Horse Riding Arena

[JeffK-MN]

Hi to all and I hope everyone is safe.
My granddaughter has came to live with us and she is riding horse. She wants to do barrels and some other horse events.
I have a arena that is 65'x85' that was used for cattle. I'm working up the ground and getting sand for it.
Is this a good size?
What are some other things I need to do for her to get started ?
She is only 14 yrs old and think she wants to train horses.
Thanks Jeff

 

[Bigfoot]

Hi to all and I hope everyone is safe.
My granddaughter has came to live with us and she is riding horse. She wants to do barrels and some other horse events.
I have a arena that is 65'x85' that was used for cattle. I'm working up the ground and getting sand for it.
Is this a good size?
What are some other things I need to do for her to get started ?
She is only 14 yrs old and think she wants to train horses.
Thanks Jeff

It's a great size for some things. Many drills could be done in an area that size. It's a little small for a barrel pattern. My arena is 140' x 240'.

I would give anything if I'd had my crowned and drain tile put in. Sand disappears pretty quickly here.

 

[Silver]

Well, it's too small for a barrel pattern, but she could definitely do some barrel exercises in there.
I think you need to get a goat for her and stake it at one end of the arena for her to practice on

 

[JeffK-MN]

Thanks for the info
I will try to make it larger Jeff

 

[wbvs58]

I built my daughter a dressage arena at the beginning of last year, it is 20m x60m which equates to about 66' x 198' I think. It would be a usefull size for other disciplines I should imagine. Our sandy soils drain well and I had some good base material to lay down and we have a large washed sand pit from tin mining on the property so all materials were to hand. I used my excavator and the only real expense was getting some rock blasted from one end of it but the entertainment was worth the money.

Ken

 

[JeffK-MN]

Thanks I was worling with my granddaughter and we will make the new arena 85'x110' without to muck trouble.
She thinks that it will work for barrels and goat tying.
How deep do you have the sand ?
Do plastic barrels w]rk for practice?
Thanks again Jeff

 

[Bigfoot]

Thanks I was worling with my granddaughter and we will make the new arena 85'x110' without to muck trouble.
She thinks that it will work for barrels and goat tying.
How deep do you have the sand ?
Do plastic barrels w]rk for practice?
Thanks again Jeff

In an ideal situation, barrel 1 and 2 would be 60' apart, and both should be 90' from the 3rd. each barrel 20' off the fence, and plenty of room to start your run. If she gets real serious, she's gonna want more arena. You haven't mentioned poles. If she likes training horses, poles is the best game in town. Poles are gonna require 200' of real estate.

I'm not a fan of sand. You seldom compete on sand, and it's a good idea to practice like you play.

Plastic barrels are fine, but metal teaches you to make that inside leg hug a horse.

Hate to sound like a negative nelly, but if she goes all in, your gonna be doing it to do it again.

 

[JeffK-MN]

Thanks Bigfoot If she stay with us very long I know that I will have to get more then just the arena setup for horses.
what do you use instead of sand?
She uses the driveway for poles. She has the poles in buckets and my wife has fun coming home.
Thanks for the great info Jeff

 

[Bigfoot]

Thanks Bigfoot If she stay with us very long I know that I will have to get more then just the arena setup for horses.
what do you use instead of sand?
She uses the driveway for poles. She has the poles in buckets and my wife has fun coming home.
Thanks for the great info Jeff

You know your ground conditions, your place may call for sand. We drag our arena everyday it's used. You need good footing, but not too deep. A larger arena also lets you move your barrels around to some extent as well.

I've got a heart for a kid that likes horses or rodeo. Please keep us posted.

 

[wbvs58]

Thanks Bigfoot If she stay with us very long I know that I will have to get more then just the arena setup for horses.
what do you use instead of sand?
She uses the driveway for poles. She has the poles in buckets and my wife has fun coming home.
Thanks for the great info Jeff

Sounds like a pampered granddaughter Jeff. It is great though to have your kids/grandkids come and utilise what you have built up over the years. I make lots of sacrifices on my place to accommodate my daughters horses. My grandson visits and then he has full reign over the place building 4wd tracks through my scrub block.

Ken

 

[Boot Jack Bulls]

When I was a kid, we practiced barrels in our driveway lol. We practiced pockets by making some turns around a 5 gallon pail. After that, it was basic arena work and lots of flat track quarter mile runs. We had a full size roping arena, but the round pen and flat tracks got far more use. It sounds stone age compared to what most "big time barrel racers" of today know and do, but we had very competitive horses with good minds and no gate issues....

 

[Silver]

When you get to see your little girl coming home with this look on her face it makes it all worth it :nod: