What is a good size for a small riding arena?

[skirbo]

Quote:
Gaited horses *do* do things differently than other styles of riding, particularly the dressage and hunter/jumper set. And since they plan on popping her over low jumps, I assume that's what they are doing, not riding gaited horses.

I LOVE gaited horses, I've got two paso finos. But I don't ride them the same way I rode years ago when I took dressage lessons, or even the same way I rode when I rode western years before that.

And I don't see why she just can't leave the gate open on the thing and still use it as pasture while it's not being ridden in. It's not the best practice in the world, but if they are leaving the grass in there anyway, if it gets the arena the size it needs to be then I'd do it.

Sarah

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
yeah but the original poster said they were going to leave it as grass

Which does make sense for LIGHT riding use.

Pat

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

Even LIGHT riding use in a confined area doesnt leave a alot grass.

 

[patandchickens]

In my experience it DOES, provided you have enough space to move the 'track' periodically.

This is how I am set up, in fact. For 40 min or so (dressage-type flatwork), several times a week. It works great and maximizes grazing.

<shrug>

Pat

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

Thats fine for you. Like I said Ive got no expierience in "dressage". Ive always had Racking and Walking horses, and Quarter horses. Im just letting you know from my expierience, what Ive learned. If thats not good enough for dressage horses then I appoligize. 50' by 100' is sufficent for a "SMALL" riding arena. But again thats just from my expierience and my opinion. If its not good enough you dont have to do it.

 

[Bec]

My plans are to have 2 gates, 1 we already have that divides our front from back. We were just going to put a gate on the other end so that they could walk through OR we could not let them out all the way to the larger of our 2 fields so that grass could grow in a bit. Kind of rotate a little.

Just out of curiosity, how would it maximize grazing? Sounds like useful information I could use!

I am taking in all the information given by everyone and I appreciate it!

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

If you leave the grass in the riding arena then you gan also let them graze in it, that way it doesnt completly cut out all the pasture in that space. I live in TN and the summers have been pretty dry as of the last few years, and if you ride very much in one particular space you dont have as much grass as you would otherwise. On the other hand if it rains alot and gets muddy and you let the horses in the riding arena, it can make the ground rough, if its gets soggy and muddy, then when it drys up, you have a rougher area to ride on which is harder on your horse. But again thats jus from my expierience.

 

[patandchickens]

If you have a large enough area that you're not thrashing any particular track to death (you move your track periodically), then you will get pretty decent grass growth in a lightly used riding arena. It will of course be proportional to the general quality of your pasture -- compacted or poor soil won't grow as much grass as good loamy fluffy soil, but this is true whether or not you ride on it

My experience is that cordoning off a riding arena can actually slightly IMPROVE soil conditions and grass growth in the long term, if your pastures are getting kinda compacted as is true of most people except those on very sandy ground. The reason is that you can CONTROL how much hoof traffic and grazing it gets. This lets the worms and roots 'fluff' the soil back up, and lets eaten-down grass establish deeper stronger roots for better growth in future years.

If you're going to have a grass-surfaced riding area anyhow, I think it would frankly be kind of stupid to make it tiny. You don't save very much grazing -- yes, you will get a wee little bit less grazing value off it at least in the short term, but the tinier the ring is, the harder the ground gets thrashed and thus the more damage is done to the grass and soil, all the while you are not having as enjoyable or useful riding conditions as you could be.

Bec, if there is a way of siting the ring such that it does not have to be the corridor from the one paddock to the other, it would be much preferable. Like if there is a corner you could put it in, or some such thing. Obviously if the area between the 2 paddocks is, like, the only flat and well-drained part of the property

then you don't have much choice, but the ring will be much more of a positive addition to your setup, rather than the cause of problems, if you can avoid traffic *through* it.

Pat

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

I quess Patandchickens way is just better than mine. I quess MY expierience and knowledge is just wrong and Pats is right. Oh well, quess I dont know as much as I thought I did.

Quess Ill just stick to "thrashing" my soil and riding area. And not having quality soil and pasture.

 

[BeardedChick]

The concept of a 20m circle used for English riding and schooling has been around for centuries. The minimum arena dimensions are brought up in basic flatwork books, dressage books, cavaletti books, and even in-hand schooling books because it's a safe and effective work area for schooling horse and rider. It's not just a dressage concept. It is a concept that comes up at the pony club level and appears in many of their tests. It comes up in the flatwork for jumping and cavaletti work.

The horse is going to be in better balance being able to canter a larger circle (60' versus 50'), and the kid is going to learn to ride better on a horse that is better able to carry itself. Smaller circles encourage both the horse and rider to lean, and this is a very bad habit.