This month at Winterwood has been very busy! The recent cooler weather has allowed more time outside and we've started construction on our arena.
We do a large majority of the work ourselves, with the horses making sure our efforts are up to their high standard...
The arena design is a standard 60x20 size but that's where the 'standard part' ends!
The arena has been designed to minimise the impact on the surrounding environment whilst maximising the usability and outlook.
It is nestled into the side of a gorgeous, natural valley and will have a large amout of landscaping around it - trees, vegetation, herbs, fruit trees and gardens. We didn't remove a single tree for the arena construction, which required additonal excavation in to the hillside, but it means that we are surrounded by gorgeous old trees!
It is designed to be an all weather, outdoor, all purpose arena with ag drains, two layers of geotextile to seperate the layers of fill (granite then fine sand mixed with sawdust) and then encapsulated by recycled hardwork around the base edge (1 foot high).
The surface will never churn-up, wont become boggy and in dry conditions the sawdust retains moitsure and reduces dust.
Around the arena will be sediment control ponds - waste water running to a swale type collection ponds. All water is captured on the property where possible for use and for future-proofing. Slowing (or stopping) the flow through, and off, the property means that we will always be able to provide water for trees and gardens and for animals. This is a philosphy called 'Natural Sequence Farming'. Plants and water tables are 10 to 100 fold more productive than artificial irrigation!
If you're interested you can read more about Peter Andrew's theories here.
We reorintened stables so they now overlook the dam for with a northerly aspect for passive solar design.
And on top of all this, the property and the horse facilities will be off-grid! What an undertaking!
