Tell me about life with no arena and no trailer

[bonnysmum]

What do you do? We moved my daughter's pony recently - which I'm 95% happy about - but I'm starting to feel the lack of riding facilities as the local hacking isn't great and there's only a small field suitable for riding in winter. I don't know how long we'll last without having to buy a trailer but I'd really rather not. Those of you in a similar position, have you managed to find local "trailer buddies" to share lifts to arenas or is that not a thing? I'm in rural Scotland, trailer hire around here is hard to find (if it exists at all).

PS if I did manage to find somewhere to hire a trailer, how much should I expect that to cost?

 

[ycbm]

Unless I'm remembering wrongly, you made a leap to get away from a yard where the previous owner of the pony was causing you big problems. I think you're in the wrong place long term for a chid with a pony. Can you take your time, away from the pressure you had, and find a place with other children who your daughter can have fun with on her pony?

 

[Northern Hare]

If you can, and you have a vehicle to tow it, find a safe and sound Ifor Williams trailer, to allow you be independent to take your daughter to PC and lessons etc.

Then if you ever need to sell the trailer, as long as it's looked after, you will lose very little money on it. They are a great investment imo. ?

 

[bonnysmum]

You made a leap to get away from a yard where the previous owner of the pony was causing you big problems. I think you're in the wrong place long term for a chid with a pony. Can you take your time, away from the pressure you had, and find a place with other children who your daughter can have fun with on her pony?

If only we had options @ycbm but there are no yards less than an hour's drive away and only one possibility within that distance.

 

[ycbm]

If only we had options @ycbm but there are no yards less than an hour's drive away and only one possibility within that distance.

 

[HeyMich]

Whereabouts in Scotland are you? (You can pm me if you like) We have a very active pony club that your daughter may really enjoy - both of my kids have utterly thrived since joining PC. But yes, you'd need a trailer or a regular hire which may get pricey!

 

[bonnysmum]

Whereabouts in Scotland are you? (You can pm me if you like) We have a very active pony club that your daughter may really enjoy - both of my kids have utterly thrived since joining PC. But yes, you'd need a trailer or a regular hire which may get pricey!

Quite some distance from sunny Stirlingshire unfortunately! My girl isn't sold on PC and isn't missing it at the moment - she'd stopped trying organised group stuff long before we moved - but if she does want to go back I think we'd go to a centre where she could use one of their ponies. She is missing mucking around with her friends though, that's definitely true, although to be honest we wouldn't be doing much of that at this time of year even if we'd stayed put due to the distance! The big plus to the move is she is able to spend a lot more time looking after her pony, doing literally everything, and the pony herself has visibly relaxed over the past few weeks.

 

[bonnysmum]

If you can, and you have a vehicle to tow it, find a safe and sound Ifor Williams trailer, to allow you be independent to take your daughter to PC and lessons etc.

Then if you ever need to sell the trailer, as long as it's looked after, you will lose very little money on it. They are a great investment imo. ?

I'm sure you're right that we'll need to take the plunge and our car could (theoretically) tow one of the lighter trailers. I guess it just feels like one more enormous leap & responsibility for me that I'm not sure I'm quite ready for!

 

[I'm Dun]

The reality of no school and no transport is not nice, especially for a child. I've got a little yard with no arena, although I do have fairly good hacking. It gets very boring! And I'm an adult with a goal I'm working towards. I've just taken delivery of a trailer today as otherwise I dont think the slog is worth what I'm getting out of it at the minute!

The other option is accepting that over winter the pony does very little ridden work. A walk out on a weekend day and the rest of the time plenty of turnout till spring.

There will be other yards near you though unless you are incredibly isolated. Ask on local horsey facebook groups. Everytime I think I know of all the local yards another one pops up, and Ive been here years now. So always worth asking.

 

[I'm Dun]

The people who had my yard before me gave it up in the end as it was miserable for their child. Theyve moved to a local livery yard and are so happy with the decision. The child and pony are absolutely thriving, whereas before it was all starting to unravel.

 

[Squeak]

I have no arena and my box is invaluable to me. I box out one day of the weekend to either an arena hire or somewhere different to hack and the other day either have a lesson or compete. During the week I make the best of it and ride by head torch but knowing that I can do something more fun at the weekend makes the weekdays worth it.

What does your daughter think? It sounds like there are definite positives where you are. With the trailer test law changing a trailer might be an easy solution.

 

[Melody Grey]

Could you connect with your local Facebook horsey groups explaining your situation? There may be private yards with children with ponies at home that are also feeling a bit isolated and might want a livery with a child?

