Horses can be heavy pieces of kit! With a typical weight range of 900 to 1,500 pounds (400 to 700 kg), that's a considerable load to allow for when specifying a bridleway bridge.

We specify a 60mm thickness for recycled plastic deck boards on Bison bridleway/ equestrian bridges, with the steel structural beams also specified to suit.

We recently arranged independent testing to determine the load bearing performance of the decking boards when subjected to a concentrated load representing a horse hoof loading as detailed in Clause 6.3 of the Path Rural Partnership Document titled, Path Bridges.

The load testing was carried out with 1.8mtr length recycled plastic decking boards with a grooved top surface and recycled plastic beam runner sections.

The test, measured by a calibrated load cell, confirmed that the Bison Bridleway Bridge recycled plastic products are fully compliant with the 7kN load requirement and, additionally, that they perform to a further 1.5 loading factor.

So, there you have it, the best of both; a long-life deck solution made from recycled material...that fully meets and exceeds the requirements for a bridleway bridge!