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Discussion on Stone dust for paddock
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New Member:
fritzp
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Posted on Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007 - 11:50 am:
I recently completed covering our outdoor paddock area with stone dust, and am very happy with the footing and no mud. However our farrier says stone dust is terrible to use in horse areas because the small particles work into the laminae of the hoof and cause abcess etc. We have five barefoot horses on it now and there doesn't seem to be a problem. I asked the local extension service about the best way to drain and cover this area, and they recommended stone dust. I also thought it was used a lot in arenas. Has anyone had problems with it, or more to the point, what is recommended instead? Some of my horses get ouchy on the larger gravel.
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Member:
muffi
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Posted on Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007 - 12:27 pm:
I use River Wash Sand - it a higher grain of sand then most fine beach sand - plus where I live there are no beaches. LOL
I have not heard of Stone Dust.
When I lived in Arizona - we had natural crushed granite as the ground cover every where - it was actually wonderful for Barefoot horses as it worked to wear their hooves in the right places and was reasonably soft underfoot.
From your beautiful picture on your Profile you appear to have Beach Sand available. Nice shot and welcome to HA - I see this was your first post. Just wait till the crowd gets ahold of this they will all no doubt have tons of comments!
Best of luck
Muffi
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007 - 12:41 pm:
Patricia my paddock is "stone dust" also I have had no problems with their hooves as far as it is concerned. If your horses have healthy hooves it shouldn't be able to work it's way in.
I have kept my horse on this for over 12 yrs. I have had 3 abscesses in that time and all of them followed laminitis....so not caused by the "stone dust".
The "stone dust" is wonderful for footing and keeping mud away.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007 - 6:42 pm:
Welcome Patricia,
One problem in communication we might be having is a good definition for stone dust. I suspect it is very different in different areas. Locally we have several different products called stone dust that behave very differently. Personally I have not seen a problem like your farrier describes. You might try explaining to him you are going to give it a chance and then watch those white lines. If this occurs at the toe only you might try rockering the wall there.
DrO
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Member:
cheryl
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Posted on Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 - 9:00 am:
I've used "screenings"(in WA State) "fines" here in Idaho - it's the product left over from crushing rock. If this is what you are referring to - I love it. It eliminates muck - packs down to near cement consistency under rubber mats - if any soft spots occur another shovel full eliminates them. It's also the cheapest product most gravel companies sell. If they ever figure out it works so well for horses the price will double I've never had any problem with horses on the surface.
Cheryl
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Member:
erika
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Posted on Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 - 10:08 pm:
Well, isn't this timely!
I am awaiting an estimate for stone dust around my barn--tired of dealing with the mud!
Excavator says he gets a lot of requests for it here in NJ for horse paddocks, but also for pea gravel.
Here, stone dust is what they put under pavers or brick for walkways and driveways. Some unpaved drives are made of it also. it looks like coarse sand/gravel mix. Packs down hard, but you can dig into it if you need to.
Looking forward to hearing from others.
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Member:
paul303
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Posted on Thursday, Nov 22, 2007 - 11:46 pm:
Stone dust in N.Jersey, screenings in S.Jersey. I couldn't live without the stuff. Excellent under mats in stalls, it lines my 1300ft. driveway and the drive around my house and parking area. I have dark grey screenings on a huge area in front of my barn and it keeps it dry and very classy looking. It's also under all my paving stone patios. I've also used it ( and another product called Dry Stall )around all my gate areas and water trough areas that tend to get muddy. Put it down 2 years ago and those areas are problem free now - haven't had to add to it.
Erika: I've used pea gravel and have found the horses are occasionally ouchy on it. Once in a while, I've found the small stones wedged along the frog.
I've had no problems with the stone dust and feet. I have two horses with front shoes and one with no shoes.
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New Member:
fritzp
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Posted on Monday, Nov 26, 2007 - 10:17 am:
Thanks for everyone's input-regardless of the definition of stone dust (and I have had variations from load to load)it sounds like it isn't the dire problem my blacksmith claims. Stone dust here is very finely crushed stone with (surprise!) dust and it packs down really hard. I love it for resolving the mud issue. I have also had some problems with pea gravel wedging in the frog area-nothing serious but potentially uncomfortable.
Thanks again-what a great source this is!
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