Pea gravel

[Sunrise Valley]

I am thinking of adding some pea gravel to some areas in my dry lots.

Does anyone have any experiences, good or bad, with using pea gravel?

Any problems with it getting lodged in the mini horses' hooves?

Thanks!

Lisa

 

[wcr]

I found what is called playground sand and it is just smaller than pea gravel but not much. I put it in my arena, round pen and runs coming out of the barn. I love it as my mud has disappeared. I haven't had any problems with it except it tromps back into the dirt if I have big horses on it.

 

[Suzie]

This past fall we could not get the course sand/gravel combo we wanted for our paddocks, so we put some pea gravel down the walkways to the paddocks to keep down the mud.

I am not crazy about it. So far my horses have not had any gravel embedded in their hooves, but everytime time they come into the barn hall, they bring in loose gravel.

I am searching for something more satisfactory and it has kept the mud down. I wanted something rougher to keep their hooves filed off as they travel back and forth.

I was told that if you put down larger gravel with the pea gravel, it would "bed together" and create a smoother surface. So far, we haven't done that.

I don't think you will like pea gravel in the paddock/lot areas. Maybe this spring we can find the course sand we originally wanted to use and replace ours.

 

[Marty]

I have loads of gravel all over my barn yard but it is not pea gravel. At first I began with chat which is a limestone/sand/crushed gravel mix and that was pretty good but I then wanted something a bit more substantial so next I had some pea gravel only in one area and with the first bit of rain it disappeard into the ground, and it was a very thick layer. So now I use 1/4-1/2 inch gravel mostly and would not be without it. Cannot say its ever been a problem with the horse's feet at all or I never would have continued to use it as liberally as I do. I have many gravel paths now and we make them very thick so I can even drive on it and will not sink my truck in the mud.It should be referbished twice a year, maybe once a year would be better. I also use 2 1/2 huge gravel on the back side of my barn where my trailer is parked. I don't hardly ever use it maybe only twice a year so it sits on the big gravel just fine and doesn't sink either.