Small arena sizes

[Pd19]

Hi
Has anyone experience of riding in smaller than standard arenas and still found them useful albeit limited compared with 20m x 40m and above? If so what sizes and what would you change (other than increasing to 20x40!)
I have a space that is 24m wide and potentially 30m to play with in length however I think that is pushing the budget so was thinking more along the lines of using the 24m width as the length, and having an 18m or 20m width so as I have a bit of a 'long side'.
This is just for home use: myself and two ponies plus if my children ride then it would be a safe place for them on ponies. Lunging and some schooling but all low level stuff, we go elsewhere for lessons (flat/SJ) do I don't need (nor can I afford) the works.
It's being done by ourselves so very much budget options but I think it will be very useful as I can't get onto our fields in winter and am limited in the summer in that I can't have an area for long as it's all in rotation for cows/crops.
Many thanks!

 

[ycbm]

There are quite a few indoor schools that are 30 x15 because that's a size of barn that land owners can get an almost automatic planning consent on for use for farming. They are then quietly used for riding in.

I have ridden horses in one that is 30 yards by 12+ yards and that would have been fine for ponies.

If you can afford it I think you and your kids will have a lot more fun if you can use the 30 metres.
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[Red-1]

Mine is 30 X 30, it would be better if it were bigger, but it is a godsend.

I do miss a long side, but can just ride off the track on what I imagine would be the long side.

 

[dorsetladette]

When we were kids our indoor was 15x30. Its fine for ponies, we has so much fun in there. We also had a friend who's dad had built them a 'school' behind the barn they used for stables. It was an odd shape, a bit like an egg, he just made it to the shape of the space available. In honesty it wasn't much bigger than a lunging pen. It worked for them while they were on little ponies, but they struggled once the ponies went over 13hh.

 

[AFB]

Our indoor without measuring is probably 30x15 - it's useful for ticking over (I wouldn't be able to rid midweek through winter without) but it's not ideal really.

 

[lamlyn2012]

The issue for me with a small arena is the constant turning on a relatively small circle and the stress on the joints. Probably be ok for ponies but I wouldn't think it would be too good for horses. That's just my thinking though.

 

[Cortez]

My arena is roughly 18m X 35m and I have trained many, many horses in there to do everything from jousting to PSG.

 

[ihatework]

I’ve got access to a small indoor school, at a guesstimate it’s prob 25 x 15m.

You could get away with ponies. And it’s a useful size for a bit of lunging / in-hand/loose jumping, early backing, but really under saddle it’s that bit too small to be able to do much productive.

 

[Pd19]

Thanks for the replies!