Arenas - how small can you go?

[Petrie]

and still be able to work them properly.

Just trying to work out if we have enough space for a school at home, without eating into our grazing too much, which is minimal.

Would be nice to be able to get a jump or two in it, but really just want enough space to work them on the flat.

 

[spaniel]

If you want to jump then in all honesty 20 x 40 really is about the smallest you can get away with. In an ideal world jumping arenas need to be bigger than that unless you have small ponies. Anything more than a couple of jumps and the 20 x 40 on a big horse is just too tight.

 

[bettens]

We have a surface which is 13m x 23m and can do a full work (all three paces/circles/serpentines/lateral work) out in it on a 16.2 - he is well trained and well balanced - BUT we have young/really novice horses at 16hh working on it to with few problems. The only drawback is for a bigger canter and extended work. We do loose jumping on it up to 3 ft 10, and you can just about manage a ridden jump one per side - but not really useful for jumping.

Advantage - low cost for surface compared to the larger arenas. But go as big as you can would be my advise if it your only work surface.

 

[Petrie]

StPrianstud, thanks, that's very useful. As I said above, I'm more concerned that I can work them properly on the flat on it as I will box up elsewhere for proper jumping.

I will go as big as I can in the space we have, but it's good to know that one as small as yours is still useful.

 

[Santa_Claus]

we have a 15m by 30m indoor. As with StPiran stud you can do the essentials but are limited. On young horses tend not to canter as they just can't open up their stride because they are constantly faced with a wall, and do this for too long and its very hard to open them back out again.

On Dan I could have three jumps (one each side at E & B and one on diagonal in centre) which split the school in half and left me with small gap to get through. Dan could jump these as a course as he was sufficiently balanced but for a youngster it was only a max of one each side or even just one on its own.

 

[*hic*]

Thanks for this - it's useful because I'm currently in "earnest discussions"

with OH about whether a 35m x 17m is a useable size! If we did that it would mean NOT taking up any of our very limited "home" grazing but if we go full size it has to be in a diferent location and we ruin a perfectly good paddock!

It seems to be that smaller is ok with care.

 

[harrihjc]

our school is about 7m x 15m, and my horse is 15.1hh and growing. Previous owner had a 16.2hh! I can do all 3 paces, circles, canter figure of 8s and a jump or 2 in there, but the sand is about 9 inches deep, so we've only attempted up to 4ft. It's far too small, we want to get it extended but can't get permission

I'd kill for a 35 x17m arena!

 

[the watcher]

I know that many classically trained Spanish horses work in quite a small arena, a square version of a round pen (can't remember the name, sorry), mostly for lunging and loose schooling..however this would not work for jumping. For jumping specifically you could construct a jumping lane which would take up very little space if that is a priority for you