do you turn out in your arena?

diggerbez

diggerbez

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as above really? weren't allowed to on old yard but seem to be able to on new one (at the minute anyway in the snow/ice)...i never have, always thought it wrecked the surface but just wondering if i'm wrong in thinking that?
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I don't but only because of said horse being a numpty!

We aren't allowed on our soft- felt surface because its rubbish anyway and the horses really do churn it up. Loads of liveries so call "loose school" (read let them gallop around like a nutcase) and the school just isn't worth using once they've had their go.

The top school is much better, its rubber mostly and it hardly gets disturbed
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Not normally but have always been allowed to in really bad weather just for a 10-15 min run around, spose its not much different to freeschooling really
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. This has been the same on all they yards i have been on, apart from one yard where i did it anyway when the weather was truly shocking (said i was freeschooling, i stayed with him all the time
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!)
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I must admit I do - my lot have free access to paddocks and arena and the donkeys especially love rolling in the sand. I figure I would rather they all rolled in sand than mud! The arena is quite old and although perfectly good to ride in I am not particularly fussy about them doing any damage and so far it seems to be fine.
 
I used to let my liveries turn out in my arena. the rule was that the horses werent left on their own, turned out individually and only for 5 minutes at a time. So, they obviously waited until I went out and turned 3 at a time out while they went to do their mucking out. I was left with a trashed surface and smashed fencing! everyone said "well it wasnt me! I would have told you!" So they have spoilt it for everybody as I wont allow it even in the snow and ice.
 
We have a play pen so it annoys me when people turn out in arena. I hate to know what it's doing to the arena surface. At the moment no one can turn out in there anyway as a horse went straight through the gate and shattered it, injuring the poor owner.
 
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I used to let my liveries turn out in my arena. the rule was that the horses werent left on their own, turned out individually and only for 5 minutes at a time. So, they obviously waited until I went out and turned 3 at a time out while they went to do their mucking out. I was left with a trashed surface and smashed fencing! everyone said "well it wasnt me! I would have told you!" So they have spoilt it for everybody as I wont allow it even in the snow and ice.

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i think this is the issue clara. i think its fine if people are genuinely free schooling, in fact is probably better for the surface than lungeing, but when people let them hooley about and spin in the corners IME the membrane can easily get trashed....and also when 2/3 horses are in such an enclosed space the fencing gets wrecked...thats why i don't do it...
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not usually, but i am at the moment, as i can't ride or lunge the horses due to injury, and they need a good leg-stretch.
i had a gelding who used to dig up the surface, could get down to membrane/stones in about 20 secs, so i used to watch him like a hawk and only turn him out closely supervised for 5-10 mins... and yell at him the moment he started!
however, my 3 girls don't dig, they have a nice roll and a gentle hooley around but they don't go nuts (good job, as fencing is at bottom of banks, so they can fall out of arena!) so i turn 1 out for 3 1/2 hours in the morning, the others out for 3 1/2 hours in the afternoon... the first 1 is a bully, that's the only reason they're not out together. they have a separate big bit by the entrance where they can eat hay, but can't drag it onto arena, so it works really well at the moment... (crossing everything here).
 
I have a small DIY yard with seven horses, including my two. When the snow came I moved them to my back field which is triangular with shelter on all three sides; you have to go through the school to reach it. Although the school had a thick layer of snow it was level, and easy to fill the water trough from the yard. After buggering up my ankle pushing barrows of hay across the field for them I broke my own cardinal rule of no hay in school, and put the piles of hay in there for my convenience. And boy, did I regret it when I moved the horses into another field and cleaned up my school, never again!
 
Ours are allowed to be turned out indoors, its just sand. (the YO does this, and so does the guy Im seeing, I may put mine in there for a roll when she is in)
Im not sure if they are allowed to be turned out in the outdoor sand school, but they can be lunged there. They are not allowed to be lunged on the rubber school as it was really expensive and the YO doesnt want it to be ruined.
 
yep, we used to turn out in the manege if it was very icey or lots of snow.

no issues with mine digging or anything.

and SHOCK HORROR, i used to give them haylage in the manege too!!

it was my school though so no YOs to have a heart attack.
 
Jeez M, that would give me nightmares.. lol.... I think my phobia for not turning out in manage comes from being a kid and the first pony I ever rode 11.3 native used to get down and roll when it had had enough. I still wonder to this day why I ever carried on - but he was amazing pony to learn on. x
 
Yes, in the indoor -- there would be no other way for them to be turned out when it's really icy (I tried to turn Frodo out in one of the sand paddocks and it was the most stupid idea ever, it was like being on uneven cement).

We can't turn out in the outdoor arena as it doesn't have a fence
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No, and we are not allowed to loose school either, but it isn't a problem as it is very rare that the horses can't go out, even in this snow they have been out every day as we have an old unused 60 x 20 sand school that we use for bad weather turnout.
 
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as above really? weren't allowed to on old yard but seem to be able to on new one (at the minute anyway in the snow/ice)...i never have, always thought it wrecked the surface but just wondering if i'm wrong in thinking that?
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Not allowed, for that reason.
 
nope.
i think it wrecks the surface.

one exception was a pony that came down with toxic lammi and had to be on NO grass for 3 months. he went out in the menage with one of those hay bag thingies with his hay in. because it was a medical issue i had no choice.

its my own menage, so no YO issues i just dont think it does the suface any good.im lucky in that i can tunr out even in snow and ice though as paddocks are sandy soil so dont freeze in ruts and have a thick covering of grass so not rock hard.maybe if i couldnt turn out id re think.....

i can undertsand why YO's wont allow it and would never argue the toss unless it WAS a genuine medical issue.
 
Why on earth would loose horses do more damage to a decent surface than ridden horses?
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If a surface is up to people going around the same track, lungeing on the same circle and jumping on day in day out, how the hell can horses, minus the weight of a rider, going round in random directions possibly do more harm?
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Ah, fair play.

I've been on our yard about 5 years and we've always chucked horses in the arena and it still has a smashing surface. It is well maintained though.
 
Yep it is our only winter turnout. Geldings go out in the mornings 8am - 3pm mares out from 3pm to 8pm and yes they all get haylage out there as well.

If you want to ride you can at any time rule is you bring yours in and get it ready then bring in others poo pick then turn them all out again afterwards. If you ride in the evenings then it is after 8pm and you bring in the girls for the night.

The mares are at the moment we think planning a murder as they dig a hole every day but you just get a shovel and fill it in.

I have to say I rather like the fact it is so relaxed. Never had any problems with horses getting confused between working or playing in the school and YO competes at the top end of Amateur Dressage and schools her horse every day so does not seem to be doing any harm at all.
 
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