of the reason for the mess. They go in/out in/out in/out all day. I dumped a couple of bags of powdered lime on there a couple of weeks ago and that seemed to help a little bit, but as of today we're right back where we started. What do you all reccommend? We have a concrete apron of about 5 feet. I thought about getting a truckload of crushed limestone??? Or buying more bags of powdered lime? Do they sell powdered lime by the truckload (my boyfriend pointed out that it would blow everywhere) Anyway, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[KMacGinley]

go crushed stone.

 

[MillIronQH]

You might want to think about taking the area down some first and putting four inches of so of larger (2-3") stuff down first. Then put the crushed stone on top of that. Should help with drainage.Z

 

[cypressfarms]

check out the string I posted about water troughs in the Beginners section. The "road base" limestone hardens nicely and doesn't move. Might just be the trick, but it's not cheap.

 

[Hillary_Indiana]

What's the difference between crushed limestone/road-base limestone? Where would I get road-base limestone...a gravel pit? Buy it by pick-up full?? About how much money are we talking you think? The entrance to the barn is about 12 feet wide...the muddiness extends quite a few feet out from the barn. I figured it might get better here in a couple months because they don't like to leave the barn so much when it's snowing so there won't be so much in/out traffic. But the same problem will arise in the spring so I want to fix it right...I'd rather overkill once than keep fixing because I didn't do the job right the first time. Those pics of water trough really helped. Thanks guys...great advice.

 

[MrGale]

a load of #3 gravel, then a load of crush n run on top of that.
works wonders. the more slop you can dredge out before starting, the less # 3 you will need, but use the #3 believe me.

 

[Hillary_Indiana]

Hey guys,

I am confused about the gravel talk...will a gravel pit know what I'm talking about when I say these things? Is crush-n-run the same as crushed limestone? About how much should I expect to pay for these?

Thanks!
Hillary

 

[Mike Franklin]

It could be the drainage for the whole area. You could step back and see if water drains to or from your stalls. On flat ground even 4 to 6 inches of rise can make a difference. Does the whole immediate area need to be built up?

 

[MrGale]

I got two loads, one of crush r run and one of #3 gravel for about $650.00 delivered to my door....large dump trucks fully loaded.