POLL; Arena Riding

Real thing or cheat?

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A lot of the people I know who only school have horses that are bad and even dangerous to hack out or are scared of hacking due to an accident. Me, I'm more scared of the arena:D I think as long as the horse is being turned out and the rider varies what they do in the arena (flatwork, polework, jumping,lunging,groundwork etc) then the horse shouldn't become too stale. Personally I would only school two days a week as both my horses and I would become bored.
 
Pip gets worked in the arena every week-day. Either ridden or driven. When I broke him I didn't ride him out of there for quite a while. I dont have much choice. I get home in th dark and leaving him unexercised is not wise. Eveery week-end he get driven in an areana set up in the field, and he probably hacks once a month.
Ginga is ridden about 4 times a week , exclusivly in the field. Very occasinaly he will get hacked, but he is too nervous to go on his own and I have no one to go with. They all get a fair bit of variety though, as they drive as different conbinations, and singly and ride.
 
> I don't think there is anything wrong with riding exclusively in an arena unless your horse is also stabled 24/7. They can go off and be 'horses' out in the field with their herd, when you are riding them you are entitled to ride them where you wish (within reason). Work is work to a horse IMO. Horses stabled 24/7 should be hacked out I think to give them some exta stimulus though.

> I mainly ride my horse in an arena because I find hacking boring and schooling interesting. Also I have to hack the pointers and schooling projects out and I get sick of roads. However, she is out 24/7 so she gets plenty of stimulus in the field.

> some people that only go in the school do it because they are scared of hacking out. So what? It is their horse and they should be entitled to do as they like with him/her (within reason).

I really get cross about some of the self righteous accusatory posts about people being 'scared to hack' like they somehow shouldn't be allowed their horse if they are scared by it. lots of people are scared of their horses in some small (or large) way. But so what? What business is it of ours? As long as the welfare of the horse is not compromised I can't see the problem if someone only wants to lunge/groom/flat their horse. It takes time to build up a partnership after a knock and people have to be allowed to take this at their own speed and be ENCOURAGED not shot down. A woman at my yard is a classic example. When she arrived she only lunged her horse and was very nervous about riding it. After a year, she now rides the horse several times a week, has just started popping over little jumps and has been placed at some unaffiliated dressage competitions. Her horse is a nice, well mannered, happy mare and she is a rider who won the cup for 'most progress made this year' at our riding club AGM.

Live and let live is my moto. I know plenty of people NOT scared of their horse that do some horrid things to it (misusing draw reins/yanking it about etc).

JMO (ducks to avoid flaming)
 
I think its bad to ride solely in an arena due to the surface. I think its bad if you compete because you take them to a show on grass and they haven't learnt to be balanced on possibly wet slippy ground! I think its nice to give the horse a bit of freedom too mentally if he's stabled most of the time.

I don't have an arena - I have a paddock to ride in which is far from ideal!

I dont think people are necessarily scared of being out of an arena. Im sure some are but I think its just practical to use one!
 
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You're up late, hope you're OK.

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He he - so were you! I was OK, thanks - just the usual insomnia!
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Just because I dont hack it doesnt mean I'm scared.
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On the other hand my horse is. My horse is dangerous on the roads and that is why I dont hack out. My horse goes off competing, loose schools, lunges, gets ridden and she never gets bored.

We dont have tracks to ride down and everything is roadwork and I just dont see the point in dangering myself, my horse and other road users.
 
i dont think it is good for horses to be ridden in an arena exclusively & i always vary linx's excercise routine & i feel that there are many reason why people choose not to ride out, nerves may be 1 but some people have a goal (schooling only) & may not take the consequences into consideration
 
Okay, time for me to vote in my own poll.
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Do you think that riding exclusively in an arena is not good for the mental/physical state of most horses?
I don't think it is good for the mental/physical state of most horses. Some have no problem with it mentally, however I would question whether it is damaging them physically.

Do you ride your horse exclusively in an arena?
No I don't. I do the vast majority of my schooling on the trails. I occasionally go in my arenas, but these are really for my boarders and not something I am particularly interested in doing, either for myself or for my business interests.

Do you think that people who ride in arenas may be scared of riding out in the big wide world?
Some people might be scared, however I think most do it for other reasons aswell.
 
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