Most Popular Footings:
AirFoot™, LightFoot™, and EuroFelt™
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AirFoot™ & LightFoot™ Arena Footings
In recent years, millions of dollars have been spent on developing new and better running shoes. The advances in material design have led to light weight, highly durable shoes that greatly reduce the jarring forces we all experience when engaged in sports. These new materials have let many athletes run farther, jump higher, and play longer. And now, these same high tech materials are available for use in your arena.
AIRFOOT and LIGHTFOOT are made by grinding defective athletic shoes into a specific blend so they can be mixed into your existing footing or added to new footing.
AIRFOOT and LIGHTFOOT are made by grinding defective athletic shoes into a specific blend so they can be mixed into your existing footing or added to new footing. AIRFOOT is a blend that uses the entire shoe, while LIGHTFOOT uses only the upper portion. Thus, AIRFOOT is primarily rubber with some fibers and LIGHTFOOT has a much higher fiber to rubber ratio.
AirFoot
AIRFOOT works to improve your footing at several levels. Concussion reduction is accomplished in two ways. The rubber and fiber particles themselves provide a degree of cushion, but the real value comes from Bridging which is the result of AIRFOOT particles creating millions of tiny air pockets in your footing. As your horse travels over these bridges, the air is forced out, and they gently collapse. As you ride you will not actually feel the bridges collapse. You will, however, feel what is commonly referred to as "cush."
AIRFOOT provides another very important characteristic - after it has been compressed by the horses hoof it rebounds in a upward motion. This creates a unique "springiness." The combination of these two factors (cush and springiness) create a truly exceptional riding surface.
LightFoot
Once properly mixed in, you'll hardly be able to see LIGHTFOOT, but you will most certainly notice the impact on your footing. With its high fiber content, LIGHTFOOT adds considerable stability to your footing, thereby improving traction and minimizing cupping. These fibers also retain moisture for improved dust control and binding. While still requiring regular maintenance, most of our clients find their maintenance obligations are considerably lessened upon adding LIGHTFOOT. In addition to stability and moisture retention, the combination of fibers, rubber, and foam in our LIGHTFOOT blend also minimize concussion.
EUROFELT
The 21st Century footing that has revolutionized leading equestrian facilities in Europe is now available in America.
This long-lasting, straight fiber footing additive increases the cushioning properties of the surface without the rebound effect often associated with large amounts of rubber. EUROFELT also improves impact absorption, reducing the risk of injury to your horse, thereby extending his career.
The moisture retention properties of EUROFELT can also help reduce the negative health effects associated with excess dust. While EUROFELT can be used both indoors and outdoors, owners of indoor arenas find it especially helpful in fighting dust. Not only does EUROFELT hold more moisture than sand, stone dust, or rubber, it also traps small dust particles within its fibers, keeping them from becoming airborne.
In addition to cushioning and dust control, EUROFELT also helps to stabilize footing by knitting together loose sand to improve traction, helping to keep horses “up on top”. This stabilizing factor also minimizes the track that often forms around the rail and reduces the frequency of dragging. While EUROFELT can be added to any sand, we find it especially useful in saving/reviving old, broken-down sand that would otherwise have to be removed and replaced.