Grass arena

Does anyone have an opinion on whether they would be happy to exercise their horse on a grass arena? I have recently opened an agistment facility in Sydney and a sand arena isn't a viable option, as we're only leasing the property. I'm concerned I'll have trouble attracting boarders with only a grass arena.
Thanks :)

I would love a grass arena to school in. However, they do get slippery in bad weather, so I'd want an alternative to that as well ;)

Hi there, this is the first time I have used any type of online forum, so I'm not sure what the etiquette is. Am I supposed to thank you for your response? In any case, thanks heaps

Haha no worries! You definitely don't have to acknowledge every post, but it's nice to know your advice helped :)

Welcome to the HorseForum!

At our barn we have a grass arena and I love it but like JDI said it does get a bit slippery when it rains.

The grass arena shouldn't be a problem, in fact, it would be nice. Much less dust and yuck to deal with.

You could do Equi-tread crumb rubber footing. I have heard good things about that.
http://www.equi-tread.com/

Edited for spelling.

We don't have a grass arena @ my barn really...except the big XC field ahha. I'm sure it'd be cool, though.

I think a grass arena would be a wonderful idea. In our sand arena, the grass growing just outside the arena tends to creep into the edges of the arena. My horse always hugs the rail so that he can step on the grass parts. I think it's more cushioning for him.

Plus, the dust reduction would be nice. So, unless you're in a really rainy area that would make it slippery too often, it sounds like a great idea! Although, I don't ride outside in the rain anyways!

Just be sure you pick out a nice, flat spot and maintain the footing very well. If you put up jumps, be sure to move them around a lot so you don't wear out the ground at the popular take-off and landing spots.

As long as it built properly, they are great.

They need a good base with drainage and during summer need to be irrigated otherwise the ground tends to go rock hard and is not the greatest if working a horse consistantly on it. Also the right type of grass is a must, usually a very hard wearing kykuyu will work best.

I'm going to say otherwise. I wouldn't care for a grass arena. It can be slick even when not wet and a huge distraction to a stabled horse.

Since it is leased I would ask the owners if they have a preference on what is put into the arena. Find out whether they are ok with putting sand in it or not and go from there.