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The Problem...
Competition and training places extraordinary demands on your horse's
respiratory system. Insufficient oxygen is a controllable factor limiting
performance. It can undermine performance longevity and limit your horse's true
athletic potential, not to mention the unhealthy and dangerous impact that dust
has on human health and well-being. Dust also causes housekeeping problems and
consumes time.
The Answer...
Arena Rx® is the revolutionary new dust control agent which
eliminates human related health risks and enables equine athletes to attain peak
health and performance by eliminating airborne dust. Arena Rx® is designed
specifically for use in horse arenas, tracks, round pens, walkers, stable aisle
ways and other areas where horses train, work, exercise and perform. Arena Rx®
is made from a patented process and is a safe, colorless, odorless,
biodegradable, highly refined, synthetic, organic fluid, proven to be non-toxic
to humans, animals, marine life and plants. Arena Rx® can be used both indoors
and outdoors and does not freeze in cold weather climates. Your arena is able to
be used immediately after application.
How it Works...
Arena Rx® coats and loads every individual footing particle
through a process of adsorption and absorption. The net result is footing that
doesn’t stick together, compact and form “globs”. The initial application is
designed to penetrate and treat all footing material. Subsequent light
maintenance applications are required when the footing begins to break down or
if new material is added. Because Arena Rx® has an accumulative effect on arena
footing materials, it’s easy to maintain control levels with the light
maintenance applications.
The Health &
Performance Factors...
Athletic performance places
extra demands on your horse’s respiratory system. Insufficient amounts of oxygen
may be the most important factor limiting equine performance. Also, heavy
burdens of dust can decrease the ability of cells to fight infectious agents
such as bacteria by overloading the lung’s primary defense mechanisms. A horse
in a dusty environment will therefore be more prone to respiratory caused
performance problems and infection than a horse in a cleaner environment.
Proactively controlling dust to maintain peak performance and health is a
priority today in both equine and human medicine.
Watering, the most common dust control method, provides only temporary
control and worse, it works to create dust. Watering also needs to be done
continually in order to keep arena dust under control. Whenever the footing
dries out, the dust typically is worse than it was originally.
A Clean Air
Policy...
A pro-active approach to airborne dust addresses immediate
health issues to you, your client’s, boarder’s, everyone’s horses, and your
neighbors. It is increasingly difficult to overlook what it must be like when a
continual wall of dust invades a neighbor’s home. Arena Rx® produces a
healthier, cleaner, safer environment all around. A “good neighbor” health
policy goes a long way towards keeping clients, boarders and neighbors happy.
What’s It Worth
To You?...
Horses require 3000% more oxygen while training and
competing than while at rest. When you compare the cost, there’s no question
Arena Rx® is far more cost efficient in the long run. By being pro-active, your
horse will maintain his health and enjoy peak performance as well. Just how
valuable is a dust free arena to you?
The Arena Rx
Tradition...
Since 1975, we have been a leader in quality dust control
research, innovations and solutions. Our staff and network of experienced dust
control and application consultants have an abundance of first hand knowledge in
the equestrian industry. We design an application program “tailor-made” to your
specific footing. We offer complete footing analysis to determine the ideal
solution to your dust control needs.
Turn Key
Services...
Complete “Turn-Key” delivery and application is available
in the Mid-Atlantic and can be applied by experienced dust control and
application consultants. |
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What is Arena Rx®?
Arena Rx® is a synthetic organic dust control
fluid produced by a patented HT purity process. Arena Rx® is a non-toxic
material, safe for horse and human.
Is Arena Rx® proven to be environmentally safe and safe for horses and
humans?
YES --- Arena Rx® is a safe, colorless, odorless, highly refined
fluid. When used as directed, Arena Rx® has no adverse health effects on horses,
animals, and humans. Beyond normal hygiene, no special precautions are required.
Arena Rx® is not a controlled substance under OSHA or WHMIS and has no exposure
limits. Extensive acute and chronic toxicity testing data conclusively shows
that Arena Rx® does not induce a toxic reaction when it is exposed to skin, eyes
or lungs and does not pose a mutagenicity hazard. Arena Rx® is also
biodegradable. Rigorous quality assurance control at every stage of the
manufacturing process ensures the consistency of Arena Rx®.
How do I apply Arena Rx®?
Arena Rx® is easy to apply. There is no
mixing required. It is easily sprayed onto the footing using your own or locally
rented fertilizer sprayer. In fact, any spray system, which will spray water,
with the exception of a sprinkler, will spray Arena Rx®. Clean up is easily
accomplished with soap and water. The volume of Arena Rx® to be applied is
divided into two increments. The first half of the product is sprayed onto the
footing surface. We recommend that that be gently harrowed into the footing.
Then the second increment of Arena Rx® is applied to the footing surface. It is
recommended that this be gently harrowed into the surface.
How long does Arena Rx® last?
ArenaRx® permanently loads footing
particles through processes of adsorption and absorption but there exist many
variables that influence product effectiveness and longevity. For one, there is
a significant number of aggregate and footing types, along with other chemical
and mechanical variables such as material strength, permeability, particle size
distribution, footing depth, climate, arena maintenance and amount and type of
riding. We are currently realizing initial applications on varying footings
lasting between 6-14 months before a light maintenance application is required.
These light maintenance applications are required if new untreated footing is
added or when footing material breaks down into smaller particles requiring
additional Arena Rx® to treat the increased surface area of the smaller
particles.
What determines how much Arena Rx® I will need?
