Soil Types

[low plains drifter 10,756]

Just got back from lamping, and i was thinking about the condition of the fields, people talk about how testing it is for a dog on the black land or the sandy land of the fens, well after wading through the glue like sticky clay fields of northumberland for the last five hours, and hearing my bitch having to haul herself over this terrain, i cannot imagine any soil type being any more energy sapping than what we've had to contend with this morning, anyone else got any thoughts on this ?

[Wales1234 5,561]

Worst iv run is Flint totally wrote my dogs off !

But I think of it if it's boggy for me it will for the dogs but rabbits tend to cruise across

[FUJI 17,328]

LPD didn't you know that the ground down on the Fens is the ultimate test matey? Biggest land,most stamina sapping ground in the whole of the UK? Thought we'd all been brainwashed with that drivel by the daywalkers on here lol

[low plains drifter 10,756]

Well Fuji the runs down on the fens can go on for a good few minutes, and from what i've seen on the dvd's they usually result in the dog making a catch, whereas my runs are condensed down into a much shorter time, and the dog has to get to work sharpish, and there is no light weight peat soil up here

[TOMO 26,907]

The obviouse answer to the question is all soil types and ground produce difrent hazards,,,,

 

One thing I will say is don't be fooled in to thinking that the somtimes soft tilled soil of the east of England is without problems,,,,,the worst of which is the nial bed getting the soil stuffed up it,,for want of a better expression ,,,this then can cause infection and make the area around the nial bleed,,,this problem happens a lot on winter seed fields...

 

Up on the hills where I often am,,the uneven ground and rocks,,cause difrent problems with regard to cuts and toes,, wrists ,, getting injured,,,that bloody heather,,and can have sharp bits,,and the ground around the heather plant is usually very uneven ..

 

There's always dangers ..

[NEWSBOY 306]

Never mind sludge an slop, hills or fens, hard ground is the enemy of the runners.

[low plains drifter 10,756]

The obviouse answer to the question is all soil types and ground produce difrent hazards,,,,

One thing I will say is don't be fooled in to thinking that the somtimes soft tilled soil of the east of England is without problems,,,,,the worst of which is the nial bed getting the soil stuffed up it,,for want of a better expression ,,,this then can cause infection and make the area around the nial bleed,,,this problem happens a lot on winter seed fields...

Up on the hills where I often am,,the uneven ground and rocks,,cause difrent problems with regard to cuts and toes,, wrists ,, getting injured,,,that bloody heather,,and can have sharp bits,,and the ground around the heather plant is usually very uneven ..

There's always dangers ..

I know what you mean Tomo, i get up around some heather moors myself, and it can be a hard slog, and the hidden drainage channels can be an accident waiting to happen, was thinking of the way gardeners add peat to their heavy clay to lighten it, and get the breadcrumb structure, got me thinking what would the fens be like if they had heavy clay soil, as in would it be harder going for the dogs once the heavy rains had been

[low plains drifter 10,756]

Never mind sludge an slop, hills or fens, hard ground is the enemy of the runners.

Not as much of an enemy as a disinterested owner who does'nt care what conditions they run their dogs under, years ago i would start coursing at the end of august, these years the fields are like bell metal until about the end of october/early november

[Neal 1,873]

I live in the shadow of the South Downs in an area which is mainly clay so it's, as pointed out above, cloying and energy sapping for man and beast in the winter but also baked hard like concrete in the summer.

 

And then, if I decide to go to the slightly higher altitude of the downs themselves...there's lots of chalk and flint...no wonder I catch most of my stuff in the woods!

[roybo 2,873]

The boggy land with reed and Heather can be energy sapping for man and dog,

But I also hate heavy clay can take it out of a dog and yourself walking it

[low plains drifter 10,756]

If the pH of the soil is below 5.5 my dogs can't run flat out due to the acidity of the soil hurting their pads, ffs

Ha Ha Ha, I'll let you into a little secret that'll allow you to step up a league, add half a rennie to your dogs feed for the couple of days leading up to the acid test, then you'll be on your way to Wideman status.