will a menage hinder performance?

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fairdown

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20 January 2008
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hi there im having increasing problems with flatwork on my 5yr old show/wh mare- i think it may be 2 do with the menage im riding her in at our livery yard- i think i find it harder to ride in it and its harder for her 2 push out- we always ride so much better when we are up at lessons or competing on a bigger better surface- do u think this actually is a problem or is it all in my head??!! the menage we ride in is very small u cant really school in it properly cuz there is bits of jumps here and there and the surface is very poor, we have said to our yard manager ref this problem months ago and still NOTHING IS DONE!! it is soooo frustrating not to be able to school your horse properly at home! please give me your views on this asap im so down that the horse isnt going well and non-horsey ppl understand!!
 
You're not alone! My horse almost always goes better at competitions (working in, anyway
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) than at home, because of the surface. We have a school that is not quite 20x40 and the surface is fairly poor.

It's frustrating - livery yard so it's not up to me to sort it, and while I would contribute to a new surface I just don't have the cash. But it does mean I'm often pleasantly surprised when we get to a competition (if only it carried on into the arena!)

Sorry, not much help am I
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You could make things a little better by moving out the 'bits of jumps' to make more room?

If the arena is too small & the surface is rubbish & the YO will do nothing about it then vote with your feet & move to another yard that has an arena you can use, At the molment you are paying for a facility that cannot be used.
 
I agree with Toby_Zaphod. You are paying for the facility. Are others not happy too? maybe you could all get together and view your concerns to the YO?
 
You wouldn't be on our yard would you, we have the exact same problem, school totally unusable and unsafe.
Our YO knows exactly how we feel but nothing is done about it, so I guess I'll have to vote with my feet too.
 
As a temp measure can you not ask for a flat patch of grazing to school in. If you work full time at least you can use it at the wkends, and the clocks change at the end of march.

I think sometimes a slightly small arena can be an advantage. I work on a tight 20x40 with a slope this really helps to balance up my horse and every dressage arena feels huge when we go out
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there are some pros keep your chin up
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I used to have to work in a rubbish small school and, like gifthorse, actually found it an advantage in a way - when I went out and did dressage we found it easier than at home so it was a pleasant surprise!

These days I have the choice of 2 lovely schools and our work at home is definitely better. But my dressage scores have got worse
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Persevere if you can but if it's really that bad and is constantly worrying you, you'll probably have to end up doing what I did in the end, and move.
 
Definitely vote with your feet! I was at a yard where my horse was constantly tripping and was reluctant to move forward, it took me ages to get him to soften and start to work properly. It finally dawned on me just how cr*p the surface was, and that long term it could cause damage to my horse.

I moved and the difference from first day was amazing............I felt really guilty for not doing something sooner.
 
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