Hi guys, I wanted to see what you guys have used or opinions on arena borders. We will be putting An outdoor arena this summer. I plan on putting it near my neighbor’s pasture ( it is the best spot for least amount of grading). My concern is riding while my neighbor’s horses are kicking up their heels. So I was thinking maybe put up some tall bushes as a screen. If that would work, what would you plant?
Also fencing the arena itself, my husband and I don’t agree on style. We have 3 rail fence all around the farm, and he says it will look silly with 3 board around the arena, so maybe 2 rails and shorter?
thanks for the ideas.
Don’t have any experience with tall bushes as a screen, but if your mount can hear the other horses “kicking up their heels” on the other side of the bushes, I’m not sure a screen will make much difference. It is kind of like being in an indoor. If someone is weed whacking or mowing outside, the horses will react.
Regarding fencing, that is a personal choice. Most of our fencing is no-climb with a top board. Our outdoor has three-board fencing with a bottom board to keep the footing in place. Plenty of farms use different fencing types for different purposes on the same property. It is really up to you and what works for your individual situation.
Our pastures surround our arena. I have found the best thing to do is simply to ride and the horses (even my baby TB) just get over it quickly if you don’t make a deal about it.
We have 3 board on the whole farm and made the arena fences match the rest of the farm. Same stain, same height, same everything. It looks great. It also means if I need to let a horse get their yahoos out in a safe space, they can romp in the arena and not jump out!
www.sharkeyfarm.weebly.com if you want to see pictures 
My horses are hard to ride if others are running nearby whether they can see them or not - it is one of the more difficult situations for those in the ring to concentrate. I have had experience with bushes screening one area from another (at a show) and my mare was impossible to work where she could hear but not see activities on the other side. She in fact was much better with weed whackers or other motor noises that with running horses.
If you could orient your ring so a short side is near the neighbor that might help you use at least part of the ring when the other horses are frisky.
Before settling on a location for my arena, which is taken from a large pasture, I thought I wanted it by the bushes/trees. It was higher land and they offered some shade.
What I discovered is it was too still and the mosquitos and gnats were terrible by the vegetation. Second, and more importantly, the horses were extremely spooky by all the vegetation. I moved the arena down the hill and it is night and day better. Yes, they see 4-wheelers, weed whackers, etc. but they can see it and not just hear it.
I have boarded at three facilities where the arena was surrounded by pasture horses (both neighbors and the boarders). The horses got used to each other. Is there some reason her horses race around more than normal?
I think three board looks fine and a taller fence is nice if you ever want to free lung or free jump.
As others have suggested, you may find that vegetation next to the arena translates to “Spook right here”. For me at my age, I would just wait out the horses playing nearby. They usually settle down fairly quickly. My one spooky horse is much better when he can see other horses from the arena (I ride alone).
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The ring at my current barn is close enough to our turnouts that the ridden horses can easily see the cavorting ones in the pasture. They get over it pretty quickly, though.
One short side of my arena at home is quite close to the fence line between my property and my neighbor’s pasture. (I have a “lane” of fencing separating our common fence from the fence at that end of the ring, but it’s only about 10’ wide.) Her horses do occasionally come down the hill and do the snorty thing over the fence but I expect my horses will get over it just as they have at the boarding place. If the area is otherwise what you want, treat it as a schooling opportunity. 
I personally wouldn’t try to screen it - as others have said, hearing things that they can’t see is often more concerning to most horses!
You should view the horses in the adjoining pasture as a training opportunity! Fencing is good with two rails higher up and one wider board on the ground. Lower board prevents your footing escaping.
^^This. Avoidance is a horrible training method. What do you do when you go to a show with multiple rings, or even just a few, and there is commotion somewhere while you are riding? Your horse needs to learn to handle things.
:yes: I thought it would be a brilliant idea to build my arena with the long-side bordered by the woods, great for privacy, also great for spooking. Critters make noises, branches break, etc. Drives my horses crazier than seeing their friends play in the pasture that borders the other long side. I wouldn’t plant anything, let them see what’s going on and keep their focus on you.
My arena is surrounded by pastures. I often think to myself, when I’m riding and the turned out horses are blasting around the pastures, that I’m sure glad they can see the horses and not just hear the thundering hooves!
My whole farm is four board fencing and we fenced the arena to match, though where the rest of the farm is 4-board white, the arena is 4-board natural. Which has less to do with color choice and more to do with the fact that we were out of paint when we built the arena fence and just never got around to it. But I’m glad now that it’s not white because it kind of disappears in the background of photos, which is nice.
I would treat this as a learning opportunity. I wouldn’t bother with planting bushes. I would, instead, teach my horse to focus on me no matter what is going on around me.
I show, I rodeo, and I do all sorts of things with my horses. There’s always commotion and other horses going on around us. The sooner my horses learn to ignore all that and listen to what I’m asking, the better off we are!
As far as fencing, my favorite is pipes with wood fence posts. OR something like this.
Similar to Lucassb, we have a short side of our arena separated from our perimeter fencing (and the adjoining neighbor’s horses) by an approximately ten foot alley. Really hasn’t been a problem.
Our arena fence is two boards, with the bottom one at a height where my foot in the stirrup won’t get caught between boards and hit a post (designed it this way as I was starting green horses, all of which were of roughly more-or-less similar heights – no 17 handers for smallish me!), with recycled poles around the bottom to keep the footing in place. This is the only fence exactly like this on our property, so it does stand out a bit, but that’s fine with us.
I boarded for years in situations in which the arenas were in the midst of pastures, with loose horses running around, and it worked out okay. I found it useful practice for shows, clinics, demonstrations, and trail rides. Sometimes, I actually miss all the hoopla, as I feel it’s good experience for the horses.
Well thank you everyone for the input, no bushes for us
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