We have only recently completed Lisa Martins new arena at Scone.The arena is 60mx20m with a round yard attached to one end, with the surface being a blend of selected sand and mulched rubber.

The arena was designed and constructed to be converted from an outdoor to an indoor venue for schooling, training and clinics. The set out and site bulk earthworks were completed for the arena and future stable complex as well as parking areas and roadways, with the stable services also being installed at this time. Whilst installing the arena base the roundyard and car parks were also completed. A simple surround was constructed for the arena and roundyard which has been designed to be added to once the indoor structure is complete.

Lisa is extremely happy with her new arena, and is using it daily in preparation for the upcoming Horseland 2009 Australian Dressage Championships, in which she will have three horses competing. We are proud to be supporting Lisa for this event, and wish her the best of luck.

Submitted: 21/10/09

Horse arenas are a place of dream, specifically when the weather is bad. Horse lovers always want to have all weather arenas. They get maximum pleasure out of their passion of tending horses. It is an inseparable part of their life. Horse lovers are well aware of needs of daily exercise by these animals to keep fit. They get drained out thinking of what all need to be considered to work out best plan for riding arenas. Planning and designing arenas involve consideration from dimensions of necessary supports besides riding ground itself.

Planning such domains of horse activity require thought over certain practical aspects of necessary supports. Ancillary buildings and facilities like offices, living areas for people, offices, tack rooms and feed storage; and water supply, lighting, drainage, ventilation, waste disposal and suitable entrance/ exit are basic points needed to be kept in mind. These spelled out prime factors may change in very different ways in different geographical regions. While planning for ground of arenas, one has to workout for perfect surface cushioning. Riding surface of an arena should not be rough to cause injury to the hoofs. Slippery or too smooth surface finish can make horses to fall off easily or be off the track. Costs of construction as well as cost of maintenance certainly need to be taken into consideration. Arena surface should have reasonable softness, but not dusty.

These factors lead to question of selection of proper surface covering. There is a presumable extent of softness of the ground cover. One should be more dependent upon locally available constructional materials to avoid cost of transportation. A good riding ground will have combined effect of these characters to offer maximum grip for the hoofs. But, it has to also avoid being too soft to let the foot sink deep causing strains to the foot muscles. Many types of surface material are in use today, natural to man-made ones. Surface preparation begins with laying compacted base layer and finally overlaying the top layer with selected material. Choice should be based on local availability.

Fast drainage of arena is an important factor in designing open to sky arenas. An easy approach is to create raised center of the ground with gentle slop towards edges. Whole of run down water is collected by the drainage along outer boundary. Anther way is to provide herringbone layout of connected drains all over for final discharge. Construction of drainage is expensive, but remains only alternative in absence of usable natural slope of the land.

Arenas can be open to sky or covered for all weather use. Covering large space over riding area is expensive due to cost of structural metal frames and roof covering metal or fiber sheets. Standard size of arenas are 100' x 200'. Depending upon land availability, length may be more. Smaller commercial purpose covered arenas measure 60' x 120'. The truss come in Standard 60' as such do not cause additional hassle of joining members for required lengths. Column poles are normally placed 12' apart.

Basic knowledge about arenas is better. An owner can take better decisions for construction of new ones or maintenance of existing ones.

Connor Sullivan has visited many horse arenas with his daughter who rides horses in shows. He watched his daughter in the riding arenas doing jumps with her horse.

Submitted: 23/09/09

Article Source: http://www.EzineArticles.com

The factors to take into consideration when deciding where to ride your horse are: where you keep your horse and your level of experience with horses. Other aspects such as whether you want to have a pleasure ride or to train your horse will also factor into the location of where to ride your horse.

Growing up in the country I had access to a vast area of dirt roads that lead to open areas for hacking and trail riding. Both the roads and the country posed their challenges, but I was never short of a place to ride. I did however have to face my fears and leave the safety of our property if I wanted to ride.

If you are learning to ride or if you have a new horse, the best place to ride your horse is in an arena. An arena offers a place of less distraction than a road or the trails; your horse is less likely to get a fright and panic. If your horse does panic there is usually help close at hand.

Riding in an arena should not be considered boring; it is a place to learn trust and confidence for both the horse and rider. Any horse no matter the breed or intended discipline to which he is being trained can benefit from being ridden in an arena.

When both horse and rider have a level of communication where the rider feels confident and in control then they can venture to ride outside of the arena. With the use of the word control I mean that in the event of "fight or flight" you will be able to react immediately with good riding skills and to regain your horse's composure before he panicked.

The advantage of a big stable yard is being able to ask other riders where they ride. Not only will you learn specific trails, but also the hazards along those trails, such as a barking dog that never fails to respond to a horse passing its property.

A horse box is a wonderful means of transportation and certainly opens up the world for places to ride your horse. If you do not own a horsebox and can not afford to purchase one, you can always ask the help of other riders. Some riders will share their horse box just to have a companion on the trail; others will lend or rent you a horse box.

With a horse box you can travel to parks where there are specific trails or bridle paths for horses. You can travel to competitions where, if you entered the competition, you can ride your horse in the competition arenas. You could also take your horse to the competition and choose to ride him around there, in order to expose him to the environment.

When deciding to own a horse for riding, always take the time to explore and investigate places to ride before you find a place to stable your horse. That way when you have to choose between the lunge ring or the arena, you are not bored and upset because it is the setting you chose. If it is however the only option you had at the time, start saving for that horse box.

Submitted: 17/08/09

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com