Etiquette When Sharing An Indoor School

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Mithras

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OK, I admit I'm a showjumper and I often school mainly only in walk and canter, but my horse is very well balanced and responsive, and can canter at walking speed and has very precise steering.

But I have a feeling that when I share the not overly large indoor school with less "accustomed" riders, I annoy them by cantering. There was one tonight who took to halting her horse and patting him as if to comfort him every time I passed. Although I'm not sure if she was even aware of the left shoulder to left shoulder rule. Actually the horse didn't seem that bothered, and I was giving him more room than I would when say warming up before a jumping class with other showjumpers. There were two in tonight and I felt they stuck to walk when I was cantering which was a bit excessive as it was perfectly possible for us all to do our own thing.

So I feel guilty for doing my normal schooling session now. Like I should have stuck to trot. But I have so much control in canter I don't see the point. My yard has a lot of non-competitve riders but am I in the wrong in any way? I get the impression some of these ladies are watching me to find something to criticise me about, while I just get on with my riding and competing and don't have time to be watching other people!
 
No I think you are in the right. The rules are left to left and keep off the track if you are in walk. Those are the rules at our yard. Stick to your schooling routine and don't worry about it, you are perfectly within your right to ride in whatever pace you please if you have control. I wouldn't even think twice about cantering if there was someone else in the arena.
 
It's a tricky one. Some horses do get upset at having cantering horses pass them *no matter how slow*. Different people would feel differently.

can you change yards to somewhere more competitive? Or can you book the school for an hour for yourself?

Don't worry too much, have a word with these other liveries and find out if it is upsetting them. they'll appreciate the opportunity to say how they feel and it may help matters. Perhaps you can work something out so that you school at a certain time or only with certain other horses?

But definately speak up and ask if it's upsetting their horses. if you keep schtum they might think you're arrogant and don't care, at least by asking you are showing that you do care and that you appreciate that they have to use the school too. It'll clear any air and you can all compromise if there is a problem.
 
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. I wouldn't even think twice about cantering if there was someone else in the arena.

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sooo, if there was a young horse being schooled you would happily canter right past it, no matter how upset it got?

What about a child riding?
 
Well you sound as if you have a heck of a lot more control than a lot of people in canter (including me!) so I don't see what their problem is! Carry on, I assume you all pay livery so all have a right to use the school. If they don't want to be in there as they have a problem, then it's their problem and they should leave the school, not you! As long as you are in control, which you sound to be perfectly capable of, then don't feel guilty, they can learn to share!
 
i'd try not to worry. i certainly don't think u were in the wrong. been a good few years since i've had use of an arena, but we always stuck to the left to left rule, and if our horses were bothered by some1 doing just some cantering school work then we'd take our horses out. i could see their point if u were cantering around uncontrollably or zooming past their horses at close proximity. if we had someone who needed room we'd work on the inside track or just halt our horses in the middle till they had finished. (i always liked to teach horses to stand nicely and wait anyway). and as u said not like her horse bothered. i'm sure if he had heated up by what u were doing u would have worked at a slower pace.
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sooo, if there was a young horse being schooled you would happily canter right past it, no matter how upset it got?

What about a child riding?

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Jeez, that was uncalled for! some people can read something into nothing
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Obviously if there was someone on a young horse or a child or someone having problems I would be sympathetic to it and stay away or ask them if it was ok. I meant in a normal situation at my yard if there were others riding I would have no problems riding past someone in canter as long as I was sticking to the rules (left to left) obviously I wouldn't ride full pelt past someone whooping and yelling ye haa! I've been riding and competing long enough to know how to behave!
 
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sooo, if there was a young horse being schooled you would happily canter right past it, no matter how upset it got?

What about a child riding?

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Jeez, that was uncalled for! some people can read something into nothing
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Obviously if there was someone on a young horse or a child or someone having problems I would be sympathetic to it and stay away or ask them if it was ok. I meant in a normal situation at my yard if there were others riding I would have no problems riding past someone in canter as long as I was sticking to the rules (left to left) obviously I wouldn't ride full pelt past someone whooping and yelling ye haa! I've been riding and competing long enough to know how to behave!

