FALCON CREEK FARM NEWSLETTER
(Jul/Aug/Sep
2004)
HANDLING
ARENA TRAFFIC
If you ride in an arena where many others are riding, such as the
warm-up pen at a show, or in a busy arena at your barn, being vigilant against wrecks
and run-ins with other riders can help you and your horse from becoming tangled
up in one. With many people riding in
one arena, there are many different things going on that can be a potential for
two or more horses colliding with each other.
Some riders may be doing a fast barrel pattern, some may be practicing a
horsemanship pattern with many stops, backs and turns, some may be riding a
pleasure horse and some may be lunging their horse in
the middle of the arena. That is quite a
bit of traffic and increases everyone’s risk of running into each other.
There are several “rules of the road”, if followed by all, can significantly
decrease the possibility of collisions with each other.
1. Go the same direction that everyone else is going. In most cases, the majority of the riders
will be going in one particular direction, so it is best to go the same way.
Also, when they reverse directions, then you reverse directions. When entering the arena, stop and check for
traffic both ways. Riders aren’t always
focused on what (or who) is in front of them so don’t expect them to yield to
you coming in. If the arena is very
crowded, it is best to be on your horse when you enter the arena. Getting on your horse inside a busy arena is
just too risky for someone to run into you.
2. If you are riding in a busy arena and need to stop your horse,
always check behind you to see if there is anyone there that might run into
you, especially if you are cantering or galloping. Riders behind you won’t know when you are
stopping and they may not have time to react, so it is best to do it when
nobody is directly behind you and where you have plenty of clearance.
3. If you want to stop and talk to someone, don’t do it along the
rail or in the center of the arena. Standing
along the rail blocks the traffic flow and forces other riders off of it who
are trying to school their pleasure horses.
Someone who wants to lunge or work on a reining pattern may need the
center of the arena.
4. If you need to lunge your horse, try to do it early in the
morning when arena traffic as a t minimum or in an area designated for
lunging. It is hard for other riders to
navigate around a horse that is being lunged and the lunge rope can be
dangerous for other riders to deal with.
Many horses will buck and kick out while lunging that can put riders and
other horses at risk of being kicked.
5. Do not ride too close behind the horse in front of you. If they decide to stop or change directions without
looking behind them and without warning, you will plow right into them.
6. Always know where you
are, what is in front of and behind you, and where you are going. If the arena is very busy, the activity level
will be so intense that it might be hard to react quickly enough to oncoming
traffic in order to navigate your horse safely.
Always keep your eyes up and looking ahead of where you are. Unlike riding in an arena alone where you
just go where you want and give no thought of looking out for others, if you
are riding in a large crowd, always keep in mind of where you are going and how
you are going to get there. Just because you want to ride from one end of the
arena to the other doesn’t mean you won’t have to ride around 20 other horses
to get there. Keep your eyes focused
farther up ahead than you usually do. If
you know where riders are and where they are likely to go, it will give you
time to move your horse through the crowd without crashing into anyone.
7. If there are any
dangerous or unruly horses in the arena, or someone who is heavily disciplining
their horse, stay far away from them and find a way to ride where they are
not. You don’t want your horse to ever
worry that he is going to be hurt or scared in the arena.
8. Before you enter an
arena your horse has never been in, check it thoroughly before you go in
(without your horse) for anything that might spook him. If there is something in the arena he is
scared of, like a banner or a barrel, and you aren’t prepared for it, your
horse may suddenly take off when he sees it, leaving you in the dust wondering
what happened. Give him time to see it
and get used to it by riding away from it and then let him gradually get closer
to it.
9. If you have to stop or
turn abruptly to avoid a collision, don’t get upset at the other rider or your
horse. Those things are just going to
happen from time to time. It not
necessarily anyone’s fault, that’s just what can happen in crowded arenas. Getting upset will only make things worse and
may wind up making your horse tense and nervous. If you have to stop or turn quickly to avoid
someone, just stop and stand there for a moment so your horse realizes it was
no big deal, and then move on like nothing happened. Use it a mental schooling exercise.
Happy Riding!!!
Comments and feedback are always welcome!
Leslie @
Falcon Creek Farm
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