No where to school

Champion1969

Champion1969

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I'm on a lovely yard with only 4 ladies its perfect but we don't have a ménage. I rode my cob for the 1st time the other day, but all I could do is road work, she's is excellent on roads, considering she has just turned 4. Any suggestions as to what I can do with her, don't want her to be bored. I was looking around for any spare land which I maybe could have a lesson on, but I've been told I could be breaking the law.
 
Plenty of pry field arount, go ask the farmer.. ours Allways say yes. Though some friends of mine have to pay to use them
 
Could you not fence off a bit of their field if its big enough? Although as I type that I do realise if your at a new yard it might be a bit soon to start requests like that!
Do they have fields being rested that you could pop into for half an hour?
Second maybe ask a local farmer, are there any other yards close with a school you could perhaps hire now and then? I try and do bits of schooling on my horse out on quiet lanes as circles are no good for his legs. You can do a fair bit on a straight lane!
Nice to hear a story of someone happy at their yard though, makes a change it seems.
 
I feel your pain! Have spent years on yards with no manege and it IS hard to get any proper schooling done. Its all very well trying to school whilst hacking but we had mainly roads or rocky bridle paths to hack on and I didn't realise just how backward thinking my boy had become until I moved recently to a yard with a school.
Never felt comfortable asking him to really move out on the roads as worried about what it might do to his legs, and he's so used to not really using himself its very hard to change that now we are finally at a fantastic yard with facilities.
I would try very hard to find somewhere where you can school regularly on a surface or grass, especially with such a young horse, do any local yards or owners hire out their schools for a small fee? Otherwise it will have to be friendly farmers as mentioned above, with permission of course! Good luck :)
 
Do you have enough fields to allocate one as a school? We have no school but do have enough grazing/ enough fat ponies who don't want good grass to allocate one small field as the schooling field... Horses still turned out in it but it's easily emptied.
 
When we had our private yard, we never had a school. We were however lucky enough to have 8 acres. We used to leave cones out with the school letters painted to them (less chance of injury than the 'proper' school letter stand things' and when I went up to ride, put up some electric fence round the cones to form a 'fence' for the school. I didn't bother with the fence for my older more established horses, but the youngsters I would put it up. Just make sure you put it out wide, and it's thick tape not thin stuff, and take it down after each use and you will be fine!

Bexcy-bee
 
When I was at a yard with no school, I marked one out the fields and schooled on the road- long straight roads are good for shoulder in when there is no traffic! I also paid to hire a school once a fortnight and that was sufficient to keep the pony well schooled :) It is much easier with a school but you can still mange to get decent results without one.
 
I only had a field to ridevin at home. Winter was hacking only.in the summer I stuck my jumps up in the bottom of the field, same one she was turned out in
 
hnmisty said:
I only had a field to ride in at home.
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Same. I've only ever had a field to school ever since I've owned horses (about 22 years) and have always competed, managed to get mine to a decent level of fitness eventing and BSJA by working in the field too (I dont hack!). You just have to tailor your schooling to the weather/ground conditions. It is harder with a youngster though, as you might want to jump twice a week for example but you find you cant as its mud for 3 weeks! But it is do-able!
 
If your 4 year old is like mine he will appreciate being schooled in a bigger area. My boy struggles in the confined area of a school as he has not yet developed the muscles he needs to balance. He is much happier in the field and much easier to get going forward. Small circles will come at a later date!
 
You can school on the roads to an extent. Transitions, halts, leg yields, changes of bend, all good stuff :)

I agree, either hire an arena or try and find a field? :)
 
I just have a field. I put a bit of electric fencing around a roughly school shaped bit of field but fold a bit at one or both ends back on themselves when I'm not schooling so the horses still have access to it for grazing. That might be easier when you are sharing than fencing a bit off altogether. I'm also lucky enough to have somewhere to have lessons within riding distance. Is there anyone with their own ménage locally? Even if it is a private individual, they might hire it to you?
 
I have "only" a field. I have, however, fenced off a a 60x40 area, with proper fence(horse netting) not just electric tape. We have the letters up, attached to the fence posts. We can use it for about 9 months of the year, the other three months it's usually too wet. I have backed and schooled young horses without issue.
If they are finding the area abit tight, then I just use the bigger field.
I do have use of a nearby school, but as I have to pay to use it, I try to avoid doing so!
You can do anything you want with a field, unless the weather restricts you.
Good luck, and enjoy your horse.
 
