Covered Arena Take Over

[Spudsmyguy]

@candyappy

Sounds like they need to enlarge the arena if 3 riders makes it crowded?

It’s about the size of the small dressage arena but I think it’s slightly narrower, so yes, pretty small and no outdoor. I’m in he process of casually looking at what else is available boarding wise. I don’t think they built the arena, I think it was already there when they bought the property. There’s room to enlarge it but I doubt that’s going to happen.

BOs are pretty much “do whatever you want in the arena” type of people. I don’t know a lot about barrel racing but do know it’s not something I want to try. I rode the other night with one other person who does run barrels. We managed to stay out of each others’ way but it was a bit difficult because she never looked where she was going.

[candyappy]

@Spudsmyguy

I’m in he process of casually looking at what else is available boarding wise.

Pretty sad that you might need to move because the BO won’t take charge and make it fair for all.

[trubandloki]

@candyappy

Pretty sad that you might need to move because the BO won’t take charge and make it fair for all.

I don’t see where this is true. Has Spuds talked to the barn owner about this problem yet? Saying they are ‘do whatever you want in the arena’ does not mean they know about this problem.

[Scribbler]

I dont think from this post that the BO evrn knows there is a problem.

[Spudsmyguy]

Trying to catch her (BO) when she’s available is a bit of a trick. She works odd hours and is not usually around. I’m going to corral her either this weekend or next week and have a discussion.

[candyappy]

@Spudsmyguy

Trying to catch her (BO) when she’s available is a bit of a trick. She works odd hours and is not usually around. I’m going to corral her either this weekend or next week and have a discussion.

@scribbler @trubandloki

It sounded like the barn owner was just kind of unresponsive when I read the what the OP wrote

@Spudsmyguy

BOs are pretty much “do whatever you want in the arena” type of people.

I misunderstood. Good luck on getting a hold of her and hopefully she will be open to setting a schedule and they will follow it.

[lorilu]

let us know!!

[Kyrabee]

I have a couple barrel racers at my barn. I haven’t ever had to ride while they are doing patterns….they really don’t set up the pattern very often. Kind of like dressage that I would not ride tests every day.
Yes, they dig up the arena around the barrels but thus far (1 year +), they haven’t bothered the footing since they don’t do the 3 barrel pattern very often. We have the “luxury” of 3 arenas…1 small indoor and 2 outdoors. They tend to haul out weekly to do runs and do more conditioning and turning exercises sans barrels when they ride at the barn.

However, the rule at my barn…you put jumps up, barrels out, poles out…you take them up when you are done. I (dressage rider) would probably not want to ride around jumps all the time either, especially in a small space. My barn owner also does not allow haul-ins so that helps…A LOT.

I think you need to track the BO down and have a discussion. With such different disciplines, see if you can set up some kind of schedule. Otherwise, I guess I would be looking for a new barn.

[Night_Flight]

I’ve had experience with another boarder who just ran the barrel racing pattern every time they rode (based on the tracks left in the arena, it honestly seemed like they never even did anything but the pattern during each ride), so it doesn’t seem like the experience of a barrel racer riding the pattern every day is that uncommon, but I’m glad to hear there are at least some out there who have more varied training programs.

I can understand the frustration both in terms of arena time and the footing (in my case, while the boarder did put the barrels away after using them, the footing around them was left extremely displaced and I needed to go out and fix it each time before riding if I didn’t want to ride my horse through the dips and deep spots).

Hopefully your BO will be understanding, OP, but be prepared to need to put your jumps away after riding as well, since as Kyrabee mentioned, it’s not fair for you to leave those out, either, for non-jumpers to ride around.

The standard practice at any mixed-discipline boarding barn I’ve been at has been to leave the arena clear after you ride, and to ask permission of whoever happens to be riding in the ring with you on any given day to set up jumps or any other obstacles, to make sure that everyone is okay with having to ride around them.

[eightpondfarm]

When i boarded, it was at a verrrrrry public barn. Mostly lessonbarn. Only two outside arenas, both used for lessons all weekends til about 6pm (barn closed at 9:30) and most weekday evenings except Monday.

2/3 of the horses there were school horses, the other 1/3 privately owned. And our usage of the arenas was solo use and on a first come/first serve basis, but for only 1/2 hour. We had a cue, and everyone kept the pressure on to enforce the 1/2 hour.

[sascha]

@outerbanks77

Our barn has a small indoor- 60x120, I think. During the winter, there is an arena schedule everyone can access online. The default is two riders at a time

Omg, at my barn we’d be having the lights on until after midnight if only 2 were allowed. Same size arena. Many years ago, in that same size of arena, we used to fit 8-16 horses for musical ride practice every Sunday morning (far better than church, lemme tell ya ) and all warmed up at the same time. That got me over thinking 5 or 6 riders (all doing different disciplines) was crowded.

[Spudsmyguy]

Things have been better and the barrel racers have stopped with the pattern running, or what they can do in that small a space. However, they need a lesson in how to pass (left to left) as I witnessed two crashes of horses and riders when there were 3 in the arena. One boarder told me she had ridden her horse for 3 hours straight at mostly a trot and the horse was a 4 year old. She said she was trying to teach the horse to bend and not drop her shoulder. I wanted to say, there’s a point where you need to stop and not drill the horse into the ground and leave it for another day. She also said she had a bad day at work so I guess she took it out on her horse who was dripping sweat when she was done. Sorry, went off on a tangent there.

