Arena etiquette

Caol Ila

Caol Ila

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Livery A is schooling her horse in the arena, which small, maybe 20x30 or so. A's horse is quiet and steady. Livery B wants to lunge her horse, who is a bit of a hot, nervous mess. Still, she is going to do it in a headcollar.

Should B simply go into the arena and start lunging, because everyone at the yard has an equal right to use it and no one has priority?

Should B ask A if it's ok for her to lunge? If so, is this merely a formality, kind of a facade of politeness thing, because B is going to do it anyway?

Should B clean a saddle and wait for A to finish to schooling?

Should B ask A how long she is going to be?
 
i've had nervy hot mess horses in the past and i've always waited till the other person was finished, especially for lunging. There is too much of a risk of ropes dangling etc if things go wrong. An arena that small is not a safe enough size for lunging a potentially tricky horse and having someone ride close to it.

The polite thing would be for B to wait as A was in first, or if she was in a rush timewise to politely ask when A would be finished roughly and find some other job to do in the meantime
 
I get rescues in and used to have hot enough ones in to ride, and i always made a rule in my head that if i thought my horse was going to affect the other persons riding/schooling then i'd wait till the arena was empty, or put my name down next and advise anyone else wanting to ride with me that the horse was green/spooky/bucky whatever.
 
20 x 30 is too small to lunge and ride IMO.

B should find a job to do while A is riding and lunge later. She may wish to ask A how long she intends to be in the arena for, to aid with her planning.

If B doesn't want to wait then she could always ride her horse in the arena if A is happy to share. That's how it works at our yard - people can book the school and if not booked then it's assumed that people are happy to share... within reason - our school is twice that size though.
 
In an arena that small it is an accident waiting to happen having one horse being ridden and another lunged irrespective of how calm / hot either of the horses are. B should wait until A has finished riding.
 
Nice to know there are considerate horse-people out there and it's only my yard that has the pillocks! Can I move in with you guys?
 
Caol Ila said:
Nice to know there are considerate horse-people out there and it's only my yard that has the pillocks! Can I move in with you guys?
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Sure, why not. Though it wouldn't happen anyway where I am, as we aren't allowed to lunge in the school :p
 
My favourite subject! :D

I don't think any lunging should take place, nor free schooling whilst there is a rider already in there, in a small or average sized arena. Too much can go wrong with lunge lines, creating a serious hazard. Even if the lunging horses is well behaved, what if the quiet one spooks and gets wrapped up in the line.
 
Our indoor school is a similar size and I wouldn't dream of lunging even a quiet horse if anyone else was in there - too much risk of ropes tangling around horses. I do groundwork before work in the morning to avoid taking up the school at busy times as mine is off ridden work right now.

We have enough problems with people understanding the basic rules of arena etiquette (left to left passing etc), without adding in a non ridden horse.

I tend to think its 'first come first served' unless someone has booked the school out. Politely asking how long they are going to be often hurries someone up anyway.
 
Ahh left to left, SEL... that and not walking on the track :D Only problem we have with sharing is that there are one or 2 kids who lack a bit of awareness when riding with others. I'm happy to dodge them as long as they shout if they are jumping.
 
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Caol Ila said:
Are your horses within commuting distance of Glasgow, Alaina?
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It would be a bit of a trek, but you know I work in Glasgow so travel home every day :) No individual turnout though, but lovely yard. There are a few along the M77 that look quite good if you've not had a look down this way yet. There's one that springs to mind that I am sure Gypsum would love in winter! Individual turnout paddocks with access straight back into their stable :D
 
Caol Ila said:
Nice to know there are considerate horse-people out there and it's only my yard that has the pillocks! Can I move in with you guys?
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Oh dear, I think I'm in the same boat as you. I hope the situation in your OP didn't end up badly!

I don't have an issue with one ridden/one lunged if the space is large enough & horses are ok. Some have an issue and that's fine but it's just polite to ask. If there is an issue, whoever was using the school first should get (reasonable) priority.
 
I was in a fed up mood yesterday and moaned to two other liveries that my horse is a *pain* to manage, and she is damned lucky she is nice to ride and handle. Not only does she require individual turnout, the whole set-up has to be on her terms. They seemed to think I was crazy. I said something like, "If this bloody horse didn't require individual turnout, I wouldn't even be here. I'd be at a yard with a decent sized area and good hacking."