On a slight tangent - how have we got to the stage where many people feel life is impossible without a school? Are we scared to ride in open fields these days?!
I was looking for a rider for my youngster due to lack of time and had a few people who couldn't possibly do it due to my lack of facilities - i.e. I have a grass paddock for schooling and not an all weather floodlit menage!
 
I do think that as riders most of us have become too reliant on all weather surfaces but then this is probably because of the prevalence of heavy clay soil & our temperamental weather.

I don't have a surface. 2012 was very hard because everything was so wet :( & also I fought against the situation I didn't attempt to school a lot because I didn't have an arena, I put down any problems competing to my lack of facilities.
This year I've had to become much more proactive.
1) I have set up a schooling area on the best most well draining area of a field. This is fenced off with electric tape & posts.
2) I have set up a proper 20x40 dressage arena in another large field. I keep this mown with a mulching mower (the mulched grass sits on the top & actually gives it a bit of a 'surface' feel in dry weather.
3) I can use a very small, woodchip arena over the road for free. My youngster struggles a bit on this surface so I'm limited on what I can do on it but its useful to have.
4) I go for a lesson every 7-10 days. This is with a trainer with a huge arena with a perfect surface & a fab range of jumps.
5) I can hire an arena a 10 min box ride away. This is £5 per 1/2 hour. It is large, the surface is good there aren't many jumps but there's enough to have a small pop.
6) I also use my smaller competitions as schooling experience. Eg my local competition centre costs £30 an hour to hire their big indoor arena with jumps for an hour & £15 per hour to hire their outdoor. I can enter an unaff SJ class for £8. I can have a good 30 min warm up with a bit of jumping in the outdoor & then jump a round of jumps in the indoor.
I try to be very thorough in my warm ups & use them as short schooling sessions. I'm always amazed at the amount of people who's idea of a warm up is a brief walk, trot & canter, a few jumps & then they stand around chatting to their mates!
 
buddylove said:
On a slight tangent - how have we got to the stage where many people feel life is impossible without a school? Are we scared to ride in open fields these days?!
I was looking for a rider for my youngster due to lack of time and had a few people who couldn't possibly do it due to my lack of facilities - i.e. I have a grass paddock for schooling and not an all weather floodlit menage!
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Echo this. I have only had a school for the last 7 years or so and then it was an indulgence because my horse can't cope with concussion from hard surfaces, be that roads or dry ground. For the preceding 40 years it was roads, bridle paths, stubble fields and a corner of my own grazing - you can be quite inventive, as Pigeon says, transitions, lengthening and shortening, serpentines (preferably not on busy roads, but verges and bridle paths!) and clear rounds at local shows for jumping
 
Champion1969 said:
Thank you some very good ideas :)

If I was to school her in her field do you think she would be ok or would she take it has her play area as such?
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I do have this issue with one of mine, I'll be honest. It's a work in progress and we're getting there.
The other two are fine though.
I tape off an arena sized area and use those lettered cones from Shires.
 
I have had my horse 3 years and only once ridden him in an arena. Admittedly we don't compete but he is well schooled. When it's dry I put my letters out wherever I feel like- in the paddocks, in the stubble... I also school whilst I hack. Mine doesn't see grass as a reason to go fast, we do rein back, shoulder in, half pass, pirouettes etc along the tracks.
 
Champion1969 said:
Thank you some very good ideas :)

If I was to school her in her field do you think she would be ok or would she take it has her play area as such?
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This is why I used to fence the bit off for mine, and take it down when not in use, they soon see it as a 'working' area rather than a play area.

When I was younger, we were on clay so only usable for 9-10months of the year, but then I moved to a 'stone' base and drainage was fantastic! Could use it for most of the year, jumping etc included. I was lucky up have enough space for a separate flat work arena, then had the jumps loose in the field, so could move them around through winter. Also had my own XC course around the field, so was very lucky looking back!

It was much easier when I moved to a yard with a school, but I didn't like the fact you had to put jumps up and down each time due to space!

Bexcy-bee x
 
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