Schooling in a field

[CobsCan123]

Hi Everyone, i need some advice for future me….
When we move house (which will hopefully be in the close future) i will be moving my pony closer to me and in the hope i can get a friend for him too however i won’t be able to afford livery at stables with a school and all that jazz. My plan is to rent out a field and chuck two stable/field shelters for them, with basically a shed as my tack/feed/storage room ? not the prettiest but it will work! Anyway, but i was wondering what people do about schooling in a field. I know lots of people say it is actually very beneficial to school them in a field but my question is, do you use the whole field? Or do you fence off (just with tape) a “school”. Like a 20x40 rectangle just like having a school except it’s grass. Or is there no point to that? Or do people do a bit of both? It’s just that i don’t want my pony to get used to having a big open space and play up when i take him out to a proper school/arena. Plus i’d quite like to make some cheap dressage letters and practice some dressage with him, and i can imagine its harder to do that in a field? Any advice/stories of people who do this would be much appreciated!

 

[Lipglosspukka]

I never school in the field. Schooling can easily be done out hacking which the horses prefer anyway.

I've never found my horses to play up when they occasionally go in an arena. In fact, they think the arena is dull and are quieter than usual.

 

[mini_b]

I school in a field and I sometimes use the whole field but sometimes mark out a 20x40 with some arena cones on the flattest part. Dont need to fence it off.

 

[HeyMich]

It's totally doable. We have taped off 'arena' areas before using electric fencing, but now we've just mowed a 20x40 arena in the long grass and used poles/cones as markers with letters stuck in the ground (in a resting part of the field so no grazing access currently). The pony will get used to riding in one area easily enough. Our instructors actually use the undulating ground for certain exercises and it's great for the horse's proprioception too. Many of us ride without arenas and cope well!

 

[teddypops]

I have a school but I also school in my fields as they are quite hilly so good for fitness. I use the whole field because I don’t seem to be able to stick to one small area unless it is marked out! You could easily mark out a schooling area and add home made letters if that’s easier for you. A lot of dressage I go to in the summer is actually on grass, so it’s a good idea to practice on grass!

 

[milliepops]

just make sure you are permitted to ride in the field.
One of mine is rented and the agreement is only for grazing and one cut of hay to be taken.

 

[ihatework]

I’m involved with eventers and they are ALL schooled in the field. But only for a small % of the time.

The difference is they are only schooled on grass in favourable ground conditions. There is an arena with boards set up within a bigger area.

Plus they have access to decent surfaces which is really important.

 

[ester]

The best thing about schooling in a field is not being restricted by the dimensions of a 20x40 . But equally I don't expect mine to behave any differently based on the size of the area we're working in.

We had an arena laid out with white guttering but only corners and one length down each long side so lots of opportunity to pop in and out of it.

I wouldn't tape off with electric fencing, that has too many possibilities of going wrong to me.

 

[Goldenstar]

I school in the field all summer I have a grass area managed for working on .
My school is not used at all from April to October although the horses do work on surfaces away from home .

 

[HeyMich]

Yes, I should add that we only ride/school in the field between say April-October, and not after heavy rain. Jumping happens in the field a lot too, but again, only when the ground is ok.

 

[TheMule]

Good grass cover on good even ground is the best surface to work on IMO
I have an arena but am currently spending far more time out in the haylage field schooling and jumping as I like the space and they learn to cope and balance with the slight undulations. They are event horses so are going to have to manage on grass!

 

[lynz88]

I used to school in a field - never taped anything off or anything - just eyeballed where things were and used that. Actually found it much better than an enclosed arena in some aspects as I never worried if my horse was going to be a nut-job at a show that didn't have an enclosed warmup area (as some horses can be). As long as the ground is decent (no big potholes or anything) I would think you would be fine.

As this was back in Canada, couldn't ride in the field really during the winter usually due to ice (though if we had a nice snowfall it always made for a great cardio workout for the horse) and not going to lie....sometimes I was NOT motivated to really do much including ride without being in an indoor at -30 temps (horses usually went a bit silly in the head at about -15.....). Sometimes we would ship to an indoor though during these months.

 

[rextherobber]

I did what you are proposing to do a few years ago, it was hugely expensive, time consuming and way more complicated than I ever imagined. If you can rent somewhere that already had stables/shelter grab it! And as Miliiepops says, check you can ride in the field, or the owner may have to apply to change it from agricultural use.

 

[Carrottom]

I don't bother to mark out anything when I ride in my field. I don't want to make a track by riding on the same lines. I do use natural markers though which might change each time, so turn by dock/tuft of long grass/dung pile.