Mood not improved when a different livery started lunging her horse after I'd already been in the school for about 15 minutes. Nothing went wrong, other than my schooling session. Horse had started off a bit lazy and I was trying to rev her up (impulsion is nice), but once we were squished to one side of the ring, no chance of getting her more forward. I walked in tiny circles, then when both me and horse were melting of boredom, eventually f** cked off on a short hack. That made the horse happy, at least, as she'd always prefer hacking over schooling!

I haven't looked at the M77 yards yet.
 
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Livery B definitely should have waited until Livery A had finished, after they had ascertained how long Livery A was going to be. The rule on my yard is that only one horse a time lunging, however ridden can have two- three horses sharing.

What do you guys think about the scenario at my yard (it is related bear with me) we have an indoor school and a school booking system in half hour slots. Nearly every day during peak times (i.e. Mornings and early evening after work) a certain number of liveries book it out for an hour for 'lunging', this is nearly always booked consecutively.

I find this quite annoying as unless you pre-book your time in the school a week in advance (which I find hard due to work / other commitments) then you just can't get in because Livery A has booked 9-10am, Livery B has booked 10-11am, Livery C has booked 11-12noon. This happens quite regularly.

So, and although I never would I really do feel like barging in with my horse during these 'lunging' sessions as I feel that although quite rightly everyone has an equal right to use the school, I do actually think ridden work should take priority over lunging.
 
argh that would drive me wild, Mahoganybay :(
I actually feel that our yard would benefit from not being able to book the school at peak times because it's so frustrating to find external hire for lessons (on site instructor) after work when you just want to get cracking... If things were different I'd suggest it where I am- is it worth a try where you are? As you say you can get a number of horses worked at the same time if they are doing ridden exercise.
 
If I was B I would have waited, asked how long A was going to be and busied myself until then. Some people do lack common sense and as you say, believe that everyone is as entitled to use the school however/ whenever.
 
The hooligan is completely unpredictable on the lunge. He's either as good as gold or he turns himself inside out and causes huge craters in the surface through boinging, bronching and leaping and then proceeds to set off so fast that he nearly falls over. Only thing I can vouch is that he will never pull away from you, he just performs these acrobatic displays on the end of the line.

However, I do not lunge him if anyone else is riding or lunging, it wouldn't be fair to inflict him on anyone. He could set even the calmest horse off and it would be too dangerous. I lunge him when the manège is free. I then go in with my shavings fork and fix the surface. Ridiculous creature.
 
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At our yard I think the rules work quite well - we have a small indoor probably a similar size to the OP's. We have a booking system but you can still ride with someone if they have booked it - up to 3 horses at a time. We try and avoid other people's lessons but as the outdoor has no lights during winter evenings everyone has to compromise a bit. You can Lunge in the indoor but riding takes priority - if you have booked to lunge and someone wants to ride you have to either wait or ride instead. Riding and Lunging are not allowed in the arena at the same time (a very sensible rule IMHO).

This works much better than anywhere else I've been before... at my last yard I found myself in a 20x60 riding squished in between two people lunging!! Not fun!
 
Mahoganybay said:
Livery B definitely should have waited until Livery A had finished, after they had ascertained how long Livery A was going to be. The rule on my yard is that only one horse a time lunging, however ridden can have two- three horses sharing.

What do you guys think about the scenario at my yard (it is related bear with me) we have an indoor school and a school booking system in half hour slots. Nearly every day during peak times (i.e. Mornings and early evening after work) a certain number of liveries book it out for an hour for 'lunging', this is nearly always booked consecutively.

I find this quite annoying as unless you pre-book your time in the school a week in advance (which I find hard due to work / other commitments) then you just can't get in because Livery A has booked 9-10am, Livery B has booked 10-11am, Livery C has booked 11-12noon. This happens quite regularly.

So, and although I never would I really do feel like barging in with my horse during these 'lunging' sessions as I feel that although quite rightly everyone has an equal right to use the school, I do actually think ridden work should take priority over lunging.
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Why should ridden work take priority over lunging?
If the school is booked in 30 minute slots then I would expect at peak times to only be able to book 30 mins, also at peak times maybe lunging should not be allowed and a maximum number of horses should be allowed in the school instead to allow more horses to be worked at peak times?
 
