The Importance of Dust Suppression in the Horse Arena
In all arenas, both indoor and outdoor, controlling the environment is very important, not just for the human health, but also the equine’s health. Equine’s athletes are very susceptible to small dust particles, smokes in some area, so air quality in general really affects how the horse’s lung works.
Performance horses, rodeo events, dressage, livestock shows, showjumpers, trail riding, and horse racing, where the riders and trainers are spending long hours with the horse, are very popular in Australia. Therefore, maintaining the horse’s health is as important as the human’s health in order to have a successful partnership.
Heavy dust particles, smokes, and poor air quality affects both the horses and the riders greatly. Small particles as little as 5 microns can accumulate in the horses’ nasal passages and lung, and set the horses to potential bleed. Horse’s lung is very delicate and it cannot breathe from the mouth, which cause even bigger problem that the vet has to attend and flush the duct. For the riders and trainers, it’s not just dust in the eye, but it can also create problem from breathing difficulty to asthma and bronchitis. Of course, it is easier to treat humans than the horses, so the least thing we could do is keeping their living and exercise arenas free from unnecessary dust and poor air quality. When they have the best environment, they will give their best performance as well.
DuCaR Sprinklers for Dust Suppression
The easiest way to suppress the dust in the arena would be using water. By spraying water to the air, the wet dust becomes heavier than the air that they don’t blow around anymore. It is an environmentally friendly, easily available, and inexpensive option, compared to changing the footing under the horses’ feet for the arena (very expensive) or even using chemicals (expensive, unsafe for the environment, and can create another health issue for horses and riders or trainers).
The amount of water sprayed and timing are very important for both indoor and outdoor arenas. It needs to be wet enough to be able to suppress the dust and deep enough through the footings so it doesn’t get dry too quickly, but also not too overwatering that the arenas become muddy as it can put too much stress on the horse’s tendon. You can water indoor arenas daily. Another factor to be considered from the outdoor arena is the wind, it can evaporate the water quicker and drying out the footing when it’s too windy. Watering in the morning or at night can be considered to minimise the evaporation.
In addition, the watering system is also important and with the best sprinkler system, you will have the best performance from your equine’s athletes. IrrigationBox really understands the importance of dust suppression in the horse arena, hence why, we would like to introduce few systems that will suit your requirements and budget, from the suitable sprinklers to travelling irrigators when you prefer convenience and multi usability.
The sprinkler options which would be suitable for horse arena are DuCaR Atom 15, DuCaR Atom 22, and DuCaR Atom 28, depending on the flow rate and pressure in your system. Of course, the sprinklers placement is important as well so they don’t interrupt any activities. The sprinklers can be easily mounted on a riser or just a simple connection to the existing pipes in the indoor arena. And for the outdoor arena, we also have a skid base, wheeled cart, and tripod stand, which you can easily move around and use whenever you need it.
If you prefer more convenience and multi usability, we could also offer travelling irrigators, a soft hose travelling irrigator and a hard hose travelling irrigator. We have IrriCruiser Mini Plus for the soft hose irrigator and Casella Garden 50/160 for hard hose irrigator option. The only difference between these two irrigators is mainly the hydrant placement. The soft hose irrigator needs the hydrant to be in the middle of the area, while with the hard hose irrigator, you can place the hydrant at the end of the arena. They are not only for suppressing the dust in the arena, but they can also be used to water the grass areas for the horses and as a result, the horses will always have greener and healthier grass.
Please always think of the safety first. By installing a sprinkler system in your arena, you will be buying a tremendous peace of mind yourself that you are protecting your horses’ life and also keeping the riders healthy. Please feel free to contact one of our team to discuss the most suitable system according to your requirement and keep everyone healthy.