Product
Information
RANSFORDS
EQUESTRIAN BARK FREE WOODFIBRE
As
we supply so many of the racing trainers in the UK with
their gallops and arenas, inclusive of those at the pinnacle
of their profession such as Cheltenham Gold Cup, Hennessy
Gold Cup and Grand National winners (and the racecourses)
this particular page is not aimed at them because they
need no education in what to look for in an equestrian
woodfibre surface. So many of them have used Ransfords
woodfibre as their all-weather surfaces for decades because
it is just so kind to the horses legs....they simply need
to know that they are continuing to use the best on the
market - us.
Therefore
this page is aimed more at the general public who are
looking at resurfacing or taking their first hesitant
step into surfacing their first arena, which for the majority
is a huge outlay and one which they have no doubt worked
long and hard to financially achieve. The thought of getting
it wrong is a bit alarming to say the least.
So
it is helpful to ask how long any surfacing company has
been incorporated, how long they have been selling their
surface for (as in Ransfords' case 20 years) and indeed,
how long the staff have individually been selling the
surface. All to give you peace of mind you are listening
to a voice of experience.
WE
WILL NOT SUPPLY YOU WITH RECYCLED WOOD
Here
at Ransfords we will not supply you with recycled wood.
We have the largest seasoning plant in the UK here on
our own 38 acre site (visitors welcome), however, we do
not use seasoned wood in our riding surface.... why?....because
seasoning does not make any difference to ground contact
durability. There is also no jurisdiction over the type
of wood that goes through
a recycling plant...it can be anything...old pallets,
old post and rail, kitchen units, window frames basically
unwanted aged wood thrown out by people, whereby once
the products are minced up and shredded a magnet is then
used to try and extract all the wire, nails and screws
that have held them together.
IF YOU DO DECIDE TO CHOOSE RECYCLED WOOD WASTE FOR YOUR RIDING SURFACE FOR PEACE OF MIND WE WOULD SUGGEST THAT YOU SWEEP A METAL DETECTOR OVER IT, PREFERABLY BEFORE IT IS LAID.
Metal detectors can be hired or maybe your contractor or friends know someone with one which you could borrow. Alterntively punch "hire metal detectors UK" into an Internet search engine. The one that popped up for us was http://www.hss.com/g/49530/Metal_Dectector.html which you might like to click on and have a look at. (You could also scan your property for buried treasure over a weekend!)
Unlike old aged wood sent
for recycling, here at Ransfords we always know what
we are putting through our equestrian woodfibre plant...which
is pristine, new top quality wood chosen for its durability
and working properties to cope with pounding hooves and this is why we can give you our 100% written guarantee there is no shrapnel of any kind in our surface.
Seasoning
means that wood, such as pallet board, is dried of moisture
and sap before it is nailed and wired together. This is
only done to stop the wood warping and buckling as it
dries out naturally in heated environments such as warehouses.
This simply means that the seasoning (drying) process
stops the wood fighting against the nails and wire holding
it together. It makes no difference to ground contact
durability on an arena once the pallets are shredded before
being fed into a recycling chipper, as ground contact
durability only boils down
to the choice of high quality wood chosen for its hardwearing
qualities and resistance to splitting which in turn resists
pounding hooves. When put back outside wood simply soaks
up moisture again. Use low quality wood and in due course
you have a problem. We employ some of the most educated
and experienced staff in the UK timber industry and our
knowledge of how woods react under working conditions
is second to none. With this wealth of experience we cannot
be rivalled in our choice of top quality wood chosen for
its durability and riding qualities.
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Basically
all wood sent for recycling has reached the
very final stage of its product life and is probably
already in excess of 5 years old, much of it many,
many years older than this so will already be in varying
stages of age, disintegration, rot or decay which
will ultimately knock years off an arena or gallop's
lifespan, so do get it in writing you are not being
supplied with recycled wood. |
Saps and Acids in Woods
As a riding surface these have no relevance to the durability of chipped
wood. They remain constant, they simply get wet!
Find out the species of wood you will be getting
The durability of the wood that is laid as an all-weather surface is the
most important factor when buying an all-weather surface so it is vital that
you find out what the species of wood is that you will be getting.
Most people hearing the words "softwood" and "hardwood" think.well, softwood
must be soft and hardwood must be hard. Not true.
Hardwood means that this wood comes from flat leafed deciduous trees and
softwood comes from conifers. It's as simple as that. For instance
Balsawood is one of the lightest, least dense woods there is, and is
considered a hardwood.
Oak meanwhile is too dense for riding surfaces and can bruise the horses
frogs (oak also cracks under temperature change), beech, another hardwood,
has low ground contact durability, as does Pine (a white softwood) and so it goes
on.
Hence you can see how important it is to know the species that is laid as a
riding surface.
To further define the difference between hardwoods and softwoods...
The distinction between hardwood and softwood actually has to do with plant
reproduction. All trees reproduce by producing seeds, but the seed structure
varies. Hardwood trees are angiosperms - plants that produce seeds with some
sort of covering. This might be a fruit, such as an apple, or a hard shell,
such as an acorn.
