Arenas commonplace in small livery yards?

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FDM

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I run a small yard (7 horses) which currently doesn’t have any schooling facilities.
I’m wondering whether arenas are commonplace in most yards, particularly small yards.
Would like to know if an arena is a top priority when choosing a livery yard and how important it is to have an indoor arena or a floodlit outdoor arena.
I couldn't build an indoor arena and I'm doubtful about get planning permission for outdoor floodlights in my location – wonder if a non-lit outdoor arena is still desirable to many people?

(am also curious how many horses can comfortably use a 20x40m arena at a time?)

Thanks!!
 
It's not a must have for me, but whenever i see people asking for yards they all seem to want one.

My friend had a school built but couldn't get planning for flood lights initially. She left it a year and re-applied and got it with certain restrictions - she could only have 4, they had to be below X height and be off by 8:30pm. Fair deal i guess! Enough for schooling and lunging in a dark eve
 
Livery yard that I was previously on couldn't get planning for flood lights but had security lights overlooking the arena, which she managed to get away with! I couldn't cope without an arena.
 
I would never livery anywhere with no arena. I won't even keep my big horse at home cause I've no arena despite having stables and land.

As for how many - I've ridden with three horses and it was a bit of a squeeze noone could really ride properly but with only 7 there should be free times for those who want it.
 
FDM said:
I run a small yard (7 horses) which currently doesn’t have any schooling facilities.
I’m wondering whether arenas are commonplace in most yards, particularly small yards.
Would like to know if an arena is a top priority when choosing a livery yard and how important it is to have an indoor arena or a floodlit outdoor arena.
I couldn't build an indoor arena and I'm doubtful about get planning permission for outdoor floodlights in my location – wonder if a non-lit outdoor arena is still desirable to many people?

(am also curious how many horses can comfortably use a 20x40m arena at a time?)

Thanks!!
Click to expand...

I've got a large yard with a large unlit outdoor arena as I too have problems in getting planning for lights. 50% of my customers would have no need of riding in the dark due to their work arrangements/ schoolchildren/ childcare arrangements so are able to use the arena during the daytime all year round. 30% of my customers don't use the arena as they are mainly happy hackers or the horses are retired/ pets and the remaining 20% would find lights beneficial so use the outdoor arena a lot during the summer and when they can during the light in the winter. I am lucky though that I also have a smaller indoor school that these customers use in the winter nights to work their horses. I would say that quality of hacking and schooling facilities are generally of equal importance. I allow 5 horses to use my 60m x 40m outdoor arena at any one time and 2 in the indoor school.
 
There are 11 of us on our yard, including the YOs old boy and another 2 retired horses so 8 really. We have a 20x40. It wasn't a massive consideration for me when I moved there (with my old semi-retired boy). I just went there are as it was the nicest, best managed yard I could afford and I liked that it promised 24hr turnout in summer and every day in winter (13 years on we still get this).

Having said that, now I have it and two horses in proper work I wouldn't want to give it up. I rarely have to share it as I work much later than most of the others so they're long gone by the time I get there. I imagine with 7 you'll find they won't be fighting over it, especially if they were there before it went in!

When we have riding club events at one venue the warm up is a 20x40 and we don't allow more than 6 in at any one time. That makes it busy but manageable with proper show etiquette. I'd say for proper schooling you wouldn't want more than 4 in there - and even then only if they're all responsible clued up riders.

ETA - A friend doesn't have lights on her arena due to planning and a lack of mains electricity. She uses 8 of these which she attaches to the fence. It's not perfect but they give enough light for her to see roughly what she's doing.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/MUMENG-Portable-Security-Floodlight-Waterproof/dp/B016U6KWNC
 
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The only reason I would go to livery would be for an arena. If you've got decent off road hacking and your stables are full, then I don't think it would be worth the considerable investment however. There are plenty of people who would value other things more highly.
 
I own a livery similar to you, 8 horses DIY - no arena but fantastic hacking and grazing. Many yards in the local area are overhorsed. Tbh it depends on the individual owners and what they think is best for their horse, i've never been short of liveries and enquiries despite my lack of arena. I manage to hire schools or find a bit of flat land to school on, other liveries are happy hackers and probably wouldn't even use a school if I had one put in!

Personally I would rather have my horse on a yard with good turnout and no arena, than an arena and bad/restricted turnout as he's going to ideally spend 23 hours a day in the field but only go in the arena 2 hours a week.