FWIW, we’ve not always been on yards with children- my son has often been the only one, but I can see how some children would need buddies.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

What do you do? We moved my daughter's pony recently - which I'm 95% happy about - but I'm starting to feel the lack of riding facilities as the local hacking isn't great and there's only a small field suitable for riding in winter. I don't know how long we'll last without having to buy a trailer but I'd really rather not. Those of you in a similar position, have you managed to find local "trailer buddies" to share lifts to arenas or is that not a thing? I'm in rural Scotland, trailer hire around here is hard to find (if it exists at all).

PS if I did manage to find somewhere to hire a trailer, how much should I expect that to cost?

the reality, having done it myself for the past 8 years in Scotland, is that it’s grim.
either take the pressure off, accept that pony will only be ridden sporadically December through January.
trailer wise there are place that do longer term hires but they won’t be the lighter trailers-usually ifors, there’s a place in Lanark that does it.

 

[maya2008]

Get the trailer, join a pony club, go to shows and meet up with others to hack. Surely where you are now is cheaper as no school, so you could put the price difference towards a trailer?

 

[Peglo]

My horses stay at home. I don’t have any facilities, safe hacking in the dark and rarely get decent weather. We’re in Orkney. So I currently ride at weekends, weather permitting.

I have my friends horse box outside so could be going to the riding centre but I can’t currently tow and can’t take the test so I’m in limbo atm.

I have a few people that goes past with a horse box. We’re friendly but I’ve not been offered a lift and don’t really feel like I could ask.

I don’t think it would hurt to ask around but if you had your own horse box it would give you much more options.
I'm glad your daughter is enjoying looking after her pony.

 

[TGM]

What does your daughter want to do with her pony? Is she competitive, does she love schooling and lessons or would she just be happy hacking out at the weekends? Does she have people she can hack with? Does the pony have the temperament that allows it to be sane when only ridden at weekends? Are there arenas locally she could hack to at the weekends for lessons? If just hacking at the weekend is not an option for any reason and presumably the small field for riding in is out of action due to ground conditions, then I think you seriously ought to get a trailer. We've been in the position of having a keen daughter and no school and we managed but only because we had transport. Even one trip out mid week was enough to keep them ticking over during winter.

(PS: I second the suggestion of an Ifor Williams trailer - we had one years ago and we sold it for nearly as much as we paid for it.)

 

[Widgeon]

I found the responsibility of buying and running a trailer a massive "thing" in my head so I planned to hire - but the nearest hire place with a single trailer (I didn't want to tow bigger as my car is old) is about 45 minutes away. So it was totally impractical and I just never got round to it. After six months of thinking about hiring and the logistical complications meaning I never did, I pretty much threw my hands in the air and just bought one (an old style IW401). The first few times I towed I was terrified, but I've had it a year or so now and it's dead easy. And the freedom it gives you is immense. So I'd say that if you have a car that will tow a couple of tons, just psych yourself up and buy a trailer. Gives you lots more options. You don't want to end up feeling trapped in a muddy, lonely field.

 

[Widgeon]

I have a few people that goes past with a horse box. We’re friendly but I’ve not been offered a lift and don’t really feel like I could ask.

I would ask! Offer them diesel money - the way fuel prices are at the moment you might find they're posting your horse up the ramp as soon as you get the words out of your mouth Worth a try....

 

[stangs]

Scottish people correct me if I'm wrong, but surely the access code would mean everywhere in rural Scotland would be a place with plenty of hacking?

OP, the best place to find a trailer/horsebox buddy would be on your yard. Also on local equestrian FB groups, sometimes I see people asking if anyone wants to join them on a trip for diesel money if their horse isn't happy travelling alone etc so worth keeping an eye out.

 

[Peglo]

I would ask! Offer them diesel money - the way fuel prices are at the moment you might find they're posting your horse up the ramp as soon as you get the words out of your mouth Worth a try....

the one lass knows my situation as I’ve told her before and I guess if she wanted to give me a lift she would offer, which she hasn’t, so assume she’d rather not. Hopefully this trailer test thing gets sorted soon!

 

[Caol Ila]

Scottish people correct me if I'm wrong, but surely the access code would mean everywhere in rural Scotland would be a place with plenty of hacking?

Yes and no. Theoretically, yes, but not everywhere has horse-friendly trails. The terrain is rough and boggy, and there are a lot of obstacles like stiles or kissing gates or tracks that cross bogs you would not ride a horse through.

 

[bonnysmum]

Yes and no. Theoretically, yes, but not everywhere has horse-friendly trails. The terrain is rough and boggy, and there are a lot of obstacles like stiles or kissing gates or tracks that cross bogs you would not ride a horse through.

