• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
I Heart Horses
  • Care
  • News
  • Fun
  • Heartwarming
  • Videos
  • Rescue
  • Horse Fun
  • Tips For Riders
  • Fun Facts
  • Stories
  • Contact Us
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Care
  • News
  • Fun
  • Heartwarming
  • Videos
  • Rescue
  • Horse Fun
  • Tips For Riders
  • Fun Facts
  • Stories
  • Contact Us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Care
    • News
    • Fun
    • Heartwarming
    • Videos
    • Rescue
    • Horse Fun
    • Tips For Riders
    • Fun Facts
    • Stories
    • Contact Us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Tips For Riders

    6 Ways To Use A Small Arena

    Modified: Jan 15, 2016 by ihearthorses · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

    Are you challenged with a small riding arena? Small riding arenas may seem restrictive, but there’s actually a lot that you can do with them. Give these tips a try.

    Ride Into Your Corners

    Image source: Joshua Ganderson via Flickr
    Image source: Joshua Ganderson via Flickr

    Riding your horse well up into the arena corners can instantly make a small arena feel larger. Focus on asking your horse to move laterally off of your leg so that he travels further up into each arena corner. You can also work on circling into the arena corners to better develop your control of your horse’s body. Make sure that your horse doesn’t overbend too much in the corners, and make sure that you support him with your outside leg and outside rein.

    Serpentine

    Image source: Betsy Kelley via Flickr
    Image source: Betsy Kelley via Flickr

    Serpentines are great exercises for small arenas. Serpentine your way up and down your arena. As you ride, pick a point on the opposite fence and ride straight to it before turning. This is a great way to work on traveling in a straight line and communicating accurately with your horse.

    Use Ground Poles

    Image source: Five Furlongs via Flickr
    Image source: Five Furlongs via Flickr

    There are tons of exercises that you can do with ground poles. Use ground poles to regulate your horse’s stride, to side pass over, or to help with clean canter departures. Ground poles can help to break up your routine and provide additional challenge for your training rides.

    Work on Transitions

    Image source: Nikki via Flickr
    Image source: Nikki via Flickr

    Small arenas can be ideal for working on gait transitions. Focus on performing smooth, collected transitions – both upward and downward – between your horse’s gaits. Transitions can quickly identify weaknesses in your riding or in your horse’s training. By spending the time to work on smooth transitions with your horse, you can also increase your chances of success in the show ring.

    Develop Balance

    Image source: Betsy Kelley via Flickr
    Image source: Betsy Kelley via Flickr

    A small arena is a blessing in disguise when it comes to developing a young or untrained horse’s balance. Work with your horse at the walk and trot first as he learns to carry and support himself around corners and on circles. Gradually progress to the canter as your horse develops his balance. Make sure that you stay centered in the saddle, too, and if your horse rushes or feels unbalanced, then go back to slower gaits to further develop him.

    Do Groundwork

    Image source: John Ramspott via Flickr
    Image source: John Ramspott via Flickr

    There’s plenty of room in a small arena to do some groundwork with your horse. Groundwork is an excellent tool for developing a training foundation and for building your relationship with your horse.

    Horse Courses by Elaine Heney

    • Listening to the Horse - The Documentary by Elaine Heney & Grey Pony Films
    • Shoulder In & Out Training for better balance, bend & topline development with your horse
    • Over 110+ Polework Exercises & Challenges to Download
    • Dancing at Liberty & Creating Connection with Your Horse (11 lessons) - Grey Pony Films
     

    If you ride in a small arena, then consider putting these tips to use to make the most of the small space.

    More Tips For Riders

    • Riding jeans.
      7 Best Types of Horseback Riding Jeans
    • A man wears corduroy jacket pets a brown horse.
      17 Elegant Equestrian Outfit Ideas for Men
    • Two young women enjoying a horseback ride.
      7 Breathtaking Horseback Riding Rides in Texas
    • Suwannee River Wilderness Trail horse trail.
      7 Most Beautiful Horseback Riding Trails In Florida

    Sharing is caring!

    2.6K shares
    • Share2.6K
    • Tweet

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Primary Sidebar

    Search

    Recent Posts

    • 10 Top YouTube Channels for Horse Lovers
    • 11 Horse Gadgets and Apps for Tech Lovers
    • 11 Surprising Christmas Ideas for Horse Lovers
    • 6 Of The Best Places to See Wild Horses in the US
    • 7 Top Podcasts for Horse Lovers (Trending Now)

    Categories

    Follow Us

    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Instagram
    • YouTube

    iHeartHorses.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2025 · iHeartHorses Inc.

    2.6K shares
    • 2.6K

    Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy