Rules for your schools??

J

jennystreek

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Hi there,

We have just installed a new menage at our DIY yard, which the liveries all paid for together as the farmer refused to contribute!! However, we need to have some basic rules installed..ie, maintence and booking it out. Just wondered if you could give me an idea of what is usual...

At the moment, people are asking everyone to write in when they plan to use the school, and obviously put in lessons etc, but there seems to be no limit as to how many "sole use lessons" anyone can have.

Anyway, alll ideas welcome so that it is done as fairly as possible
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Poo picking to be done after each ride - NO excuses

No lunging (it wrecks the surface and underlay unless you have a fantastic one)

Write up when you require sole use - this is for lesson purpose only, if you want to school then there shouldnt be a prob schooling with others - at weekends only 1 lesson per weekend (ie, only 1 hour slot to be reserved per person)

TBH it really depends how many you have using it!
 
on our farm we have a diary and we have to book it in ,, no one is allowed in the school unless we are booked in .. we are charged 1.50 for half an hour or 3.00 for the hour ... we seem to all get along with this agreement ..

Good luck !!!
 
There should be no reason why people can't share the school at normal times, then book it in a book for sole use lessons.

Having a sign up at the entrance to the school with basic rules such as pass left to left, no halting on the outside track, use inside track for slower paces, poo pick after you use it, clear jumps away, etc.

The easiest thing is to talk to each other. If two people are using the school at the same time agree to use the whole school and pass each other, or agree to use one end each.
 
No poles to be left out. Poo to be removed. No lungeing (although this one has gone to pot as we all lunge). Everyone writes on the board when they are going to have lessons (nobody has more than two lessons a week, so no problem with this).
 
we have a 20 by 40 and a very small semi indoor school. The 20x40 can be booked for one person if it is a lesson with an outside instructor. Otherwise 4-6 people use it at once although in reality only 3 or 4 tend to at once. The small school is an odd shape but has an outdoor section of about 15 by 20 and we use this for lungeing. You can book the small school for single person use whenever you want because you can't fit two in at one time.
If someone has booked the school and haven't turned up then we just go ahead and use that slot until they turn up.
 
When our menage was first installed you had to book time slots. But people were booking the same time day in day out and week in week out (6 - 6.30) and not giving anyone else a chance. So that got changed to free for all. First come first served etc. Except lessons booked but could they be kept to the same day. We are not allowed turnout in our school at all and it has to be racked after being used for lunging. 2 horses can use if for schooling. But only 1 if jumping. Summer is never a problem. Poos picked up immediately. Don't leave poles or jumps in for next person to shift.
 
firstly depends on the size of the school. at the yard im on there are two schools an indoor 15x30 and an outdoor 20x40.

The indoor is predominantly used for lunging/loose schooling in addition to evening/bad weather use as the outdoor isn't properly flood lit.

Everyone signs up on a board for 30min sessions at peak times (eg 8am-10am then 4pm-8pm) for both schools on seperate sheets each week. If someone wants a lesson theat will take over an hour it is marked as such but most people organise lessons during the day when its less busy.

Poo must be removed after use
no poles/wings etc to be left out
no lunging in outdoor school

those are the main things and then the YO harrows/waters regulary to try keep the surfaces as good as possible. The indoor isn't great as the amount of lunging done means the surface moves around a fair bit but its far far better than nought
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We have an appointment diary that has half an hour slots, in winter on half an hour per horse is allowed as everyone that works wants to use the same time. If people have a leson they write a lesson next to it, this way people know they want the menage to themselves. Poo MUST be picked up. No loose unattended horses. Lights must be switched off after use. Just general ones really. Once a month the farmer rakes the banks that form down (this is really annoying) and chain harrows the surface. Good luck!
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We don't have any sort of diary. We have a 30x40m school that anyone can use whenever they like. There are 40 horses on the yard so they school can get a bit busy at peak times but I just tend to use it when there's noone else around, usually about 7ish. Once you've mastered the art of sharing a school cluttered with jumps with 5 other small children (it's a children's yard) warm up arenas at competitions seem idyllic in comparison.

We have just built another school that's 20x30m and it just for lungeing/loose lungeing/riding on the flat. They are some poles and jump blocks but they have to be cleared away after use whereas the jumps in the old school can be left out. People also tend to use the new school as a turnout pen if the horse needs to stay in for the farrier etc.

If someone wants to the use the school for a lesson they just go ahead and use it. It depends on who the instructor is as to whether other people vacate or not, although now we've got 2 schools people tend not go ride when someone else is having a lesson.
 
Our place only allows two at once in the 20 x 40 - I have been at yards before where they have allowed more and it has caused accidents some quite serious.

It may be worth limiting the number of riders at any one time.
 
Don't have any other than the obvious pick up poo. But then there is only ever myself in it (25x45 floodlit outdoor school) or myself and one other in it
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Poo-pick after every use and don't ride through droppings (and if somebody is watching someone else ride they will generally dive in with the rake and shovel when required!). As there aren't many liveries everyone generally knows when lessons are booked, etc. (the YO also teaches outside clients on their own horses) and there hasn't been an issue so far with the school being monopolised. Jumping-wise everyone just tends to sort out amongst themselves when they're going to jump so you know whether to leave jumps out for the next person/jump at the same time as them and not get in the way of someone on a tight time schedule who really wants to do flatwork... Jumps and poles have to be put away as soon as you are finished with them, same with turning lights off, and no loose-schooling, lunging or turning horses out in the school because it ruins the surface. On the flat everyone just shares the school (20x50m) and if you're desperate to school on your own you wait 'til the person riding is finished (or plan to ride at a time when nobody else is around) but generally there are no more than two people (three max) in the school even in 'rush hour.' All usual school rules apply (left to left, walk on inside track, give way to counter canter and lateral work, etc.).

It works for us!
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Poo-pick religiously.
Put jumps/poles anything else you use away immediately.
Left to left but lateral work has right of way.
Bookings for lessons only, must give 24hrs notice.
No more than 4 (in 60x20 school)
No loose schooling.
If you lunge, move around.
Turn lights off straight away when you are finished.

The rule I wish we had: no bookings allowed between 5 and 7 on weekdays - if you want a lesson then, share the school. It does get booked up and it is very hard to ride at all unless you wait until very late - which is horrid on a winters night.
 
I think poo picking should be number one for all schools.

We have a booking system too, but I think it should be only for lessons, not just to guarantee sole use of school.
I don't think it's right that people can book the school simply because they don't want others in there when they're riding - it's hardly democratic.

Poles put away is a no brainer, that can be especially annoying.

Also, riding should take precedence over free schooling or lunging in the school.

Another one is to not move things without replacing them - I bought a mounting block for our school and due to people constantly dragging it around the school, and not taking care of it, it got well and truly broken, and we were stuck with a rickety old chair again.
 
theres only 3 ridden neds at my yard, and a few stallions/youngsters who get lunged. Thankfully we never really clash times during the weekdays and at weekends, riders get priority over lungers.

Poo pick after
Put away poles/jumps
Have fun
 
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