Yep, and pretty much all of the above apply (not forgetting deer fences!), plus a not very friendly estate that isn't exactly free & easy with access rights.

I don't think my daughter quite knows yet what she really wants to do, she hasn't had the pony long enough. She loves stable management & horse care (which is exactly why we got the pony for her, as that's the thing it seems impossible to do these days unless you have your own) so at the moment she's well miffed with the dark evenings because all that gets done before she's home from school! She's generally very happy mooching about just her and her pony, but she does want to ride her. She also really wants to learn how to school her properly and she's starting to get keen on dressage. We're keeping up the riding by taking her for lessons on other ponies at the moment. I would much prefer to be able to get an instructor out here to teach on her pony but I just don't think the available space is suitable and then there's the weather! (EDIT: although there is a family just up the road who have an outdoor arena that we could walk to. I've been hoping they might offer but I guess I might need to ask if we could hire it for lessons?)

She was all into the jumping & competitions, egged on by friends, until she had a couple of falls and lost her confidence. She's not a very competitive type at all really and she doesn't like going to groups, so PC and stuff like that are not on the cards at the moment. She needs more hacking opportunities before she will really know if that's her thing or not. No decent hacking here without a trailer except for one track - up the way & down the way. Friends from the old yard live 40+ miles away so not very easy to arrange meetups.

I'm not seeing many other options other than buying a trailer, but I do think the pair of us need to be a lot more confident in all aspects of handling before I would feel safe venturing out so possibly we're looking at getting one before next winter.

 

[Widgeon]

the one lass knows my situation as I’ve told her before and I guess if she wanted to give me a lift she would offer, which she hasn’t, so assume she’d rather not. Hopefully this trailer test thing gets sorted soon!

That's a shame. The trailer situation is ridiculous at the moment isn't it. Fingers crossed for you that it's sorted out soon.

 

[Squeak]

I'd definitely ask if you could hire the arena down the road. It sounds like it could be the short term solution to it.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

If someone hires their arena, they need public liability insurance, which is several hundred pounds a year.

 

[bonnysmum]

If someone hires their arena, they need public liability insurance, which is several hundred pounds a year.

I figured there would be that kind of issue, but I can't exactly ask to borrow it for nothing & if they were going to offer they'd have done so by now. Meanwhile it sits unused, hey ho. Seems to be what it boils down to with everything these days, same reason why kids can't just go & help people out with their horses any more. :-(

 

[windand rain]

If you have your own third party insurance and paid in kind it might work for someone We take folk in the lorry from time to time usually they pay by doing the ponies a day or helping with something else.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I figured there would be that kind of issue, but I can't exactly ask to borrow it for nothing & if they were going to offer they'd have done so by now. Meanwhile it sits unused, hey ho. Seems to be what it boils down to with everything these days, same reason why kids can't just go & help people out with their horses any more. :-(

yes, well thats the world as it is. I used to rent a place with an arena and I wasn't too keen on people asking me if they could use it tbh. Are there no 3.5t hire places near you? Is the pony kept alone or are there other horses there-if so are they ridden?

 

[bonnysmum]

yes, well thats the world as it is. I used to rent a place with an arena and I wasn't too keen on people asking me if they could use it tbh. Are there no 3.5t hire places near you? Is the pony kept alone or are there other horses there-if so are they ridden?

No there really aren't any 3.5T hire places here at all, not within 100 miles as far as I know. it's quite the back of beyond, which is why it would be nice if people were a bit keener to help each other out but it does seem to be every man/woman/horse for themselves sadly. There are two other ponies here & they're not ridden, no. Very occasionally taken out on the lead rope. The YO always means to ride but never quite gets round to it, I guess for the same reason we're having issues!

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I just wondered, when my dad gave up riding he paid someone to ride one and to take me out hacking on the other. Obviously you have to vet people well but it worked for us-but then, in the SE of England, its much easier to stay riding year round than up here.

TBH up until this winter, I used to just write off Nov through to end of Feb apart from the odd day. It got soul destroying (I bought an old lorry but it cost me a fortune so got rid, I can't afford to run a decent 4x4 with my commute, didn't want to go back to livery although that was under serious consideration this summer). We've just have had a small sand arena put in and its a game changer, not just for exercising but for getting them off the grass/mud etc

The problem with trailer buddies and people using your stuff/arena is that people then wreck your stuff/arena/trailer and dont pay for it, or take it for granted, or have unrealistic expectations. Horse people are famed for being crazy and poor at paying bills-it can sometime take a while to convince folk otherwise (it took me over 6 months to get grazing when moved here due to previous batshit crazy horse owners).