If I was the one riding then I wouldn't mind someone coming into the school to lunge but I know my horse won't become too stupid if the horse being lunged is having a good buck and it actually helps our dressage schooling because it gives my horse a bit of oomph.

However, if I was on a more reactive horse and livery B had the option to find another job and wait half an hour then I would prefer that they would! My horse is a bit of a lunatic to lunge so I always make sure I don't lunge her with other people around because their horses may not react as well as mine would. Tricky situation though because, for example, if there is a time limit (such as it's getting dark an there are no arena lights or hacking options) then would it be ok to insist that livery B doesn't come in to lunge horse if they can't wait until later and then their horse doesn't get exercised?
 
I always wait to lunge my youngster because he sometimes likes to perform acrobatics instead of lunging properly but with my sensible old girl I would ask the person riding if it's okay to join...but not in a school that size! If you can comfortably work up one end of the school whilst the other person is on a circle at the bottom then it's fine but in a small school it's not safe or do-able in my opinion.
 
At our yard, priority is given to riding over lunging and you can't book the school to lunge for longer than 30 minutes at peak time. The bonus is that it actually encourages people to ride their horses...
 
I would never dream of asking if I can lunge my horse whilst someone is riding in there however I have been asked if someone can ride whilst I am lunging and although I don't like it, our school is just about big enough to have an end each.
 
No groundwork at all in our schools if someone's in there riding, and whoever was in there first has priority. You can't book the schools either, everyone has to share.

Only exception is if something needs to be lunged right then, e.g. vet waiting to see it, then handler just asks politely and we all stop for 5 mins.

Common sense!
 
milliepops said:
argh that would drive me wild, Mahoganybay :(
I actually feel that our yard would benefit from not being able to book the school at peak times because it's so frustrating to find external hire for lessons (on site instructor) after work when you just want to get cracking... If things were different I'd suggest it where I am- is it worth a try where you are? As you say you can get a number of horses worked at the same time if they are doing ridden exercise.
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We are only allowed to book our school for exclusive use between 12 and 2; when this rule was first introduced we all thought it was going to be difficult but in reality it works quite well. We tend to mark down in the diary when we have a lesson, or are jumping outside the exclusive times and everyone is quite considerate of this; sometimes you will have company when having a lesson but as we have a huge arena, it's never a problem.
 
I would always want to lunge in a free arena.

I did have a nasty incident with a "famous" polo player - who came into the arena while I was lunging and started showing off on his polo pony. He decided a flat out gallop ending in a sliding stop was a good thing to do - heading straight at my boy. My horse freaked and just lost it - I have never seen him so wound up. It took me about 20 minutes to calm him down and he was on edge for the rest of the day. The polo player got told in no uncertain terms what I thought about him, although I am not sure he took it all in, as he seemed very surprised that his actions could upset another horse.

To be fair, he wasn't all that bright to start with - this was the man who thought it would be a good idea to canter a horse that had just returned to work after a fractured leg - this was on day 2 (!) of being back in work!!
 
JennBags said:
We are only allowed to book our school for exclusive use between 12 and 2; when this rule was first introduced we all thought it was going to be difficult but in reality it works quite well. We tend to mark down in the diary when we have a lesson, or are jumping outside the exclusive times and everyone is quite considerate of this; sometimes you will have company when having a lesson but as we have a huge arena, it's never a problem.
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I would love this :) I share the school where I go for lessons anyway, there are always either other clients or the riders who are based there riding at the same time so it's frustrating that the school where I pay to livery is booked out for sole use so often.

It's like being on a riding school sometimes where I am... school booked all day from 8.30-6 some days. I am just resigned to doing the most important horse of the day at 7ish before work WITHOUT FAIL because I can't rely on getting back into the school until it gets dark :( Was a soggy blustery ride this morning but at least I got Kira ridden!
 
Do people book it just to ride in on their own then, or are there continuous lessons on those days?

On our old yard (same YO though) we could only book the school after midday, and weren't allowed to jump in the morning which was really annoying, so this definitely works better for us.
 
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