Indoor Ring vs Covered

[Amber_C]

Hey everyone,
I’ve been doing lots of reading about indoor ring’s and covered, even looking through older threads on here. I’m in a situation that leaves me at some hard decisions. Currently, I’m in the process of building my facility, that’s going to be great when it’s finished. Work just started, so it’s still a while. Ring is almost finished. Although it is smaller than anticipated, I believe it’s still a decent size. We were limited on our space but have tried to make the best use of it. You cannot please everyone.

We are located in the South. Every thread I’ve looked through in regards to rings have mainly been up North, which tends to have most people saying covered rings. Our summer’s down here typically are in the high 80’s/90’s. Our winters look more like 20’s-50’s. The prior two places I’ve been out of have indoors, as well as my current ones. We tend to have very wet winters, as well as lots of thunderstorms during the summer. This year seems to be worse than normal with rain. (As I’m typing this, we are about to get hit with another hurricane.) Indoor rings are not cheap by any means, especially when you are factoring in building a facility (16 stalls), a ring, grading, taking down trees, etc. I’ve had a few clients say they may not leave with me because of the fact that there will be no indoor at my facility. It’s a hard situation. An indoor would be beneficial and a huge plus, not many people have them here, but at the same time is a huge expense, especially when looking at everything.

Is a Covered and Indoor better in this situation? I only have spacing for one arena on the property, so there would either be an outdoor or a covered. Which is also the ‘cheaper’ route? I’ve seen online packages for indoor rings and was wondering what the experiences are like for it? Just don’t know what’s quite the best situation. The one place I’m at that has a fully enclosed indoor, with insulation, is like an oven in the summer and even in the winter at times. Thank you in advance

[fordtraktor]

You might consider a hybrid. My indoor has giant sliding windows and 2 large doors. It is cozy in winter but I can open everything up in summer For breeze, plus we get to ride in shade (and no dust because I add mag flakes). I only have space for one arena too, and this one kind of captures the best of both worlds.

[Amber_C]

@fordtraktor

You might consider a hybrid. My indoor has giant sliding windows and 2 large doors. It is cozy in winter but I can open everything up in summer For breeze, plus we get to ride in shade (and no dust because I add mag flakes). I only have space for one arena too, and this one kind of captures the best of both worlds.

If you don’t mind me asking, what did you get quoted for it? Did you get it from a package or a local person?

[Cindyg]

I’m in Texas and grew up in SC. If I could choose, I would do a cover and a wall on the side that the prevailing wind comes from. So for me, that would be the west side, which would also give me great afternoon shade. Or possibly two partial walls that would make up the northwest corner. I would leave it as open as possible.

[Lucassb]

I have recently gotten quotes for doing a covered over my arena, which is 100’ x 150’ - the width is the killer when it comes to cost. After speaking to a few contractors, I learned to explain that I wanted my entire arena covered, meaning they could not put the footers into the arena itself - I wasn’t willing to give up 10-20’ of riding area that I had just paid a small fortune to install footing on. The quotes I got preserve the entire riding surface.

The quotes are running right around $150-200K, but not all of them included the concrete work needed to put in the footers. There was no significant difference between steel and wood, but we are in the south so wood is not an attractive option. I priced it just to do some research and see if there was a big difference.

There is a really lovely indoor in our area that has large sliding windows along the sides that make it very pleasant and open feeling in the summer, while offering more protection from the elements in winter, when we can have a lot of rainy, cold days. I am sure it would be considerably more expensive, and far out of my budget! But one of the reasons I haven’t pulled the trigger on the covered is thinking about how much I would actually use it in really crummy weather. The truth is when it’s nasty out, a covered only offers so much protection - rain blows in, there’s no protection from wind, etc. For two hundred grand I would really want to get a lot of use out of it, and I am just not convinced yet. That much money pays for a lot of time in FL, or even board at a local facility that has a true indoor!

