This message is from: PHILLIP Odden <n...@norskwoodworks.com>
This message is from Phillip Odden in Northwestern Wisconsin where I hope to plow the deep snow drifts away from the door of my indoor arena today so I can get inside to use it.
We decided that 160 feet by 72 feet was the size we needed for driving and riding. We use 16' x 72' to store carts and vehicles. There are two large stalls and two smaller tie stalls on the end as well. The driving and riding area is 140 x 72 which allows for two circles that are just a little larger than twenty meters. I still like to be outside working my horses whenever I can. We have lots of room to drive here on our 80 acres as well as the neighbor's lands that border our property. We live very close to thousands of acres of state and county land that is full of trails to ride or drive. I find the combination of outdoor and indoor work really helps. I find there are things you can do with an indoor arena that are much more difficult to do outdoors. Those four walls not only keep the wind and rain or snow out, they can be used to help teach the ponies to turn properly among other things.
We have eight -8 foot sliding windows that can be opened to allow for ventilation. When the windows are open and the large 16 foot doors are open it is very comfortable inside when it is hot outside in the summer time. Hot summer days are kind of hard to remember right now.
We put 4 foot sections of polycarbonate windows lining the upper portion of the 14 foot walls. So we get lots of natural light and during the winter, if the sun ever shines, we get enough solar gain to get above freezing on cold days. I used 2-3 inches of 3/4 minus unwashed sand. I was careful not to get the sand too deep. The base under the sand is hard packed clay. I spent some time getting the base level and packed. I was also careful to make sure the water drains well away from the arena. When I need to groom the sand, which isn't very often, I use the horses to pull a home-made drag and groomer.
The indoor has certainly been a good tool for training horses for me. Much of the improvement in my ponies in competitions this year was due to new tricks I have learned along the way but the indoor -outdoor combination were good tools to facilitate the training techniques. The indoor makes it safer to start and train young horses as well. If it is raining or too windy or it gets dark too soon the indoor arena is mighty handy. Else and I justified the major expense of the structure thinking that training and showing fjord ponies was something I really wanted to do, and we aren't getting any younger. It was now or never. Often I thank my wife and partner Else, for supporting me in this dream.
There is a lot that goes into an indoor arena. If you are planning to build one, I suggest you travel around and look at others that have been built and experience how they function.
I got two pairs of ponies out last evening on the sleighs. The snow is soft and fluffy. It hangs on the branches and is plastered against the trunks of the hardwoods in the forest. Today I plan to hitch two or three different pairs so everyone gets a turn at breaking trails on Christmas eve day. Seems like I better get some sleigh bells out too.
Tis the Season. Phillip Odden Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f
