CARE OF CLAY & OTHER PIT MATERIAL
Each properly constructed court should have suitable, well maintained fill material in the "pit" area surrounding the stakes. Actually, any loose or putty-like material will suffice but the most effective material is common blue clay (aka blue shale, soap stone, etc.). Show
CLAY: Clay dries to unusual hardness, a condition certainly not conducive to good horseshoe pitching, but when kept moist and putty-like, it provides excellent service. Preparation of clay is learned by experience. Too much water will produce "slick", a liquid solution which serves no purpose and keep the clay unmanageable. Too little water allows the clay to crack like a cookie or even harden. When suitably moist, with no trace of slick or cracking the clay will be found to be pliable and soft. Watering dry clay pits should be done by loosening the clay to 4 or 6 inch depth by shovel and adding water (leave clay around the stake for a couple inches to prevent "slick" from building up..."slick" tends to "pump" up around the stake after the clay has been watered excessively). Watering clay pits after they have been used takes only a very light sprinkling of the top surface and then shaving only the top 2 or 3 inches of clay with a shovel and turning it over, thus allowing the water to work on the underside of the clay while the next game uses the freshly turned surface of clay. This kind of maintenance after each game or practice game will keep the clay in excellent condition throughout an entire tournament. When courts are not in use, a light sprinkling and a cover to prevent evaporation and sunlight will keep the court ready for the next time it is used. Tournament directors should have shovels and sprinkler cans available and should tell pitchers if they are expected to maintain courts themselves. SAND: Moist sand will help reduce the amount of sand knocked out of the pit by horseshoes, but under any conditions, sand filled pits usually need to be dressed nearly every inning by kicking and leveling sand with the foot, after shoes have been retrieved. Tournament directors should ask pitchers to dress their courts accordingly. Pitchers who expect to pitch in clay as well as sand during the year should be forewarned that pitches which land short of the stake and slide on for a ringer in a sand pit will not slide on clay and will remain a short shoe...a bad habit to watch out for. WHERE TO FIND GOOD CLAY: This varies in every locality....in much of the U.S.A. good ‘blue’ clay seems to ‘grow wild’. In some areas there are local clays equally as good as ‘blue’ clay...some may even say better? Blue Clay is also known as blue shale and soapstone in some areas. The best characteristic of blue clay is that it does not build up on the horseshoe like some red clays, yet it does not leave a soapy, slippery feel (unless of course you are pitching in ‘slick’ (clay with heavy water mixture that causes thick, semi-liquid called slick). Good places to find blue clay is in excavations such as rock quarries, strip mines, building excavations, roadway cuts in hillsides, refuse dump earth excavations, etc. It may be seen along roadway cuts or in piles of strip mining overburden. It may have rock hard ‘shale’ with it which sometimes breaks down into good clay but it is usually cast aside in favor of solid-free clay. If your state does not have any blue clay (ask park departments where they get clay for tennis courts, ask local pottery and brick factories where they get clay) you may need to get it by the truck load from out of state. sources OUTSTANDING BLUE CLAY FOR HORSESHOE PITS AS A KENTUCKY BASED STONE PRODUCER,WE SELL OUR BLUE CLAY IN THE UNITED STATES. WONDERFUL COLOR, TEXTURE, DOES NOT STICK TO SHOE AND IS VERY WORKABLE. 1 800 272 0441 ASK FOR LISA OR BRUCE OR SEND EMAIL INQUIRIES TO PARTAC PEAT CORPORATION Grand Ledge Public Services - City of Grand Ledge Klawog
Acres Edge is your local landscape supply for: Beige Ball Field Mix. Our clay is widely used to create Horse Shoe Pitching Pits & Bocce Ball Courts. This clay is found to have the desired consistency and is easy to maintain. We carry a wide range of landscape & hardscape products, materials & supplies to suit all your landscape and hardscape needs. Our experienced staff is available to assist you in product selection. Purchasing our Ball Field Mix by the cubic yard saves time and money over bagged products. You can use our Yardage Calculator to the right to see just how much Ball Field Mix to order. Click on thumbnail for larger view Beige Ball Field MixItem#
131  Mixture of sand, silt and clay with no stone, suitable for ball field infields, beige in color. What kind of clay is used for horseshoe pits?Our horseshoe pit clay is the pugged and de-aired moist clay that must be purged from the pugmill when changing to a different clay body. It can be used for horseshoe pits and bocce courts. It can also be used in plaster mold making, taxidermy and other non-fired projects.
How much clay do you need for a horseshoe pit?To fill a standard size horseshoe pit that is 4′ by 3′ and 6 inches deep requires one load, and to make a full-court with two pits will take 1200 pounds. The standard freight cost to ship an order of this clay is another $115 (this is not a fixed cost, it can go higher depending on your location.)
What is the best material to use in a horseshoe pit?Each properly constructed court should have suitable, well maintained fill material in the "pit" area surrounding the stakes. Actually, any loose or putty-like material will suffice but the most effective material is common blue clay (aka blue shale, soap stone, etc.). Another common material is sand.
What do you fill horseshoe pits with?Fill each pit with play sand. Play sand is “cleaner” than regular sand, because it has been sifted and washed and is not as dusty or dirty as construction sand. This will help minimize dust and keep the sand inside the pits. Fill each pit at least halfway to the top with sand.
What type of sand do you use for horseshoes?Pour and Level the Sand
We'll use sand in this pit since it's easy to get and maintain. Pour five bags of play sand into the pit area and smooth it with a shovel or a board. This should make the sand about 2 inch deep all over the pit.
How deep should horseshoe pit sand be?Sand, sawdust, and loose soil are more commonly used. The purpose of the filler is to keep the shoes from bouncing excessively, so any material that accomplishes this can be used. Minimum depth of the substance is 4 inches but 8 inches is recommended.
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Where to buy clay for horseshoe pits
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