Lessons in the field- would it put the instructor off?

[Fools Motto]

I don't have an arena, but would love a lesson. Only have a slightly rutty, undulating field (has flat, smooth areas) but it is far from a nice level arena! My little horse is normally very sure footed, but recently had hind shoes removed, so now not so sure on the 'coping' aspect. Also have pony, who will be (hopefully) held by doting mother-ship.
As an instructor, would this arrangement either put you off? OR is 'elf and safety going to leap in and say uh-uh.??

Thoughts please!

 

[Auslander]

I don't have an arena, but would love a lesson. Only have a slightly rutty, undulating field (has flat, smooth areas) but it is far from a nice level arena! My little horse is normally very sure footed, but recently had hind shoes removed, so now not so sure on the 'coping' aspect. Also have pony, who will be (hopefully) held by doting mother-ship.
As an instructor, would this arrangement either put you off? OR is 'elf and safety going to leap in and say uh-uh.??

Thoughts please!

It doesn't bother me, although I prefer it when people have marked out an arena.

 

[Cinder]

I regularly ride and teach in a field, you just use what you've got! Only concern would be making a track in the field (where you ride over the same bit repeatedly) and if the ground was in good enough condition to ride in so not too soft and slippy or too hard.

 

[LeannePip]

shouldn't do, last summer even when we had a school, my instructor still taught me in the field!

 

[Fools Motto]

It doesn't bother me, although I prefer it when people have marked out an arena.

Would that be a 20X40 area? ( I'm not sure if I can fit all that onto the flat part!) Arena with gradient?

 

[Auslander]

Would that be a 20X40 area? ( I'm not sure if I can fit all that onto the flat part!) Arena with gradient?

I'm not that picky - just a rectangular sized bit of roughly the right size - just so it's easier for the rider to do certain exercises

 

[windand rain]

Doesn't bother me in fact sometimes a field is a better option than some of the schools I have tried to teach in

 

[Tern]

Wouldn't bother me but my instructor would im pretty sure refuse to teach me in my big huge field as my mare is prone to bolting in canter in open fields.

 

[Red-1]

Would not upset me in the least. In fact, although it is great to teach in a posh arena with perfectly graded surface, it is also good to give a lesson in the riding space that the client usually works in. In that way we can devise suitable exercises for the facilities.

I have even given a lesson in a public space, a horse friendly old pit stack as that is where the client usually worked. I just stuck some cones with letters into my boot and carried them about a mile to their schooling ground.

Apart from the group of interested teens on off road bikes watching a large proportion of the lesson it was very much business as usual.

 

[Tiddlypom]

The undulating ground shouldn't be a problem, but can you smooth out the ruts?

I schooled and had lessons in my field for many years, but I worked hard to keep the surface rolled and mown. I marked an area out with cones for markers, and shifted it occasionally if it got too cut up.

I thought that my grass arena was level, but it turned out to have a 3ft drop along the long side (discovered when 'proper' arena was eventually installed!).

 

[Supertrooper]

With the horse I shared I had lessons in field all the time, we just did walk/trot when ground hard.

 

[Caol Ila]

I've given lessons in a field, and it was fine until it got too wet come winter and we had to give up for the season. Mind you, the same thing can happen in an arena with a rubbish surface.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I don't have an arena, but would love a lesson. Only have a slightly rutty, undulating field (has flat, smooth areas) but it is far from a nice level arena! My little horse is normally very sure footed, but recently had hind shoes removed, so now not so sure on the 'coping' aspect. Also have pony, who will be (hopefully) held by doting mother-ship.
As an instructor, would this arrangement either put you off? OR is 'elf and safety going to leap in and say uh-uh.??

Thoughts please!

Ours liveries, are often having lessons in our outdoor grass arena weather and ground conditions taken into account

 

[_GG_]

As long as it's safe for the horse I actually think it's a very good idea to school horses on grass/in the field. I'd be slightly concerned about the imagination and toolbox of an instructor that said no.

Markers are extremely useful though, even if it's just 4 bollards, 1 in each corner...better than nothing, but not absolutely necessary. xx

 

[glamourpuss]

I have lessons from an Olympic medallist in her field. She does also have a beautiful indoor school but through the spring/summer she believes in working on the ground we compete on (she does also have a lot of time spent keeping the surface of this field very good)

 

[hairycob]

I am currently riding a very nappy horse so my last lesson was walking round the village.

 

[RubysGold]

I have lessons on grass, there's a slight slope but its good ground. The instructor has no problems with it

 

[FellOutOfFavour]

We have access to an indoor school, but will sometimes chose to school or to have lessons in one of the fields instead. All our fields are sloping and some are quite large but it is good for balance and you can make the hills work in your favour.

 

[2horsesnomoney]

It should not be a problems, I often teach in fields not everyone has access to a nice arena so we have to make do, i make out the space with cones normall and try and work to a 20X40 area but will work with what we have got. The biggest problem is when you are restrained by ground conditions - to hard or to wet. Give some of your local instructors a ring i am sure they will be fine with it.