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sorry I didnt mean that in a nasty way. What I was asking was if you were at a yard with less experienced riders as OP said, would you change the way you schooled? If you were riding with others and their horse got upset ,who, (in your opinion) should leave?
I am just interested as to different opinions.

* pictures katiejaye carrering round whooping cowboy style *
 
I canter in the school all the time, even if there are novices (children or adults) riding. I'm quite competent enough to give them a wide berth and I know all the horses well enough anyway to know that even if I rode by very closely they wouldn't be bothered.
At my yard us SJers are put in far greater peril by beginners/novices careering/plodding/wobbling across the approach to jumps, barging into us, etc etc than the other way round. I often have to ask people not to ride up Antifaz's arse as he doesn't like it. Someone actually ran straight into me once sending the Ginger One on a bucking/plunging frenzy!
 
Now, I've never been o a 'big' yard. Certainally none with an indoor school or menage big enough for people to share. I would have assumed that there uld be different times for different levels of rider. Being of the 'wobbly, careering' group I wold feel terrible if I got in anyone's way whilst they were trying to do something.
 
LOL! You'd think wouldn't you?? Ours is big enough for 4 people to work properly together. I just don't understand how they can see you heading for a fence/combination with your instructor standing next to it, and just plod in front of you.... How can they not realise they're in the way?? BOF has to keep telling them to stick to the sides, and even then they don't have enough control to stay there. Have to say the yard horses are absolute SAINTS!
 
We stick to the left to left rule but everyone at my yard seems to be able to work well enough together. If there is 2 of us we will tend to stick to an end for canter work, nothing is set in stone that just seem to be what happens
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I got my TB at 3 1/2 so was pretty much unbroken. I just used to wander around the inside track out the way to get him use to working with other...he has to do it at a show so why not at home. If he ever did get upset about someone else doing faster work then I use to just halt him in the middle make a big fuss and take him out the way.
 
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sorry I didnt mean that in a nasty way. What I was asking was if you were at a yard with less experienced riders as OP said, would you change the way you schooled? If you were riding with others and their horse got upset ,who, (in your opinion) should leave?
I am just interested as to different opinions.

* pictures katiejaye carrering round whooping cowboy style *

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no offence taken
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I understand what you mean, appart from my current yard, I'm used to keeping my boy at large livery yards with big arenas. I think that inexperienced and experienced riders alike should have the right to ride in the arena. If the school is big enough then I think that riders should can all stay as long as everyone sticks to the rules and are sympathetic to each others needs. My boy used to have real issues with people coming past too close if he was on the outside so i'd always ask people to give me a wide berth and there was never really any problems (apart from my boy pulling a few pretty hurrendous faces!) now i'm at a much quieter yard were most people are experienced we don't have that problem anymore.

I think that it really depends on the situation. If someone is having problems with their horse i.e. it is spooking or bolting and it is upsetting all the other riders then they should probably take a breather and maybe leave if it got too dissruptive. This happened the other day when a three of us were in the arena and my friends horse was spooking pretty severly, it didn't bother Louis but the other horse in the arena was getting pretty upset so the rider with the spooky horse decided to leave the arena and take her horse for a short hack to calm him down. However if there was an inexperienced rider in the arena with complete lack of control and careering into other riders I would say they should just try and stay away from the other riders or go down a gear. I think every situation is different. I have had a few beginners career into me at my old yard but then it was my choice to keep my boy at a working riding school. I decided then to move to a smaller, quieter competition yard which suits me much better
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p.s. I normally carry a yasoo and wave around my cowboy hat he he
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I get on with my schooling regardless, however if there was someone in the arena already I would prob wait and go in after they had finished or warm up as they are cooling down (I mean someone who I dont trust with their control) - At my yard we all are competent enough to school together, if I am in canter and I see someone else's horse being fizzed up by my pace I will stick to one end of the school and I would expect them to do the same thing
 
Personally if you are in control then you are fine as you are and you're not upsetting anyone and personally if you WERE upsetting someones horses, they should leave, at least thats how i've always been. If my horse starts misbehaving or getting wound up or out of control i leave myself, not force the person whose in perfect control working perfectly to stop what they're doing when its me and my horse's problem.
 
