For equestrian center staff, equine mud management is a serious undertaking that can cause a long list of issues if it’s not handled properly. Dealing with mud in horse paddocks, for example, is necessary since the presence of mud can greatly increase moisture-related diseases in horses and pose safety concerns to both horses and riders. This can leave many equestrian center owners, like this one, wondering how to fix muddy horse paddock areas.
PREPARATION and installation OfEcoraster E50 Muddy Paddock Solutions
Preparation
It was recently discovered that a drainage membrane (in this case a needle punched non-woven geotextile was used) can be placed directly on top of the paddock ground with no preparation required. In some cases, a sub base will need to be created to obtain a 1.5% – 4% slope if it does not already exist.
Installation
To achieve long-lasting mud control for horses, the geotextile must be laid down with a 4-inch overlap. After that is complete, Ecoraster E50 permeable pavement is installed creating a solid, porous surface. Both are easy to install requiring little skilled labour. Once the Ecoraster grid is in place, P-Gravel or chipped stone can be used as fill. The paver grid does not need to be completely buried but can be, depending on the horse paddock design. While this is a permeable paving solution, we do recommend a gradient of approximately 2% to prevent stormwater pooling.
AFTER
This horse paddock was transformed from an unsafe area that was causing horses to stand in mud all day, to a stable, permeable horse paddock free from mud-related issues. Ecoraster E50 is designed to endure summer heat and harsh winter climates, making it a fantastic year-round paving solution. This customer was thrilled with the transformation of their equestrian center, and was impressed with the ease of installation and how cost-effective the Ecoraster paver grid system was overall. While Ecoraster E50 is a natural fit as a muddy paddock solution, the same methodology can be applied to virtually any area suffering from complications with mud, providing an inexpensive, easy to install, and durable solution.
