What's the smallest schooling area I can get away with??

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oldhat

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Hi, I keep my two horses at home on our wee 3 acre croft and am wracking my brains as to where I can make a dedicated schooling area; what is the absolute smallest area I could get away with without making it difficult for the horse? My two are 15.1 and 14hh, the second being a heavy haffy!!
 
20m circle I suppose :confused: although on that side you would have to warm up and cool down on a hack I should think, to allow them to stretch in a straight line :)
 
Depends what you want to do. You'd prob want more space for jumping than just for flatwork. 20m by 40m is what more dressage tests are done in and is the minimum sized arena most people I know have. I've seen smaller areas used as just lunging pens.
 
Thanks for the feedback! Yes I could make a lunging area only I suppose - I think I've been spoiled as I had my own lovely sand school where I lived before! It's difficult to lose part of our very small amount of grazing! What a dilemma! Schooling on grass is just not as good - slippery and lumpy and really no good for their or my balance. I just need a nice flat surface! I have also heard that if I do make a sand school area I should use a certain type of sand, i.e. square crystal shape as opposed to rounded as this won't blow away so much, would scraping the grass off and simply putting down the sand be enough as some people I know have done this; or should I definitely put down a weed control barrier?
 
What soil are you on?

If you take off the top soil and just put sand on top then you might just find it washes away / disappears in to the mud? You may well need a hardcore and a membrane to put the sand onto.

When we didn't have a school I used to school on the flat grass area of the field when it was dry and have the occasional lesson at an instructors in the winter.
 
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