Schooling in a small school

[I don’t like mondays]

Hi everyone
I’ve recently moved to a new yard which is perfect in many ways (I was looking for a long time!!). The only drawback is the school is 15mx35m and my horse is 16h. I really love schooling and my plan is to get out and do some prelim dressage. There are 2 lovely big arenas for hire a short drive away and my plan was to hire when I needed to practice tests etc. However (if you’ve seen my previous post) my horse now has major issues with travelling so I probably won’t be able to get him out for a while. So....for the time being can I get away with working in such a small arena? Cantering on the short sides is interesting but it works. I school 1-2 times per week and we’re only working on the basics at the moment (transitions, getting him forwards, long and low, no circles in canter due to the width of the school). The arena surface itself is great- not too thin and not too deep (which has been an issue at other yards). Sadly I don’t have a schooling field I can use as grazing is all used. Can I still progress with such a small school? I don’t want to cause my horse any issues by asking too much in such a small space. Thanks

 

[Gloi]

I have never had such well balanced ponies as when I was on a yard with a tiny school.

 

[I don’t like mondays]

I have never had such well balanced ponies as when I was on a yard with a tiny school.

Thanks Gloi. That’s good to know, sounds like having such a small arena can be good then ? It’s definitely forcing me to ride differently (whereas in a 20x60 we could canter round with ease)

 

[milliepops]

it's good that the surface is decent.
I used to have an 18 x 35 to use which was fine for my horse and made competitions feel easy. I think it will make you get on top of balance issues quickly a 15m canter circle shouldn't be too far out of reach unless your horse is very gangly. with one that size I would personally have to ensure i was truly riding forward and not feeling oppressed by the walls

When your horse is travelling happily i think I'd box out at least weekly tbh.

what is your hacking like now?

 

[Squeak]

I also used to ride in an 18 x 35 and that was on a few 16.1's and even a 16.3. Horses evented well using it, often leading after dressage however as MP has said the challenge was to make sure that you still ride properly forwards.

 

[RachelFerd]

I sometimes school in our tiny indoor (28x15), but generally only if weather is absolutely dreadful. There are definitely good uses for it - and I find that it gives me a reason to focus in on doing lots of lateral work and suppling work in walk. It is still big enough to be able to canter large around it, albeit with a focus on staying balanced. Took the 4yo in there for the first time in ages and was pleasantly surprised that he is now capable of cantering in there without crashing. Would not have been possible a few months ago!

 

[tristar]

i once built a 15 x 32 riding surface and broke and trained horses up to 16.2. hh but i use my horses carefully, it makes you address issues of over riding and pushing too much too quick go out of the door, my horses expanded when ridden in a big area, field, after the warm up schooling in the smaller area

 

[twiggy2]

As long as the horse is fit and doing lots of straight line work outside of the school, as others have said forward is the key

 

[I don’t like mondays]

it's good that the surface is decent.
I used to have an 18 x 35 to use which was fine for my horse and made competitions feel easy. I think it will make you get on top of balance issues quickly a 15m canter circle shouldn't be too far out of reach unless your horse is very gangly. with one that size I would personally have to ensure i was truly riding forward and not feeling oppressed by the walls

When your horse is travelling happily i think I'd box out at least weekly tbh.

what is your hacking like now?

Thanks MP ? Yes it feels like the wall of death if I don’t ride those corners properly!! Hacking at this yard is really lovely, however it’s stony and my horse is barefoot so I need to either sort boots or shoes, plus there’s nobody to hack with so I need to get him (and me) confident going alone- so lots to work on ?

 

[paddi22]

I have a mini arena at home and I'm very conscious about not turning too much work that involves tight circles as it puts so much strain on joints etc. At home I would do lots of lateral work, inhand raised pole work, suppling/bending work and a lot of transitions, but I would never really be cantering circles or doing tons of trotting circles. as millipops said, it's very easy to strangle your forwardness. once it's combined with hacking work, and schooling in larger arenas you will find a good balance.

 

[I don’t like mondays]

As long as the horse is fit and doing lots of straight line work outside of the school, as others have said forward is the key

Thanks Twiggy. Ok sounds like I need to make sure we’re hacking out a lot (so I need to sort my horse’s foot situation out so we can use the lovely long tracks)

 

[Gloi]

Tiny schools also make loose schooling very easy. The yard I was at trained showjumpers and they soon learned to jump off a turn , very agile.

 

[teapot]

15m by 35m isnt too bad - you'll learn to embrace the corners!

 

[littleshetland]

Definitely sounds doable to me! As your horse gets more balanced it all gets easier.

 

[SEL]

I had one a little bigger at an old yard - but it had the best hacking in the area so the indoor was just used when the weather was shocking.

I did actually manage to teach my big young mare to canter in there, but only down the long sides because she wasn't balanced enough for the corners. Her walk, canter transition was spot on though! Really good for free schooling over poles and she was a lot more sensible than she was when we moved somewhere with a big school.

You learnt to adapt to what you have and I'd rather a small school with a good surface than the big school we moved to with the surface that stuffed her suspensory

 

[Jenni_]

Our indoor is similar size - does a job in the winter but I do minimal canter in it - with a 17:1 ISH with a massive stride there's just not enough room, regardless of how well balanced she is.

I do find it good for the lateral stuff, being so small you have to be creative and accurate with your movements. Much less room for drifting and getting lost!

 

[Cob Life]

I ride in an arena the same size.

I just have to utilise corners and I can set up a small (3-4) course of jumps if I’m clever about it

 

[mini_b]

I have a mini arena at home and I'm very conscious about not turning too much work that involves tight circles as it puts so much strain on joints etc. At home I would do lots of lateral work, inhand raised pole work, suppling/bending work and a lot of transitions, but I would never really be cantering circles or doing tons of trotting circles. as millipops said, it's very easy to strangle your forwardness. once it's combined with hacking work, and schooling in larger arenas you will find a good balance.

this a million times. I’ve got a large horse, use of small arena and he makes it known the surface isn’t good.
I mostly use it for pole work, I don’t canter in it. It’s better after it’s rained.