Riding with no Arena

[AmymBlue]

Hi,

I will be getting a horse within the next two months and was wondering where everyone rides when they have no arena at their yard. My yard only has one very small field to ride in and road hacking. I work a 9-5 job so in winter when I get home from work it will be too late and too dark to hack out or ride in the field as there are no floodlights on the yard.
Moving to another yard isn't an option as this yard is the only local yard.
Will it be a case of only riding at weekends in the winter?

Thank you

 

[Charlie77]

Depends on the ground and you, I used to get up muck out and ride before work when I did 9/5. My field is on sand though and drains well, not sure this would work on clay! I used to aim to hack weekends ride or lunge once a week dependant on the ground and boxed to the local equestrian centre one evening as £4 a round you only had to pay the £4 but used the warm up for as long as you could tolerate other people lol

 

[stormox]

I mucked out and rode before work too- hacked out most of the time, even if it was still a bit dark when I went out, the roads were much quieter and it was light by the time I got back.

 

[LA&Murph]

I am in this situation. I work away from home and return on weekends. We have no arena, but do have a field I can ride in (horse won't hack alone, so that's out!). I can ride when it's dry as it is very slippy and of course churns up the grazing if wet. So, I do usually get to ride Saturday and Sunday in the summer unless it has rained, and horse gets many, many months off over winter when I cannot ride at all. If he hacked alone, I could hack out, or box him to my house where we have miles and miles of off road riding. Sadly, he'd kill both of us before we got out alone!
You're not alone in your predicament, yes it sucks, as he's a very good horse, but I can never get him fit enough or prepared enough to show and feel like he's wasted, but he'll happily ride and school after being left for weeks or months, so I cannot complain at his personality.

 

[FinleyBlue]

I have no school at my yard either. I also work 9-5. It was a case of boxing to local EC's in winter and hacking and lunging in field if dry enough weekends. We survived ok but are certainly making the most of the summer months and light nights!

 

[Sukistokes2]

To be honest because of this reason I tend only to ride at weekends in the winter. Its kind of like a down time for me and the horses. It works out well for us, I do lots of road work at weekends and tone down on the lessons, so as not to strain the horses. In some way I think it does them good and gives them time just to be horses and it allows me to step back and do other things. Once the clocks go forward I am back to being pretty much horse obsessed again.

 

[OWLIE185]

We don't have an arena. I hack out along the local roads and public rights of way. Make sure that your new horse is 100% safe in traffic and both bombproof and spook proof and can be ridden out by itself as in your situation that will be an essential requirement. Also make sure it is the type of horse that if not ridden for weeks when you jump back on it, it is still completely sane and controllable.

 

[dibbin]

We don't have an arena. In winter it's weekends only because I work 9-5.30 (with a 1hr+ commute) so I'm not at home in daylight during the week!

We do have a trailer so could box to an arena, but probably not on a weeknight.

 

[Molasses]

Same no arena, leave and return from work in the dark in wintere
weekends only up until christmas as at least you might as well keep a bit of fitness there and enjoy a week of riding at christmas, then i pull shoes and give riding a rest until the clocks change in march
it's a pain

 

[pansymouse]

I've been riding for 50 years and have never ridden in an arena (well maybe a hand full of times). I've hacked for miles on roads and tracks and messed about in fields jumping etc. I now ride on Salisbury Plain which is utterly fab. I'm old school hack and hunt - I see no joy in going round in circles but am quite accepting of people who enjoy it; it's just not for me. I probably have the fittest best behaved horse in my group of friends - its very possible to keep a horse well schooled without a school!

 

[MagicMelon]

I've owned horse for about 25 years, always competed and never had an arena. Ive always ridden in the field and simply tailor what I do that day to the ground conditions (like I wont jump or canter much if its too wet or too hard). I went 10 years without hacking even, and just rode in the field and round my local farmers fields - you could ask neighbouring land owners if this would be possible? In the winter, I only rode at weekends - with perhaps the odd training thing during a weeknight. Dont know what else you can do as you'll struggle to ride in the field you have if its that small as the ground will be too wet in winter - plus no lights? What does everyone else do at the yard?

 

[MS123]

There were a few threads posted a while back with people competing to a very high level without an arena. It was very inspiring!

 

[haybalecity123]

I am very lucky, or was as selling, in that I have access to a massive mountain of riding in North Wales. I purposely have never built an arena a) because it is more interesting to ride on unpredictable ground and b) I think it helps the muscle development much more for horses to do the training on undulating ground

My cob is built like a brick s-house thanks to our Welsh mountain