[Angela_Freda]

Way to cause serious issues with your horse.
Good lord.

[Spudsmyguy]

My thoughts exactly. And, when she had her horse in the cross ties, she didn’t have any idea how to dry the horse and cool her out. Umm, maybe put a cooler on her and walk her dry? I’d be surprised if she isn’t lame today or at least very sore.

[Obsidian_Fire]

And people wonder how horses get arena sour; from what I’ve seen barrel racers are among the worst at this.
I remember being at a former barn one weekend when the barrel girls were having a competition. One horse did NOT want to go in the gate. I have never in my life seen a horse rear so high, all 4 feet off the ground, that was an eye opener.

[IronwoodFarm]

I have had a small number of boarders over the last 20 years. I’ve never had arena use problems. But what surprises me is that the BO is hard to reach. I worked full time but my phone numbers were available and my email was available. Nobody had to wait weeks to reach me. When I went out of town on business or vacation I had a designated manager. It is easier today since cell phones work most places in the world, but reaching me if there was a problem was not hard. So the lack of access to the BO is even worse than the barrel racing in my book.

If this racing is such a problem, I don’t know why waiting for a FTF meeting is necessary. Pick up the phone! Send an email!

[S1969]

@Spudsmyguy

One boarder told me she had ridden her horse for 3 hours straight at mostly a trot and the horse was a 4 year old

I couldn’t board at a facility where things like this were allowed. The BO should be made aware, and they should object to this treatment. While the person is the owner of the horse, ultimately it is the BO’s property and their reputation.

[Spudsmyguy]

I’m going to give her a call today (BO that is) and have a little discussion.

The reputation comment reminds me of a barn I boarded at for a few months. There was one horse there, owned by a 4-H family, who was so weak that during turnout it would lay down the entire time. She was about a 2.5 on the henneke scale and the hay she was feeding was crap, the horse owners are responsible for providing their own hay. Of course she was still riding the horse. I made the comment when I knew the owner was in the loft above me and could hear me on how thin she was and outloud said “I wonder when was the last time you had your teeth done?” Two days later the vet was there giving her a float. The vet was a friend of mine so I asked how her teeth were, according to him, they were atrocious and the inside of her mouth was like hamburger. Horse started picking up weight and could remain standing during turnout and became playful and happy.

The thing is, the barn owner was aware this horse was emaciated and didn’t do anything about it. Her reputation is at stake if this became common knowledge. A barn where the horse is allowed to slowly starve to death was not a place where I wanted to board and moved out shortly afterward.

[TheDBYC]

The passive aggressive me says the eventers need to set up rails around the barrels & jump 'em
The mature part of me recognizes this is not the way to go.

I get where you’re coming from: barrel racing runs would be hard to work in around unless it was a large space. My neighbors had an outdoor built to accommodate roping & barrels. You felt like you’d detoured around the Aleutian Islands when you rode out to the far end of that sucker. The barrels are supposed to be a minimum of 18’ from the sides to provide a safe zone. If it’s me riding the pattern with that spacing that you’re having to contend with, good luck if you happen to pass on the rail at the same time I’m going around a barrel. I’m sure these folks are much better at it than I am. Still, with 3 people, you’re likely looking at a horse & rider roaring through every 2 minutes or so. And you do not want to be anywhere near them on the straightaway because they’ll going too fast to be able to avoid a collision.

1. How long are they in there for? 2) How many other people are wanting access to the arena during that same time slot? It strikes me as similar etiquette as that of weight lifting. Some things that are perfectly acceptable at 11am on a Tuesday might earn you a talking to from a staff member at 11am on a Saturday or 5-7pm on a weekday.

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

@Spudsmyguy

Things have been better and the barrel racers have stopped with the pattern running, or what they can do in that small a space. However, they need a lesson in how to pass (left to left) as I witnessed two crashes of horses and riders when there were 3 in the arena. One boarder told me she had ridden her horse for 3 hours straight at mostly a trot and the horse was a 4 year old. She said she was trying to teach the horse to bend and not drop her shoulder. I wanted to say, there’s a point where you need to stop and not drill the horse into the ground and leave it for another day. She also said she had a bad day at work so I guess she took it out on her horse who was dripping sweat when she was done. Sorry, went off on a tangent there.

Yup - about par for the course where barrel racers are concerned, IME. If three barrel racers moved into my barn, I’d be out yesterday. I never met a barrel racer who wasn’t absolutely convinced that they, and only they, were allowed in the arena at any given time and that YOU were to yield to THEM, no matter what.

Also never met one who gave a crap about arena niceties like passing left to left, or who gave a crap about properly training and taking care of their horses, either. Just wait until the horses become so mind-blown with constant running that they are dangerous to even be around. I watched one take an eight-year old girl through a pipe fence at a 4-H show once. That horse had been so abused and over-trained that the only thing he knew to do was run.