Because Arena Rx®
is designed to impregnate and/or coat every particle of footing, the volume of
Arena Rx® needed is determined by the type of footing material and a
theoretically calculated count of all of the particles in the footing. If you
will refer to the "footings story" contained in our Articles and
News section, look at the difference in materials and sizes that are typically
found in footing, from very coarse to very fine. We calculate the percent of
each of these different sizes in the footing and determine the theoretical
number of total particles to be treated. We then apply our formula to that total
number of particles to determine the volume of Arena Rx® needed. In addition to
the sizing and/or number of particles, the other factor is the porosity or
absorbency of the footing material. Degraded organic matter is more absorbent
than coarse washed sand for instance. This is why we recommend a footing
analysis be conducted to aid us in our recommendation.
What does particle size have to do with footing?
Dust is that
portion of footing that is fine or super fine particles. To control these fine
and super fine particles we have to estimate how many particles are in the
footing.
As footing degrades, the particle count grows exponentially
and increases the volume of Arena Rx® that we recommend.
To demonstrate how
many particles may be in an arena, consider the following:
In an arena 200’ x
100’ x 3” depth, if every particle were 1/8” in size, these would be
4,690,000,000 particles (4.69 Billion) if every particles were .0029” (-200
mesh) there would be 376,000,000,000 (376,000 billion) particles. The number is
less important than the dramatic relative difference.
Why do you recommend harrowing the footing?
We recommend harrowing
the footing either daily, weekly or periodically, because the activity occurring
at the surface of the footing results in further pulverization or degrading of
the footing material, creating smaller particles, which becomes potential dust.
Harrowing mixes the fine in with the larger coarser materials in the footing and
they agglomerate with the coarser particles. In addition, over time, Arena Rx®
will tend to migrate deeper into the footing and by harrowing and bringing the
bottom section to the surface, and blending the footing materials, we are
recycling the Arena Rx® that is in the footing at the lower level in addition to
attaching the microfine to coarser material.
I do not have a harrow but use a link fence type drag. Is this okay to use
rather than a harrow?
A drag only effects the surface and does not turn
and blend the footing to its full depth. Because of this a drag does not replace
a harrow nor does it accomplish what is needed. In fact, since a drag is only
causing activity at the surface where new pulverized fine are, it can create
dust. How much Arena Rx® will be needed for a maintenance application and how
often will maintenance applications need to be made?
Maintenance
applications are necessitated by the continual process of pulverization of
footing and the creation of additional microfine, which become the source of
dust. All of the Arena Rx® previously applied remains in the footing, but
because the number of particles are increasing; there is a need for additional
Arena Rx. We recommend that you consider having one or two barrels of Arena Rx®
on hand, so that in the extremely high traffic areas, for instance at the
entrance into the arena, you are able to do maintenance applications with a
3-gallon hand sprayer. The maintenance application for the whole arena will
depend on the amount of activity and the footing quality. Generally a
maintenance application will be needed within six (6) to nine (9) months of the
initial application and the maintenance application can be anywhere from 1/4 to
1/3 of the amount of the initial application. On arenas with high quality new
footing, a maintenance application may not be needed for eight (8) and fourteen
(14) months. On a good, coarse sand footing, a maintenance application may not
be needed for twelve (12) months. On an arena with a high percentage of
microfines and/or organic matter, a maintenance application may be needed within
the first six (6) to eight (8) months.
What should I do if I find that my footing is badly degraded?
When
we find footing that is badly degraded with an extremely high percent of fine
and a lot of organic matters, we often recommend that the footing be amended by
the addition of 50 percent washed coarse sand before use of ArenaRX. In certain
instances we may even have to recommend that the most economical and realistic
approach for the arena is to replace 100 percent of the footing. As part of our
footing analysis, we will recommend such actions, if we deem it in your best
interest.
Do you recommend rubber?
No, we do not recommend rubber generally.
The reason for this is that we see so many different types of rubber used and
which all act quite differently in footing and create their own set of
unexpected problems, particularly associated with controlling dust. We would
suggest that if an Arena Rx® customer is anticipating adding rubber, a sample of
the rubber to be added be sent to us for our comments and recommendations
regarding on how it will affect the footing dust using Arena Rx®. In this way
unexpected and unsolvable problems can be eliminated. The range of items that
are being shredded and used as rubber footing is so wide and so diverse, that we
urge caution in using many of these materials.
I am thinking of adding rubber to my footing, when should I do it if I am
going to use Arena Rx®?
Our recommendation is to apply the Arena Rx® to
the footing and allow it to mature in the footing for a period for at least two
(2) weeks. The Arena Rx® migrates in and through the footing particles and coats
and impregnates each particle of footing. We do not recommend adding rubber to
footing that has been treated with Arena Rx® until this process of maturation is
complete. How does Arena Rx® work?
Arena Rx® is applied and harrowed
into the footing and given approximately two (2) weeks to coat and impregnate
every footing particle. However, you are able to use the arena immediately. As
the footing is conditioned with Arena Rx®, you will notice that the dark, almost
wet look that existed immediately upon application will, over a period of week
change to a lighter, dryer look. It is in this process of visible change that
you know the Arena Rx® is working its way through and into all of the particles.
The Arena Rx approach to controlling dust is consistent with sound footing
principles. The footing remains completely free and is able to be kicked into
the air with each stride of the horse, and as the footing particles become
airborne, by design they fall back to the arena floor and remain within the
footing rather than blowing or drifting as dust.
Will I still need to water my arena?
NO --- Arena Rx® eliminates
the need to use water.
Will Arena Rx® freeze in my footing during cold, winter weather?
No
--- Arena Rx® will not freeze even at -40 degrees F. Therefore it is ideal in
cold climates where there exists concerns of temperatures affecting the ability
to have dust control.
Will Arena Rx® change the appearance of my footing?
Arena Rx® will
make the color of the footing material a richer color and footing conditioned
with Arena Rx® can be distinguished from untreated footing.
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