[Madison]

My barn has a true indoor rather than a covered, and I regularly thank our barn owner for choosing to build the indoor rather than a covered, because there are so many wet, windy, nasty days that I can ride in the indoor but wouldn’t ride in a covered because you wouldn’t have enough protection from the elements to be comfortable. If it isn’t cost prohibitive, I would do a covered, but in the south it needs to be well-ventilated with big fans and windows and doors that can open it up for air flow. We use our indoor as much in the summer as we do in the winter, because it has windows along both sides that open up and huge fans, and it provides a great escape from the sun and heat. But I can only imagine what it cost to put in all of those features so it truly does become a cost/benefit analysis and what your budget will allow.

[fordtraktor]

@Amber C

If you don’t mind me asking, what did you get quoted for it? Did you get it from a package or a local person?

It really depends as I have a barn attachment too which added to the cost, and size really matters. FWIW, the sliders were not very expensive add ons, as they are pretty much just metal sliding doors. For light I put those clear panels at the top, also inexpensive.

[Momateur]

Ooh, I’m torn on this question. I’m also in the south, so I hope my insight is relevant.

Most farms around here don’t have either. Which I can’t wrap my head around. It’s so darn wet. Anyways, when we moved to the area, I specifically chose the farm with the covered (there are zero indoors here). With so little free time to ride, I was not going to subject myself to weather dependency – I’d never get to ride! So as far as attracting clients, I think having either a covered or an indoor is a huge, huge competitive advantage.

Now, that said, I hate the covered ring. Although it’s an “okay” size, it’s miserable to jump in. It’s too small for that. It provides no climate control. I used to ride in Colorado, and it was actually much more comfortable to ride there in winter thanks to the indoor.

So, given the choice, I’d pick the indoor. However, I’m not sure of two things:

1. What’s the difference in cost versus the covered? If it’s an enormous differential, then maybe not practical.
2. Do indoors get super hot and muggy in summer? You know how our summers are, even when it rains!

[eightpondfarm]

Wishing you success Amber C!!
i’ve been getting estimates on a 204x72 polebarn, with one long span open and a `12 shedrow off of it…and while i was gathering estimates, the virus hit, prices on lumber doubled, and i was priced-out. Not knowing when the lumber would ever come back down, i’ve begun looking into fabric covered. Not sure you could get insurance on that type of structure down in hurricane-zone though.

[merrygoround]

I would suggest for an area with a lot of wet windy but warm weather, a covered indoor with 6-7 foot sides.

[Jealoushe]

I have an indoor and and outdoor, and although I love my outdoor and will ride in it until it freezes, the indoor is still used SO MUCH even in the summer (Im in Ontario Canada) just because of the rain, wind, and daylight. With an arena you can ride pretty much 365 days and also you don’t have to worry about whether the footing is too wet etc after a storm.

If you can, go for an indoor or covered.

[MintHillFarm]

@Jealoushe

I have an indoor and and outdoor, and although I love my outdoor and will ride in it until it freezes, the indoor is still used SO MUCH even in the summer (Im in Ontario Canada) just because of the rain, wind, and daylight.

With an arena you can ride pretty much 365 days and also you don’t have to worry about whether the footing is too wet etc after a storm.

If you can, go for an indoor or covered.

This is so where I am in thought.

I am in upstate NY., where the weather can be tough after October and through till April. I have priced a steel building, materials only, for 60 x 120. The materials were about $65k. So thinking site work and installation, probably another $75k…It is only me so it would be fine. And I have a nice outdoor when the weather is good.

I’ve ridden in a covered (one side was open) near here for one winter. It was great no matter what the temp was. They had a decent size overhang on the open side. If it were not so windy up at my farm, I would do that but fully enclosed is best I think.

[mmeqcenter]

Curious which threads you found that had people up north saying they do covereds? I’m from Ohio, I don’t know of a single covered up there, they’re always full indoor arenas. Which are basically a necessity up there, it’s really hard to ride 6-9 months of the year without one due to snow, rain, ice, mud, then horse flies.

