Is an indoor arena a necessity??

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Irishdiamond

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Im a returning adult rider trying to get my equine experience up to scratch to eventually loan then buy. I've tried a few riding schools but found their ponies/horses to be very sour. My options are limited as I wanted to find a horse to loan from a school so need one closer although I'm starting to think a riding school horse would not be the best option.
I found a small private Yard close to me but they don't have an indoor or even a yard big enough to tie up to groom. Plus it rains constantly here so I can imagine riding regularly would be a task especially with the mucky outdoor. They also have guard dogs who hate horses so I'm slightly worried if they ever got loose.

I'm just confused on what to do, whether to sick with the small yard as they provide better one to one tuition or travel further for a better riding school. Also is it normal to just walk for a lesson? She knew I had cantered the week before in a different school but kept me walking the entire lesson focusing on schooling the horse into corners vs my riding.

Sorry for all the questions but its hard when you don't have any horsey friends to get advice from. TIA
 
I don't have any school and don't find i need one.

With regards to the lesson in walk - she may have felt, in her opinion, that it would benefit you? Did you ask her why?
 
the small private yard sounds like it would be horrible in winter if theres no sheltered comfy space to tie and groom and dry off etc.

I'd stick with the yard that does the walk lessons you mentioned. That sounds like correct tuition to get the basics right. Some schools just speed riders through the paces and settle into a 'now we walk, trot, canter, jump lesson' and you can see the riders haven';t go the basics at all, even though they are jumping 90s. I'd admire a riding school that keeps a rider in walk until they are balanced and understanding corners etc.


An indoor is handy for when you get riding school lessons , but when you have your own you won't miss it as much. Any yards i've been at its always used for lessons anyway, so never free!
 
I don't know where you are but it rains here so much so the arena would be a pain to ride in plus there is no hacking or anything.

No she just focused on me 'schooling' the pony & worked on riding her into corners vs my riding. She kept insisting I had to learn to school & not sit there like I would in a group lesson which I do understand.
 
That's what I thought paddi22. I'm thinking forward to winter when it would be impossible to do anything other than sit in her stable.
I had considered that and do think it's a good idea but feel its gonna take forever if I spend my lessons 'schooling' a horse vs focusing on working on my riding.
 
It sounds to me more like they were making sure you rode the pony correctly, not schooling it per se, and be aware of all of your turning aids and correct bend.

I'm a bit confused as to whether this small yard is the same as the small private yard with an outdoor?

Fwiw I spent 7 years without an arena and got on fine, schooled up to elementary from nothing. Now have an outdoor which is great. It rains quite a lot in the south west of England too - that is what waterproofs were invented for :p
 
Never, ever.....until now had an indoor school......use ours at the yard a lot, specially over the winter have an outside as well......never used it!
Agree with paddi22......to many riding schools use speed technique, I have been riding a lot of years, and when I start with a new instructor will do most of my first couple of lessons in walk....as I did 6 months ago.....and my pet hate is riders who do not work their corners properly !!!

IMO you are being good instruction :)
 
ester said:
It sounds to me more like they were making sure you rode the pony correctly, not schooling it per se, and be aware of all of your turning aids and correct bend.

I'm a bit confused as to whether this small yard is the same as the small private yard with an outdoor?

Fwiw I spent 7 years without an arena and got on fine, schooled up to elementary from nothing. Now have an outdoor which is great. It rains quite a lot in the south west of England too - that is what waterproofs were invented for :p
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Yes it's the same yard, I know I guess you're right and I know what waterproofs are. 😂 I'm not afraid of rain, it just creates a very slippy surface for riding.
 
_OC_ said:
Never, ever.....until now had an indoor school......use ours at the yard a lot, specially over the winter have an outside as well......never used it!
Agree with paddi22......to many riding schools use speed technique, I have been riding a lot of years, and when I start with a new instructor will do most of my first couple of lessons in walk....as I did 6 months ago.....and my pet hate is riders who do not work their corners properly !!!

IMO you are being good instruction :)
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Really? I guess I'm just used to being taught the wrong way so need to get used to the correct way. I know a lot of schools rush riders without them having correct balance so I understand that way.

I need to learn patience 😁😁
 
I think with regard to livery, it's very personal.

I don't think I could cope without somewhere to tie up - I never do anything with mine in the stable. In my eyes the stable is there space, and so any faffing is done with them tied up outside. So no tie up space would be an issue for me.

