Clean Run - November 2016 - 60

Every few years, Clean Run magazine takes a look at agility flooring options to help you determine the best buy for your facility.
The choices are much broader than ever before, with several completely different kinds of flooring possibilities.
This time, we broke the types of flooring into separate articles. We have already looked at rubber, EVA foam, and artificial turf. In this
issue, we will examine natural surfaces. There are many natural surface options for outdoor agility facilities or covered arenas. The
availability and practicality of obtaining and maintaining the surfaces will depend on various factors, including location, climate, and
amount of shade. You may have to contact local sources, including do-it-yourself stores, landscapers, extension services, and even
golf courses, to determine what will work best for you, particularly if your agility space is outdoors rather than in an arena.
For this article, I also followed up with some of the sources I interviewed for my CR October 2012 article,
Scratching the Surface, A Look at Natural Outdoor Agility Footing.

Underfoot Updated: Natural Surfaces
By Brenna Fender

GraSS
Grass is often considered the ideal agility surface, although there are many
variables that can make it a less-thanideal footing. If you live in a desert
climate, have a rocky substrate, or your
agility area is shaded, grass may be a
challenging surface for you to install
and maintain.
Start with the right Surface
As with most agility areas, you will
need to start with either a level or
slightly crowned surface (where the
middle is higher than the sides). A
crowned surface will assist in water
runoff but may be more of a challenge
to sculpt and will reduce the course
size (although you may be able to
use the sloped surfaces for crating or
other activities). Leveling might be a
small job amounting to filling in a few
holes, or a much larger project involving rented equipment and hired help.
You may also need to prepare the substrate by tilling or bringing in soil.
Irrigation systems make it much easier
to maintain a grass surface. Installation
is accomplished more easily before
60

the sod or seed is laid. Expense will
vary based on the size of the area being irrigated and the complexity of
the system. When installing sprinkler
heads, be aware of tripping hazards
for handlers and dogs. Take time to
plan exactly how you will lay out the
course(s) and investigate very flat
sprinkler heads for those that must be
in the middle of the action.
The Grass is always Greener
The type of grass you choose for your
training facility will depend on your
climate and on the amount of sun your
agility area gets, among other factors.
Unfortunately, this is not a "one size fits
all" situation.
To suit agility competitors, select hardy
grasses that aren't slippery. Agility
competitor Tracy Sklenar describes
ideal agility grass: "Healthy, medium
length grass that has good swirl for
grip. Dormant grass or super short
grass can be slippery. Also, grass with
no swirl to it (all goes one way) can be
slippery too."
There are so many varieties of grass to
choose from; how do you know what

works best in your area? Fescue mixes
are popular in some areas. There are
specialized sports turf mixes to choose
from, and many others. To find out
what might work best for your circumstances, check with local sources.
Bonnie McDonald from Sonlight Ranch
in Florida was happy with her Celebration Bermuda Turf when we first talked
to her back in 2012. It's still working out
well for her now and it provides a reasonably non-slip surface even when damp.
No grass is without challenges, though.
McDonald says that it is "susceptible to
bugs, way more than Bahia, for instance,"
and other grasses and plants tend to
creep into it.
Marquand and Rebecca Cheek of Wild
West Agility in California installed their
tall fescue/bluegrass mix in 2012 shortly
before we talked to Marq for our previous article. How is it holding up? He says,
"If I'd known that Southern California
would incur a drought from 2012 until
now, maybe our choice would have
been different. It's been a long hot summer, but the field has held up pretty well.
It's certainly not as green or lush as on
'Day 1,' but it's going on 4 1/2+ years, so
Clean run | November 16

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - November 2016