I'm not sure that riders nowdays are taught the left shoulder & track clear rules. I'm an old fogey & was taught that & still stick to it.
As a rule I speak to the other riders (if I don't know them) & ask if they are ok with me doing canter work......i the school is occupied I'll change rein across the school in walk or trot & keep the cantering to the outside track.
 
I wouldn't worry about it. At my last riding school we frequently worked in open order where we would canter where there was space and would overtake horses when necessary (but giving them a wide berth). If the other riders have a problem with you cantering then maybe they should try to use the school when you ae not there
 
The problem with livery yards is that everyone wants to ride at the same time in the evening as everyone finishes work at the same time.

At our yard the rules were if your horse was loose in the school and someone wanted to ride you had to get it in.

If someone had booked a lesson you couldn't use the school

Only 1 person lunging and riding, if more than 1 person wanted to ride you had to stop lunging.

Everyone had to share but we did have two schools and for someone reason none of the liveries really rode that much so the schools never got crowded anyway.
 
Well I'm glad everyone agrees there is nothign wrong with cantering in the school! The horse didn't seem upset to me, it was more the rider worrying in case the horse got upset and halting him and making a show of patting him whenever I cantered past. The horse wasn't reacting at all. She also kept halting at random spots in the school for minutes on end, not sure what she was trying to do. But I think she thought I was showing off, whizzing about on my big warmblood.

I was in the school first and most schooling times (mine included) are pretty haphazard. But it usually works and I like the yard. There are really only 4 of us competitve riders there so the school never normally gets that full. The other rider was a child, but she was fine and knew what she was doing and once the cob rider had left, started schooling normally, similar to me.

But I *bet* words will be said about me. I already put up the hackles of the non-competitive riders clique last week by going out without a hi-viz jacket and boots on, just a hi-viz vest. Cue a rant from one of them which only ceased when I trotted away, to cries of "you are upsetting my horse now".
 
I can see where you're coming from and do sympathise. I am probably the only person at my yard that doesn't jump, and it seems that eveytime I go in the school with my youngster somebody is jumping their horse. I normally wait until they've finished but if I can't avoid it I just go in and keep out of their way.
Today a girl jumped her horse through a double when I was just walking past it and Axel bounced about and did a huge buck, she did say sorry but I thought he should really be used to it anyway.
The only time I've been really annoyed is the YO daughter (she's 9) flies round the school on her pony screaming and Axel really lost the plot one day and I got off
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Now I won't go in there if she's there!

Sam x
 
I ride in the school with anyone else who is in there. As a SJ'er, I only have two paces (
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)....walk and canter (
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), and everyone else should accept that. I don't *expect* everyone else to work in walk and canter, so why should they expect me to work in walk and trot
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My horse will happily canter round the school at a slower pace than most of them will trot , and many of them will walk
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We all use the school together, and i get used to their ways of working and work around them, and expect them to accommodate me in a similar fashion.
 
No. I don't believe you are in the wrong in the slightest. You pay to use the arena and you use it! It isn't your problem that their horses can't deal with you cantering and jumping (although it sounds like the owners are more at fault)......well that is up to their riders to acclimatise them to working in a school with others.

I really cannot be doing with this sort of nonsense and molly-coddling.....what in the heck would these people do if they ever went to a show?
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I think that all horses should be schooled enough to be able to cope with their 'ppeers' cantering. Too many people mollycoddle their horses- nine times out of ten it is them not the horse who is panicked by someone riding, its the rider.

I share the school regularly with young horses and the 2 kids on the yard with their ponies. I tell them that I am going to canter/jump, but that is it. If they want to make a fuss let them get on with it - its not your problem.

Keep cantering and ignore!
 
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