With the yards by me it's pretty much that "you can only pick two"
*Arena
*Good Turnout
*Affordable
 
I wouldn't move onto a yard without a ménage/arena and it would have to have flood lights because like most the horsey population I work full time, although I am normally on the yard for 4.30pm! Where I am now we use the floodlights once the nights draw in and sometimes yards charge for ménage use by installing a coin meter. At my current yard it is £1 for 30 mins.

We are able to use the floodlights up to 7.30pm and then they have to be off so we don't annoy the neighbours. There is only one house that overlooks the menage so its not too bad. Another yard I visited were not allowed to install floodlights as they could not get planning permission - they appeared to be a long way from houses.

Another yard I looked at when I moved yards promised a ménage would be built. I took them at their word and fortunately they came up with a lovely ménage. I only left the yard because I'd lost two horses there and it had too many sad memories for me to stay.
 
I wouldn't be on a yard without a school.
When I got my first pony years ago, I did keep her at a grass livery yard which only cost me £60 for a stable and the field, but no facilities meant she got very fat and I couldn't ride much. It was a small yard with about 8 horses max.
It's a must for me and my current horse, outdoors especially for her, as I work full time, in winter I wouldn't be able to ride during the week when it's dark if I didn't have a school
 
I have a small yard of 8 boxes but I keep it down to a maximum of five horses including my own now as they are all part livery and I do them myself. I have a 60m x 25m arena which is essential here because our hacking is not great. When I have a space I always tell people on the phone that the facilities are great but the hacking isn't. That puts off around 50% of people. The rest think the arena is their top priority. So I would say that if you have great hacking, not to worry too much about having an arena, but if you don't, then it's pretty essential.
 
If I was not working full time and the hacking was excellent and there was a grass area to school having an arena would not be an issue.

However I do work full time and if I want to ride in the evening after work I would need a floodlit arena as I don't normally get to the yard until 7pm. I would also use the arena if the weather was not good enough to hack out at the weekend in eg the other evening there was a bit of thunder and I would not have wanted to be out in the thunder hacking but was ok to ride in the arena. Indoor arena not important at all. Most yards do not have indoor arenas.

One of my friends has a horse that cannot be ridden in an arena due to an injury and so a yard with good hacking and no arena would not be an issue for her so there will be people out there who can be more flexible and if the price is reasonable and the hacking and turnout is nice then having an arena is not a priority.
 
applecart14 said:
I wouldn't move onto a yard without a ménage/arena and it would have to have flood lights because like most the horsey population I work full time, although I am normally on the yard for 4.30pm! Where I am now we use the floodlights once the nights draw in and sometimes yards charge for ménage use by installing a coin meter. At my current yard it is £1 for 30 mins.
Click to expand...

Ouch, when I was a yard that charged for lights, it was a £1 an hour. Which still hurt, as it winter I had two horses, and rode under lights 5-10 times a week. When I changed jobs, I was able to cut out the riding under lights to practically nil.

Its not so bad if various liveries share the lights charge and ride in groups.
 
im on a livery yard, that for many years didnt have a school and it was fine. They then fitted one and i love it and i doubt could be without now. it doesnt have lights, however ive ridden (and jumped) in it many times in the dark and never had an issue. flyer can see perfectly well and im sure the corners of the school havent moved!
 
I always used to be on yards with an arena and was never really using them unless I had a lesson with my instructor. Now I've moved to an arena with a grass school I really miss having a proper arena.

My last yard had an arena a similar size and even with two in it was hard to do your own thing but everyone managed. The only rule was that if you had a lesson with an instructor you were allowed the school to yourself.
 
I've been at yards in the past with no school (only went to them because they were 'supposed' to be having a school put in which never appeared).

Went through entire winters only being able to ride at weekends which meant when the sponsored ride season started my pony was never fit enough. Therefore a floodlit arena is a must for me as I work and can't get to the yard until after dark in the winter because like so many others I have to work to be able to afford to have a horse.

No matter how great the hacking you can't use it in the dark. Although, good hacking is also important for me as I love going out and about and having a good blast :)
 
My daughter and I keep our horses at a yard without an arena - yes daughter, who has a youngster, would love one but we each only pay £55 a month for a big stable and good grazing. However, we did have a big arena at our last yard but found we couldn't use it in the winter (the time we would have really wanted to) because it was mostly sand and it froze in ruts.

I think it all boils down to cost. I'm a happy hacker so it doesn't bother me!
 
It's an absolute essential for me. In fact I'd go as far as to say that now I wouldn't even livery at a yard with a 20x40 school - I prefer yards with bigger schools where you can easily set up a proper course of jumps. Has to be floodlit too. I have a competition horse and work full time so in the winter without a floodlit school I wouldn't be able to ride at all.
 
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