Happy Wednesday! We are just about ready to change seasons. Can you believe summer is almost over? Hopefully we will have a warm fall, or Indian summer as I have heard it called. I am all about 70 degree temperatures for riding, and even more now because of something I just recently bought.
And this is what I wanted to share with you today. I bought an EZ-Groomer for my arena! But I’ll talk about that a little bit later. First, lets talk about the ground itself, and some of the things you can do to make your arena ground better.
Considering the Ground
Do you ever think about the ground where you are riding? I do, on a daily basis. And over the years, I have done many different things to make sure I have the best ground possible for my horses, and for my riding.
There is just something so awesome about riding in an arena that has specialized footing, or at least has a nice soft, springy feel to it. And even if you are like me, and don’t have the best footing in your arena, there are things you can do to improve it.
Working with What You Have
First things first, you need to work with what you have. That is, unless you are very wealthy, and can afford to build an incredible arena including adding in awesome footing. But if you are not super rich, there are things you can do to make the most of the ground you do have.
Add Some Dirt
If it is feasible for you, you could bring in some footing. We did this several years ago, and it was pretty nice. But over time, that good dirt has gotten compacted, but it’s still there.
Where I live, an arena blend of dirt runs around $27.00 a yard. For me to bring in enough dirt, it would cost me around $1800.00 for the dirt, and about $300.00 for the delivery fee. It may be less expensive where you live though. And if you are in the planning phase of your arena, I would encourage you to consider this, especially if your ground is hard.
Hire it Done
About a month and a half ago, I hired someone to come in with their fancy arena groomer to come in and rip up my ground. And it was AWESOME! My arena was like new again! Yay!
But it cost me around $350.00 to have this done. And I thought it would last a long time. But three weeks later, my ground was getting compacted again. I did ask how long it would last and she told me I should have it done every 6 weeks or so. And if I did that, it would end up costing me over $3000.00 a year. Well, I don’t have that kind of money. So I decided to see if there was a groomer that would do the same thing that I could buy myself.
Get A Good Groomer
I have a couple of arena groomers that I usually use for my arena. I have a drag, and a box that I typically use to rip up the ground.
And I love my arena drag. It cost me around $250.00 and I use this thing all the time. The box, I got from my parents. And it does a good job ripping up the ground, but it does leave ruts. Especially when the ground gets hard from lack of rain. SO I was searching for something more like what the people had that I hired to drag my arena. And I am so happy to say, I found something…
EZ Groomer
One mornign when I was mindlessly surfing the net, an ad popped up for a fancy arena groomer. I watched the videos, and was like “ooooh I want one….” But it was about $3500.00. To rich for my blood. So I did a Google search for arena groomers, and I came across a company called EZ Groomer. They even had all of their prices listed on their website. I liked that. The EZ groomer is way more affordable than a lot of the other groomers. And it has everything that I was wanting, tines to rip up the dirt, a bar to spread the dirt evenly, and a really cool roller that makes the ground look fantastic. THIS is what I wanted!
I filled out the contact us box on their website, and a few hours later I got to talk to Mike. He answered all of my questions, and helped me in my decision making process a lot. Then I just had to figure out how I was going to be able to afford to pay for this groomer.
Hello eBay
When I am trying to figure out a way to make a large purchase, without using a credit card, my first option is to see if I have anything that I could sell in order to get what I want. And I had a bunch of stuff that had been piling up in my basement that I had put off selling. Until now!
So I put a bunch of stuff on eBay, and in about a week I was able to place my EZ Groomer order!
Getting the Groomer
Looking back now, this was the longest part of the process. Probably because they were really busy, and the shipping company took their time getting my groomer to me. But, that being said this groomer is much more affordable than may others that I looked at, so I can understand it would be take longer to get to me. After I placed my order, I had it in 6 weeks. I’m not going to lie, it seemed like an eternity.
They shipped it on a pallet, and I even had the option that the freight company would unload it for me. Which was totally worth the extra cost in my opinion. If you are thinking about getting one of these, if you have a commercial address where it can be delivered too, and you have a way to unload it, you can save some money on the shipping. But being able to have it delivered and unloaded at my house, for a little bit extra, this was the best option for me.
Grooming the Arena
When it came I was so excited. So naturally, I had to try it out and see if it could make my arena as awesome as it did the ones in the videos I have been watching daily in anticipation of waiting for mine to get here!
This is my arena before using the groomer. Not too bad really. My train of grooming equipment behind my tractor does an ok job. Not near as good as the professionals when I had it done. But, it has worked for me.
And after using my EZ Groomer, this is my arena:
WOW. Just wow! What a difference! I love this thing! I feel like I have a REAL arena now. And I don’t have to pay someone to come make it nice, I can do it myself because of my EZ Groomer. I am so impressed. I think t actually looks better that it did when I hired it done.
And I can do it MYSELF now. No longer waiting for someone to come and do it, and I don’t have to pay $300.00 every time I want it done! Now my ground is awesome, and it looks great too.
What a difference it makes while riding Plezant. I mean, it really makes a difference to ride in freshly drug ground.
I also think it’s important to mention I am not being sponsored by EZ Groomer. I didn’t get a deal on a groomer to right a review for them. They didn’t find me, I found them. And they have made such an incredible product that I feel would help every horse owner, or even a barn owner, that I had to share this with you. They have Groomers in different sizes, they make them to put on your tractor, and even ATV models. The one I got is 4 feet wide, and it fits our tractor perfectly. I am so happy with this groomer!
EZ Groomer in Action
If you want to see the groomer in action, and how awesome it is, you should watch this video. It’s pretty cool I think.
There is just something so satisfying about watching an arena being groomed. Ahhhhh this is my happy place!
If you would like to learn more about EZ Groomer, and all of the different options they have, you can check them out here. And now that I have this fancy-schmancy groomer, I can keep my ground in wonderful condition and ready to use at a moments notice.
Plus it’s just awesome to look at. I Having a fresh arena ready for work just makes my heart happy!
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