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 Expert
Posts: 1261
  
| I am thinking about putting in some type of small area with all weather footing horses can stretch their legs in, I can ride in and kids can safely ride in.
I live on a small acerage and a 50-60 ft pen is about all I have room for and it will cut into pasture space. I live in the PNW and my soil has a lot of clay so horses are off pasture about half the year anyway. They do have a all weather turnout area off their stalls but it's not a huge area. I live within riding distance of a public facility with two outdoor arenas but this is only an option about half the year. So in winter/spring I have to haul out to really ride and with my work, family life etc I am lucky if I manage to do that 3 days a week, more often it's about twice a week. If it were in the backyard I could at the very least turn them out/ lounge or even ride breifly much more easily and be able to watch my son while I did.
We also frequently have children over who want to ride and my own son who's been making huge strides in independently riding when he is able to use the round pen at the facility I haul in to, that's only occasionally up and one never knows when it will be up. So it would be nice to have a safe enclosed area for the kids as well.
I am concerned about joint health, boring us all to death etc however and have read so many mixed things and even that square pens are better for teaching a horse to carry their shoulders more upright through a turn and a few other benefits. I don't have room, or money tbh for an arena and I was thinking a round pen would be really nice to have but now I am unsure. Also so many material and footing options. I was thinking wood and post perhaps, and sand for footing. ????? |
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 Namesless in BHW
Posts: 10368
Location: At the race track with Ah Dee Ohs | Personally I would go with round pen. Could you use panels and secure with T-Posts to make more solid? |
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 Veteran
Posts: 146
| If you go round, go as large as you can, say 60' to 80'. Depending on the size of your horse(s) when loping it can seem quite small if you have a horse with a larger stride. I had an 80' round pen that I converted to a slightly larger rectangle pen, with the addition of a few extra panels. If you can use an existing fence line for one side, you might could go with a rectangle arena and not eat up too much of your pasture area. We did use t posts to help stabilize the pen both when it was a round pen and when we converted it. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | I rather have a round pen.  |
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 Go Canada!
Posts: 2954
 
| I would go with a round pen...
I'm in a similar situation in that I don't have a lot of space for an arena and I'm not sure I can justify the cost of one. I have a 60' round pen with good sand footing and it's the only spot I have with good ground to actually work a horse on at my place. Otherwise I ride in my pasture, haul to a local fair grounds or try to work horses at jackpots. It's so nice to have a space to exercise and work horses even if it's not as big as I'd like.
I don't think I'd like riding in it with someone else at the same time though, it would get cramped unless you were just doing very slow work. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1584
Location: Central Texas | If I have to have one pen and it can only be 50 ft more or less, I must say that I would go square. A round pen that size has curved walls all the way around, duh, I know. A square pen has straight sides for rollback work or whatever and has corners to use. Also, circles can easily be loped in a square pen. I feel like a square pen offers more opportunity for variety than a round one. |
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Round pen... square pen?????