At 11:29:11 on 25.10.11, DaisyD1995 wrote:
Heya, I've recently moved my horses to some large(ish)paddocks which have a few stables on to be closer to my home and i have no arena there, only hacks and the fields they live in. I Do a bit of show jumping and XC and hopefully soon will do dressage AND on top of that I've just bought a new horse who is a hunter type and i will hopefully be doing a bit of small eventing. But like i said.... no arena! What would/Do you do???? Any suggestions????

At 11:47:13 on 25.10.11, kibby wrote:
I school in paddocks. I just do what I would do if I had an arena but in a larger area... The only part that I sometimes have more difficulty with is lateral work.

At 20:05:36 on 25.10.11, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
I love schooling on hacks it is really good practice, there are lots of distractions and getting your horse to concentrate is a real challenge but i often find it better as grenville is more responsive and elevated when i hack and lateral work can be difficult but i found the narrow tracks helped cos i can go sideways infront of a hedge row or up a hill or across a field... It is really interesting :) I also do grid work in the woods by moving logs prior to hacking out, great fun :)

At 22:39:26 on 25.10.11, DaisyD1995 wrote:
thanks guys! :) keep the comments coming! :)

At 13:17:30 on 03.11.11, quorum wrote:
I enjoy schooling when out hacking too. I try and aim to keep my horse long and low, that way the adrenelin levels aren't so high, a little more difficult on a busy main road I admit!!

At 21:01:12 on 03.11.11, Cherion Brook wrote:
I used to school Khan in our paddocks, well i say that, i tried to school him. :p We bought schooling letters (A,C,B,E and so on) that stand up so if we want we can put them in the field, as long as you can pace out the distance you want for the arena size you'd like to work in, they work just as well. Possible better as your horse won't follow the track that is provided in a school because there isnt one, they will have to listen to you and position themselves accordingly... If that made any sense..

At 21:44:38 on 03.11.11, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
I try not to let grenville go long and low unless i specifically ask him to because he tends to lose all the energy 'out the front door' as my instructor says, he goes much better with the poll as the highest point pushing from behind even if it does make him harder to stop ;)

At 21:17:11 on 04.11.11, NoraPieterse wrote:
I have no arena, which is hard because I have a young horse who needs schooling. You could find a yard nearby with a school which you could rent. yes it costs money but it might pay off in the long run. I also school in the field and on hacks. Hardest thing I find about schooling in my paddock is that my horse napps to the gate because he is used to just going in and out of the field so he thinks he has to speed up when he goes towards the gate. make sure you avoid letting this happen, it's hard to get rid of!

At 18:26:31 on 05.11.11, NMH wrote:
I loan a local manege about once a fortnight, but only for a short session! you can't blitz schooling! & do a lot while hacking- sideways on lanes (not much traffic!), & on headlands; transitions everywhere, canter leads where possible. If the rest is right then circles look after themselves, the main thing is to be ultra aware of falling in/out on one or other shoulder (it's less obvious without circles I find), ensuring even contact in the 2 reins etc & you can do a great deal about that hacking I find.

At 18:28:50 on 05.11.11, NMH wrote:
Schooling my 5 year old in a big grassy field the lack of markers is difficult- I use weeds! Much of the winter it's impossible anyway.