I have no round ring or arena at my house, which is where I'm currently keeping my horse. I DO have a very large (~ 15 acre) field to ride in, but it's not the most level of places and my horse, whenever I ride him in it, always tries to go home because there's no fence to stop him. It's hard to get him to do the same sorts of things I could always have him do in an arena, I guess because he thinks that since there's no wall or fence, he can do whatever he wants.
Please help? Not having a place to work my horse really drives me crazy! (I am a college student, so buying a round ring is, for the moment, out of the question. Lol.)
What Ezri said, exactly . The best horses work equally well in a pasture or an arena. My youth horse was quite the winner, and we didn't even have a pasture to work in! I worked her on dirt roads, and circled where the road was wide enough , like at intersections. Now I have the choice of a small paddock, about 1/2 the size the arena should be, a 15 acre field with other horses or a 3 acre field. I usually ride in the 3 acre field. Would LOVE to ride in the big pasture, but too many horses.
Why don't you buy some cheap temprorary fencing and rope off an area of the field to ride in? Try to find the most level part. When you start to ride in it often your horse will mosh up a track and it will be very nearly a school: P that's all I can sugguest
Riding without the security and mental and physical barriers of an enclosed arena is actually a good experience for you. You 're old enough to be able to control your horse without those crutches! He has to learn to respect YOU out there in that field. Learn to circle him when he gets nappy about going back home, and to kick him on. Use a snaffle , with either full cheeks, a big D or a chin strap, and carry a long dressage whip to enforce your leg. Ride him out and around, back to the barn, back out to the end of the field, back to the barn, back out to the end of the field, etc. etc.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
The uneven surface is a little difficult if you're trotting and cantering and he's on his forehand or just prone to tripping because he doesn't pick up his feet. Go back to basics in your training and do lots of transitions. Carry your whip , and do not allow him to ignore your aids.
A 15 acre field is a fine place to work your horse. I'd much rather have a 15 acre field than ONLY an arena or roundpen. I detest riding in arenas, though it's a necessary evil for dressage and stadium jumping. Just gets very boring, for us.
i don't have an arena at my house either, only fields too. i have a small round pen, but its way to tiny to ride him in, so i make do with the field. what i did is got my tractor out, and flattened out a patch of ground, and got ride of all of the weeds on it. so now i have a make shift arena:)
your horse needs to get used to not being worked in an arena. often times at horse shows, you aren't going to have a fenced in arena to work in, so if you show he needs to get used to it. do easy things at first so he respects and listens to you. start with lunging on your "arena" area, then do simple showmanship or other in hand maneuvers, get him listening and paying attention to you. then get on his back and do simple things at the walk to get him listening, serpentines, circles, leg yields, backing up, collecting, side passing, pivoting, etc. then once he is listening, progress to the jog/trot then the canter/lope.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
hope this helps!!
