I had a 40sqm concrete pad poured yesterday… Anyone know how long before I can walk on it? and more specifically.. how long before I can let a BIG horse walk on it??

Additionally.. When I do let the horse on it.. Would it be sensible to throw some woodshavings or sand etc on the concrete to temporarily protect it from the great oafs feet?

That is a question for whoever supplied the pour, normal stuff takes several days but in our work we get stuff that hardens pretty much overnight. (I am not a civil engineer)

how long before I can let a BIG horse walk on it??

Wait until it’s stable. 😉

a couple of days but get him to take his shoes off first

24hrs for 80% strength then 28 days fully set. Depends on type/mix assuming its compacted and reinforced.

I’d only tentatively tiptoe across it next day. The horse I’d leave for a few days, have you seen the mess they can make of a bridleway?

How did you resist writing your name in it?

Bet a cat walked across it before it set too

Depends on the strength and additives. Concrete has certainly come on in the 40 years since I was last involved in seeing it poured on site. It used to be covered in hessian and regularly sprayed with water for a day or two to prevent cracking. Watching a site over the road from our office this week they did a big pile cap pour and the next morning were walking around on it setting up formwork for the next lift.

Wouldn’t you normally put a shed load of straw down anyway to make it more comfy?
Do horses only ever stand?
Genuine question.
I am not an equine expert!

The weight of the horse is unlikely to break a slab poured on the ground even the day after, but I’d expect horseshoes to mark the surface in the first week at least.

If you draw a cock and balls in it with a stick it’s too soft, if the horse and draw a cock and balls in it with a stick it’s still too soft but you’d have a moderately amazing horse

We were told 3 days before walking on it (I think more to save potential blemishes) and then a month before building on it.

I wouldn’t let a horse on for a while

If it does, hoof it in the slats

You can case harden it by soaking it in a urea bath. Just cover the surface in stale urine and let it soak all afternoon. The nitrogen atoms from the urine will be absorbed into the crystal matrix and form a hard surface. If you can’t source enough urine, guano is a perfectly acceptable substitute.

That makes it sound like you should let the horses on ASAP.

You can buy urea easily – AdBlue, £300 for 1000 litres

Give it till Monday, what straight was the concrete? Should be on the batch note / delivery ticket

I think you have the sequence wrong here. Horses head in bed. Then new patio.
The horse should never encounter the patio.

Urea can actually cause the surface of the concrete to scale off, not a good idea to soak a slab in it.

You can case harden it by soaking it in a urea bath. Just cover the surface in stale urine and let it soak all afternoon. The nitrogen atoms from the urine will be absorbed into the crystal matrix and form a hard surface. If you can’t source enough urine, guano is a perfectly acceptable substitute.

This is complete nonsense, there is no such thing as case hardening concrete. You can cure it by covering it in damp hessian (as mentioned by slowoldman) or using a spray applied curing membrane. You can treat dusting concrete with Lithurin (spelling similar to urine, but completely different chemical).

Adding urine or guano will have no benefit, somebody is having a laugh 😆

If you don’t believe me ask The Concrete Society http://www.concrete.org.uk/contact-us.asp