 

[Esmae]

There was a time when we all schooled in fields or out hacking. Very few purpose built "schools" back in the day.

 

[millikins]

I use an area at the top of one of my two paddocks, it's the flattest but as others here only during drier months. One word of caution, I wouldn't keep tack in a shed, take it home if you cannot access anything more secure.

 

[w1bbler]

I keep a 20 x 60 ish area mowed in my resting winter paddock for schooling all summer. Its got a bit of a slope to it but works really well.
Makes schooling in a flat arena over winter seem really strange ?
I don't fence it, think its good practise for my horses not to rely on a fence

 

[windand rain]

We have a grass 60x25 arena properly fenced and watered. The welsh mows it as it is where she lives 90% of the time

 

[spotty_pony]

I school in the field. Ours are currently too long to ride in but are being cut soon. But there is a flat field on a bridleway not far from me so I sometimes school in there.

 

[scruffyponies]

Agree with others about schooling out hacking, but on the odd occasion we want to do something in the field, we simply drop 4 traffic cones to mark the 'corners' and get on with it.

 

[dorsetladette]

I don't have an arena. I have a 20 x 40 paddock fenced off with a small shelter in the corner. I use this for flat work sometimes, but mostly use a larger resting paddock and my livery uses a resting paddock for jumping in. We have dressage cones with letters on. I think they cost about £20. The only time this set up has hindered me was when we needed to back my nervous nelly, but actually sending him away was the better option anyway.

I'm lucky in that our land is very sandy so we are able to ride in the field for most of the year. I know some people struggle with wet ground so its really worth checking what soil you have.

 

[ponynutz]

I do it, has its ups and downs but largely okay. You can mainly see the difference when you do ride in an arena on the flat surface and spongier footing, because they find the work easier and therefore perform better, so I'd say it's actually good for them.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

There was a time when we all schooled in fields or out hacking. Very few purpose built "schools" back in the day.

And it means that neither horse nor rider can hang onto the fence to keep them straight.

 

[scats]

I school in some of our fields in the summer once they have been topped. Adds a bit of variety and tests that I’m not relying on the fences to prop us up. Also gets them a bit used to working on different terrain.

 

[Annagain]

It's very doable but I don't quite understand why you can afford livery with facilities now (you give the impression that you have that now) but won't be able to afford livery with services if you move? Are you moving to a much more expensive area or is it a case of wanting another so wanting to do it more affordably?

 

[WelshHoarder]

We have a slightly bigger than 20x40 taped off - it’s hooked up to the electric in such a way that we can have the electric on when we’re not using it to keep the horses off, but can disconnect when we’re actually working in there. The actual 20x40 is marked with fencing rails on the ground at the moment, and the tread-in dressage letters. Horses get used as lawnmowers as and when needed, then shut out again - husband mows every now and again to keep it neat.

It’s not ideal but it works well enough for us - we can use a friend’s school as well, but it‘s done the trick since my son started getting serious last year. We just need to be a bit mindful of the weather!

 

[Squeak]

We have a grass 60x25 arena properly fenced and watered. The welsh mows it as it is where she lives 90% of the time

Out of interest how much watering does it take in the summer to keep the ground good and how have you got it set up for watering?

I'm moving to somewhere without a school and someone said that watering a schooling area of a field in the summer wasn't feasible due to the amount of water it would need but it seemed to me like if it could be done it could be a good solution.

 

[Orangehorse]

It is much easier and more productive if you have an arena marked out, if your horse can cope with that size. You don't have to have fancy markers or boards, unless you want to, but it means that you will be riding fairly accurate school figures and have a marker to ride to when going across the school. If you have a very green, unbalanced horse you can make the area larger.
The big disadvantage of schooling in the field is ground conditions. On heavy clay there might only be a few days (feels like it) when the ground is either not to wet or too dry.

I think when there are restrictions on rented ground for "training" this is an old fashioned clause, and now mostly removed, and referred to training a string of racehorses. So long as the surface doesn't get worn away I can't see why you can't do a bit of schooling on the grass.

 

[windand rain]

Out of interest how much watering does it take in the summer to keep the ground good and how have you got it set up for watering?

I'm moving to somewhere without a school and someone said that watering a schooling area of a field in the summer wasn't feasible due to the amount of water it would need but it seemed to me like if it could be done it could be a good solution.

It takes about an hour on a sunny day. I just use sprinklers and a hose but mostly do the usual figure 8 bit round the outside track and rein changes I do water very well near jumps though. We have sandy soil so it is very flat