Arena Surfaces & Performance

When you consider that the ground during cross country day has a huge impact on a horse and its ability to perform at its peak, it’s no surprise that the arena and the surface you ride on has just as much impact. From different surfaces to different disciplines, it’s so important to ensure you understand how a surface impacts a horse and its way of going before choosing the right surface.

When choosing the right surface for your arena, it’s important to consider every stage of the footfall. There are three different phases of the footfall. These are known as the landing, the loading and finally the rollover. From our previous article looking closely at the three phases of footfall, you’ll know that the landing is when the hoof comes to a stop and makes contact with your arena footing. While doing this the hoof will slide forwards into the surface. This phase can cause compression between bones and joints and as a result, it’s so important that the compression and shock waves are sent through the leg at an even pace. 

Following on from the landing is the loading phase. This is when the whole of the hoof makes contact with the ground and the entire weight of the horse and its rider will be sent through the leg. Here, the fetlock will work as a shock absorber, as well as suspensory, flexor and tendons. The pressure moves through the leg and to the frog. Once it does so, we enter the third and final phase; the rollover phase. At this point, the heel rotates and the toe quite literally rolls over itself as the horse moves into the next stride and the three phases begin all over again.

Arena Surfaces & Stability

When you pay close attention to the horse and the 3 different stages that each stride goes through, you can better understand how important the surface on which its riding is and how important it is that it’s firm yet cushioned. 

The ideal surface for any horse and rider will provide just enough firm support throughout all three cases of movement while offering enough cushioning to minimise the shock that’s sent through the leg. It’s also important that any surface returns the energy of each movement as opposed to simply absorbing it – a great example of this would be watching a human running on sand. The cushioning is so much that it simply absorbs the shock as opposed to returning it, thus making it much harder work and causing unnecessary stress on the limbs.

The ideal surface is quite literally the goldilocks of surfaces, offering complete support while minimising shock as much as possible. 

Arena Surfaces & Weather

While arena surfaces may tick all the boxes in terms of cushioning and firmness, giving optimum support it’s also worth considering how a surface will handle the weather. During winter months, especially here in the UK, surfaces can freeze and become quite unstable. They can also flood, again affecting stability and ultimately, this all increases chances of injury. 

But that’s not all, summer months can also pose their own problems, with some surfaces becoming dry and dusty, again causing instability as the horse moves through its three phases. Thankfully, there’s a way to avoid all of this and that’s by choosing a Foley’s Equestrian Surface.

Our Foley’s equestrian surfaces here in the UK are all-weather, which means they won’t freeze, they aren’t dusty and they’re wind resistant. They also provide the perfect amount of firmness and cushioning allowing people to use them for all disciplines. 

From showjumpers to dressage riders, our surfaces are loved up and down the UK. For more information or for a free sample of our automotive fibre surfaces, simply contact us today via sales@foleysequestrian.co.uk.