01/11/2023
Letās talk arena etiquetteā¦
All barns are different for different reasons. Each barn does the best they can with what they have. Indoor, outdoor, round pen, whatever they have available.
Yes, as a boarder, trainer, trailer in student you are paying to have use of the facility. However, your barn and arena are a community. Therefore if one wrecks it for othersā¦ either all have to work around it or all help fix it.
Some days you may have the arena completely to yourself and other days it may be filled and hard to useā¦ a few pieces of advice to ensure you get the most use out of the arenas you rent.
TALK!!
-Talk or look at your trainers teaching schedule
-Talk as you enter AND leave the arena
-Ask where the best place to lunge may be if there are others riding
-Talk as your ride. Telling others inside or outside, diagonal, circle, etc
-Talk if your horse makes manure AND return to retrieve it
-Donāt talk to a trainer as they teach unless itās your lesson
-Donāt talk if you audit a lesson/clinic. Become literally a fly on the wall.
Your arenas are a community. Take care of it and respect the others who share it with you. How do you want your arena left if you owned it? How do want your lessons to go if you were paying to participate in one?
-Fill in any holes your horse makes
-Retrieve and remove manure
-Avoid only riding the railā¦ unless you enjoy raking it back in
-If you break it, you buy it
-If you move it, move it back
-If you turn it on, turn it off
You are RENTING the facility. It is NOT yours. Owners, Managers and Trainers are not in the horse business to make millions. The amount of time and money that is spent on footing, dragging, electricity, etc is so often over looked. As a boarder, a trainer, a trainer in student you do NOT own the arenas. Please, respect the time and money spent we take to keep these arenas a community. Clean, bright, levelā¦ As they may not always be there to share.