school or no school??? could you cope without?

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diamondcruiser

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am just about to move my mare to a lovely little private yard but have no surface to ride in. I never used to have a surface and coped fine through the winter but that was a long time ago and i have had a school for years now. hoping that it will work out ok not having one this winter, just interested to see how many of you have an all weather surface and how many of you cope without??!!
 
I moved to a yard with a surface early this year. I felt my horse was being wasted without. There was so long I could do nothing with her the Winter before that I had enough!
 
I have coped (and compete, low leverl/local but still lol :)) without a school for 6 years now, I have a 40x40m grass patch that I use in the summer but will have to do without in the winter as it will get mulched and its part of the grazing as well :)

I also use a disused tennis court (sand) and also a disused old footie pitch for schooling, I hack to these to use them :)

I will also be going back to having lessons twice a month so i will be using my RIs lovely all weather school then :)
 
I couldnt cope myself, and im not one to ride on our fields in winter since theyre clay!! But thats just me.
I know plenty of people who are happy schooling as and when weather permits and doing the odd hack with a lesson every now and again.

Not for me though but everyones different
 
i went from having a 40x60 indoor rubber and sand arena to a patch of grass un-useable in the winter, i have coped in the summer (not that the smelly git has been in work for much of it) but i dont know how much work he will be in this winter schooling hile hacking is fine and i can hire a school or tempary move for the winter next door but i could see the horses becoming a pain in the backside without work :o
 
I used to livery at a yard with no school and it didn't bother me at all. However I could hack 20mins to a yard with a school that I could hire or have lessons with the YO there.
 
No school, sister has reschooled her ex-racer without one and he's now at BE100 level and previously she's competed at PC open eventing/ SJ (1.10m-1.15m) with no school. Now she's trying to get the ex-racer to the point that he'll be ready to go out at BE100 next year for 4/5 runs and then move up to Novice she's having a lesson almost weekly which is in a school and her instructor has offered her use of her school if she books in advance... But yes, totally manageable and your horse will have amazing manners out hacking because you do all your schooling there!

Reg is turned out over the winter (late Nov- early Jan...) so that doesn't bother us. He needs a break, and he is like Bambi on roads in the snow :D
 
Hmm having had both i think i prefer a school although its perfectly pheasable not to have one! :)

First yard i was on had no school or no real riding area what so ever, really struggled at this point as i was breaking in my youngster at the time.

Second yard had an small indoor school, was fabulous through the winter but lacked space to jump properly.

Current yard i have a big grass school which is great most the time, but when it rains i dont use it because it just gets churned up so quick.

I am due to move again in the nex week or two to a yard with a outdoor school and to be honest i cant wait to use it!! :o:D
 
I've gone ten years without having a school (though am mainly a happy hacker/low level competeing). About 5 years ago we actually fenced off a grass paddock for a school 20 x 40, which helped. I think I could continue with this but a big open, bumpy field I would struggle with. We always have our sj fences on unlevel ground but for schooling I like flat.

2 years ago we put a membrane down around the paddock and put woodchip on top to make a track (cost us about £100 as woodchip was free :D)...this was fantastic but a little limiting. Now after ten years my mum has finally decided to have a school put in (she has just got into dressage) and I am very excited, as we use our paddock far more than most people with sandschools in the area.

So yes I could cope with grass if it is a good livery. However like to have a 20 x 40 marked out and also has to be somewhere with goodish drainage. Hope this rambling helps!
 
Never had unlimited or direct access to a school, we have always had to travel to a borrowed one, and so don't usually bother unless its an organised lesson of some kind.

I think what it has led to is "quality hacking" where he is expected to work correctly rather than just being allowed to blob along any old how.

Pony is a consistently good performer, coming 2nd and 3rd in 2 XC class today with different riders. He also puts in a pretty nifty dressage test and is excellent in traffic. Win Win I'd say...

It does get harder in Winter, and he may go down to only being ridden at weekends due to light pressures, but its never a problem with him, we cut down his hard feed to reflect that.
 
I've owned my horse for 7 years now and only had a school since last summer. My riding has improved since schooling and am having lessons now on the surface too. Saying that I only use about twice a week and hack out 3 times a week. It has been invaluable through the winter though.
 
I'm very very lucky as i have 1 outdoor lunge ring, 1 outdoor school and 1 new indoor school so this winter won't get the better of me for riding!! I couldn't cope without a school but thats just me. Some people i know cope fine without one but i ride every day for around 1hour so i would go mad without one.
 
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