Round corners v square for arena?

[PNWjumper]

I am curious why people think oval corners make for easier dragging?

As I mentioned, I have square corners, which, of course, means that the corners never get dragged all the way into the 90 degree part. But footing doesn’t pile up or get pushed into the corners at all, so it doesn’t impact my dragging whatsoever. In 12 years of dragging my ring I also haven’t ever had to hand rake anything out of the corners. But maybe it’s because I have not-terribly-deep-sand footing? Curious if dirt-type footings pile a bit more?

[TheJenners]

No piles or anything in the corners of the current arena I’m maintaining. But They don’t get used either… So they grow weeds. I do see how it would be easier to drag, as in not worry about getting as close as possible to the fence when going into/coming out of the corner in order to get back on the rail and continue dragging as soon as possible, but not so much for losing footing into corners.

Mine was a “why don’t they occur more” because I’ve seen maybe three in real life of all the arenas I’ve ridden in, all in KY IIRC, and it will fit into a space bordered by a driveway better. I just wanted to make sure there wasn’t a duh-stupid reason they aren’t more common :lol:.

[TheJenners]

PS I appreciate your advice in both arena threads :yes:

[gumtree]

IMO it really is just a matter of aesthetics in a general purpose ring.

Looking at it from a cost benefit the corners of a square ring are rarely used. So there is X amount of costly square feet paid for but offering little to nothing.

From a maintenance point as others have pointed out they don’t get dragged, “So they grow weeds”.

Installing rounded corner fencing doesn’t, shouldn’t cost more. It adds a bit more labor time but marginal for anybody that knows the drill.

I am a symmetry person also. Rounded corners are more pleasing to me.

Sidebar; funny how different areas use different names/terms for the same thing. In my neck of the woods which pretty much encompasses the mid-Atlantic I rarely hear “Arena” most people use “Ring”.

edit; forgot to add, I wonder how many rings started out with square corners and over time due to the “dragging” issue end up with rounded. Our ring came with the farm and was installed decades ago. Never “explored” the possibility it was constructed square. Hadn’t been used in a long time and was cover in grass/weeds when I purchased the property.

Square rings in a “pro” set up, used for shows also have a higher maintenance budget then most of us. In other words they have grunts on the payroll to do the BS manual labor needs.

[Jim_in_PA]

Interestingly, the farm where we board has two outdoor arenas. The primary one near the barn and used for both training and shows has square corners. The auxiliary arena that’s up on the hill near the pastures and jumping field has round corners. They are both functional and very nice. It’s clear that for the intended purpose, the round cornered arena is easier to drag and since it gets less use and less maintenance, those round corners provide less opportunity for “extra” weed growth. I think that if I were going to have an arena for personal use, I’d consider the round corners, but with a size that allows for squaring the ends with poles or whatever for certain training reasons without constraining the space. That way, there’s easy maintenance but still support for all types of “work”.

BTW, in the arena at the farm I mentioned, the corners have a radius wide enough that the three board fence is just bent around the corners for a very clean look.

[Showbizz]

Third world problems!

[Bluey]

Also, you can “round” corners without the corner being part of a circle.
Use one, two or three panels or gates, so the angles are more open.
That rides just as if it was round.
Most round pens are made out of larger panels where that is how the circle is obtained.

[keatssu]

[QUOTE=PNWjumper;8752662]
I am curious why people think oval corners make for easier dragging?

As I mentioned, I have square corners, which, of course, means that the corners never get dragged all the way into the 90 degree part. But footing doesn’t pile up or get pushed into the corners at all, so it doesn’t impact my dragging whatsoever. In 12 years of dragging my ring I also haven’t ever had to hand rake anything out of the corners. But maybe it’s because I have not-terribly-deep-sand footing? Curious if dirt-type footings pile a bit more?[/QUOTE]

This is what I was going to say. Also, the corners do come in handy for neatly storing extra standards, poles, etc.

[TheJenners]

I’m also used to saying “ring” but have lived WC for 12 years now…so “arena” it is :lol:.

Thanks for a great discussion COTH!

[DHCarrotfeeder]

[QUOTE=kcmel;8751880]
I think unless you do dressage there is no reason to do square corners. The person who built my ring said the only thing (non-dressage) he has seen them used for is storing jumps.[/QUOTE]

I’m not aware of a downside to having round corners. If you’re serious about dressage you’ll still want a larger surface than the marked ring so that you can put mileage on doing rail work without putting a groove in the dressage surface.

[lorilu]

Even if you don’t “do dressage”, the exercises using the square corner can be helpful in the training of any horse.
One potential training issue with only rounded corners is steering - riders tend to let the horse go round the corner without the balancing of the outside rein and without the opportunity to go deeper when needed (for example, to reinforce a half halt. )

[clanter]

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