Softwoods, on the other hand, are gymnosperms. These plants let seeds fall
to the ground as is, with no covering. Conifers, which grow seeds in hard
cones, fall into this category. In conifers, these seeds are released into
the wind once they mature and spreads the plant's seed over a wider area.
For the most part, angiosperm trees lose their leaves during cold weather
while gymnosperm trees keep their leaves all year round. So, it's accurate
to say evergreens are softwoods and deciduous trees are
hardwoods..absolutely nothing to do with the durability of their wood.
So..here at Ransfords we use a softwood, but it is a redwood softwood as
opposed to a whitewood softwood, such as Pine - again a difference in terms
of ground contact durability. Our chosen wood is one of the toughest and
most durable woods that you can buy and is also the preferred wood in the
construction industry because of its strength and durability..and our
surface is also brand new wood, not old wood that is already in various stages of decay.
For instance, Ransfords donated one of our huge redwoods (20m/66ft) for the
bowsprit (the "mast" at the front) in the revamp of the sailing ship, The SS Great
Britain at Bristol. A redwood softwood chosen for its strength and durability and the same
high quality wood that you would have from us as your riding surface - it is
a King amongst woods.
Here at Ransfords, we therefore can always tell you the species of wood that
you will be getting so you are therefore assured of the durability and
working qualities of your riding surface. |
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The bottom line is that if the species of wood is not known you will have no
idea of the durability of your arena or gallop and how long it might last,
and if the surface is mixed wood again it is impossible to say - or indeed,
whether there might be an unsuitable wood in it.
So, like Ransfords can, for peace of mind get any supplier to put the
species they will be supplying you with in writing.
THE
LOOMING COSTLY DISPOSAL COSTS OF ARENAS AND GALLOPS
All
arena and gallop surfaces eventually reach the end of
their life span and here at Ransfords, with 20 years experience
in the surfacing industry, we believe the only way forward
for riding surfaces will be one where ultimate disposal
is non-costly, or indeed free. When a synthetic riding
surface comes to the end of its life span you will have
to pay to have it landfilled and with landfill costs spiralling
this one day may cost you as much to dispose of your arena
surface as it was to put it in. ie. The European average
for landfill is currently £40 plus VAT per ton and
as part of the EU, Britain is in line to be brought up
to this European average. You would also have to pay for
the transport to the nearest landfill site which could
be some considerable distance.
RUBBER
Whole
tyres were banned from landfill in July 2003 with shredded
rubber or anything with a rubber content due to follow
suit in 2006.....so when rubber perishes, you cannot burn
it, you cannot dump it and from 2006 you will not be able
to landfill it either.
This
is also a point to bear in mind if you are one day going
to sell your property otherwise, as all this becomes more
common knowledge within the public domain, prospective
buyers will either be viewing a very costly disposal problem
- or when the surface disintegrates one where they cannot
get rid of it at all.
Rubber
tyres, contrary to popular belief, are no longer made
from pure rubber - tyres have not been made from pure
rubber for decades. They contain poisonous heavy metals
like zinc and cadmium, hydrocarbons, latex and sulphur-containing
compounds and from 2006 under the EU Directive shredded
tyres (what riding surfaces are made from) will be classed
as hazardous waste, hence their ban from landfill. With
billions of tons of tyres produced annually there is a
huge urgency for governments and the petro-chemical industry
to find outlets for used tyre waste. You might like to
have a look at the following two web sites about rubber
and rubber crumb - click on the following www.paghat.com/rubbermulch.html
and www.newswise.com/articles/view/?id=TIRES.BKN.
Also a collection of articles about waste and pollution
and what the EU Directive covers, much of it not widely
known www.kc3.co.uk/~dt/pollution.htm
Remember that
under every arena or gallop there are drains whereby if
the run-off rain water picks up any impurities as it travels
through a riding surface then this will be dispersed either
onto your land, a neighbours or into public waterways.
OUR
COMPANY GUARANTEE - NO CHEMICAL CONTENT
Then
there is the chemical content on wood. Get it in writing
from the company supplying it that their wood surface
is guaranteed not to have a chemically induced content.
This means that without any chemicals in your surface
it can ultimately and confidently be spread on your ploughed
land or that of a farmers - you certainly wouldn't want
someone coming back to you to say that all their crops
had died! You have Ransfords company guarantee that all
our surface is untreated because treatment on particled
wood makes no difference to ground contact durability.
Again it is the choice of natural durability and the grain
of the chosen wood that ensures it does not split under
hooves. Old treated timber is sent for recycling.
Don't
think that all woodfibre surfaces are the same as ours
as Ransfords produces the best, most durable equestrian
bark free woodfibre on the market. We cannot be rivalled
in our choice of wood and our production facilities so
if you truly want the best for your horse email or call
as you can't buy our surface from anyone else in the UK.
It's unique only to us and then to you.
See what our customers say - click here