Im sure I could cope without an indoor school, but I would rather not. I love being able to school my boy in the pouring rain and pitch black in the winter.

As far as the lesson goes, I think the instructor was probably working on your riding rather than the horse. I often give people lessons just in walk - there is no need to trot round the whole time, you can do just as much fine work in walk. I also get to a point with my clients where they no longer need to learn the basics of 'stay on, make it stop start turn etc' and can start working on riding rather than just steering. Doing this means they are learning how to make the horse work to best of its ability, rather than just bumbling round the school. This is mostly done in walk to start with, as that is the best way to help develop feel and allows enough time to correct any mistakes.

Good luck!
 
It rains here constantly as well, but we still ride. You can't really be a fair weather rider in Ireland :p

We have an outdoor that drains well, which is fab. An indoor is definitely not a necessity!! It's a luxury!! You can ride in an outdoors in all weathers, we can't ride when arena is frozen but it happens very rarely.

You can tie up in a stable, or outdoors if dry. We have a tie up area that is under cover but that's mainly for the farrier, we don't use it day to day.

As for lessons, it's better to get the basics right. There's no point in walk/trot/canter aimlessly around the arena. They obviously think you are good enough to start advancing your aids and teach you how to actually ride a horse instead of just being able to ride the paces.


I watched a dressage comp recently and was astonished at the amount of people who couldn't ride in a dressage arena. They could ride the movements and put them together, but they had no ringcraft or accuracy. I'm trying to persuade my YO who taught me how to actually ride a test & tips on getting every mark possible eg. On a diagonal Turning after the marker and coming back before, to teach a clinic on it.
 
Your arena won't be slippery in rain if it's sand or rubber, only if it's grass. The majority of yards don't have indoor arenas. I agree with the others you're receiving good instruction. You seem to be separating out "your riding" and "schooling the horse". If you can't school the horse, you can't ride. No point having a perfect, pretty position if you can't do anything with it other than sit on a switched off/overworked riding school horse.
 
I left a livery yard with an outdoor and a small indoor to have my horses at home where I have no arena, just a part of the field fenced off. Having an indoor school was nice but for me it's not essential- the positives of being at home outweigh the negatives of having no indoor school.
 
Irishdiamond said:
Im a returning adult rider trying to get my equine experience up to scratch to eventually loan then buy. I've tried a few riding schools but found their ponies/horses to be very sour. My options are limited as I wanted to find a horse to loan from a school so need one closer although I'm starting to think a riding school horse would not be the best option.
I found a small private Yard close to me but they don't have an indoor or even a yard big enough to tie up to groom. Plus it rains constantly here so I can imagine riding regularly would be a task especially with the mucky outdoor. They also have guard dogs who hate horses so I'm slightly worried if they ever got loose.

I'm just confused on what to do, whether to sick with the small yard as they provide better one to one tuition or travel further for a better riding school. Also is it normal to just walk for a lesson? She knew I had cantered the week before in a different school but kept me walking the entire lesson focusing on schooling the horse into corners vs my riding.

Sorry for all the questions but its hard when you don't have any horsey friends to get advice from. TIA
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Im a bit confused - is this small yard with no indoor a livery yard or a Riding school? Do you have a horse currently or are you having lessons at a school?

A outdoor school wont get 'mucky' yes it rains alot but mosy people just get on with it and ride in the rain! You said also that there is no hacking on this yard - its going to get pretty boring for both you and your potential horse if your stick in the school all the time.

With regards to only walking in a lesson then your instructor maybe thought your position needed work before moving up a level? Like someone else posted on here, there are plenty of people that ride but they dont all ride well. Best thing is to have a chat with your instructor and ask them what their lesson plans are for you. Also the riding vs schooling? Im not sure quite what you mean but good riding IS schooling - to improve the quality of work the horse is doing is by riding it well.
 
Moving away from the conversation about arenas etc as I think this is a more general query about your direction with horses. I assume you are broadly competent (if not perfectly 'schooled' yourself) - i.e. walk, trot, canter. Once this is true - and also true out hacking as well as in the school - you could look for a share where you can focus on one horse, continue to have lessons but also learn what you need to know about horse care and management. This is just as important for when you get your own. There are quite a lot of nice horses out there whose owners don't have time, and a reliable sharer is in demand. You can often find a share that doesn't ask for a large financial contribution, just some yard work or help towards shoes, etc. This is a great way to get extra miles in the saddle each week beyond your lessons, if you have the time to devote to it.

Good luck.
 
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