Here in central FL, I know of one true indoor and a handful of covereds. I’ve not ridden in the indoor here, but I feel like without fans and/or AC ($$$) they’d get suuuuuper stuffy in the summer. I would loooooove a covered myself - my skin is see-through pale and the sun just murders me. Honestly, riding in a covered with sideways rain on a 100F day would be just fine with me :lol:

[joiedevie99]

@mmeqcenter

Curious which threads you found that had people up north saying they do covereds? I’m from Ohio, I don’t know of a single covered up there, they’re always full indoor arenas. Which are basically a necessity up there, it’s really hard to ride 6-9 months of the year without one due to snow, rain, ice, mud, then horse flies.

Ditto. I’m in CT and the only covered I can think of has been retrofitted with plexiglass to close it up and keep the footing from freezing.

In south Florida, covereds are common. The one we ride in has lots of overhang on the roof, so it doesn’t get unpleasant in normal rain/storm weather. It’s really nice to get out of the sun. You’d need a ton of ventilation, and windows/doors everywhere, to keep a full indoor down there from being completely insufferably stuffy in the summer.

[hoopoe]

I live in the Seattle area. Our weather is fairly mild in winter, though we do get temps below 32. A majority of the time it is 40 and drizzly. Summer 75 - 85 with some days up and over 90 humidity is not horrible

a majority of facilities here have covered arenas with open sides. Sometimes they are immediately adjacent to the stable so full walls all the way up on one long side.

I am not sure how much advantage you gain with a full indoor. I find them fairly stuffy in summer.

I think a basic covered arena is perfectly fine year round, even in the coldest or windiest weather.

[CHT]

When we first opened we only had an indoor, but I was mostly doing beginner lessons, so it was ok. Now, I think I would go crazy stuck indoors 24/7. Something with some ability to open to the fresh air would be my ideal. If you do go with indoors, it sounds like you will need to insulate so it doesn’t get too hot in the summer though. Could you do a covered with enough of an overhang on the side to keep rain out? Or some sort of ability to close the sides? I would wonder how the sides would be in the wind though. What about just a coverall type building with open ends? Coveralls can be loud in the wind and rain, but they give you light.

[Amber_C]

Thank you everyone for inputs! Only problem I worry about indoor’s are summers. We get brutal down here. (Think GA and FL type of summers) One facility I ride out of has a completely enclosed indoor and it’s bad in the summer. I don’t even try with the humidity because there is no air flow. Usually summers are 80’s + 90’s with very high humidity (90%-100% is the normal.) I’m wondering if anyone has any experience getting quotes or knows of anyone? Arena is probably 150 x 175, I believe.

[Puddin_Pie]

The covered at the barn I board at has insulation in the roof. Another that I have ridden at in a clinic does not have insulation. The second has more open space at each end, rather than a full wall across at C. The insulated covered arena with the full wall is MUCH cooler in the summer. Just another thing to keep in mind. I am in NC, right at the SC border, so it gets hot. There is one full indoor around here that I have ridden in and it was absolute sauna In the summer.

[mmeqcenter]

It probably would be best to provide your location, to help with suggestions for builders in the area.

One option to save on cost would be to cover half of it to start with. I occasionally see videos on Instagram with people riding in arenas that are half covered and half outdoor. You could cover 150’x90’ with the peak in the direction that would allow you to add to the length over time and still provides plenty of covered riding space. Most indoors I rode in in Ohio were 60’x120’, perfectly ridable.

[SusanO]

I am in the same area as you are - Alabama. I have ridden in/ know of two fully enclosed areas. They were like an oven after about 10AM in the mornings in the summer despite having tall ceilings and insulation. Mostly people have built covered arenas which are so much cooler. There is one semi-enclosed arena and it stays pretty cool in the summer. It has only one long side enclosed. The short sides can be opened up above the kickboards with doors that roll up like giant garage doors. The other long side opens to a viewing area and a door and a barn aisle all of which can be closed in the winter. The roof is also insulated. There are also some large overhead fans that can be turned on so it is very nice in the summer heat.

I would give my right arm for a cover for my arena but I need a good lottery ticket to do it. The people that have built covered arenas recently used the same contractor that built their barns. I would ask people in your area who they used and if they had any problems with the finished product.