How big should my round pen be?

Question

we are going to finally put up a new round pen, we will use it for ground work with the horses, building trust, and beginners such as my younger cousin and brother. i was wondering how big we should have it. i have heard 90ft is way to big for training, we were thinking 60ft? if you have any advice, it would be awesome, thanks

Answer 1

It depends on what kind of horses you will be putting in there....if its ponys then 50ft, average sized horses 55-60ft is better.I dont have a wooden round pen which is the best but I make mine out of electric tape & t-post,I dont trun it on though,its tempoary and portable,but if you have sum crazy horse he might be able to break loose from the pen becuz its only electric tape,you could put up 3-4 stans though,that might keep them from getting out. What I like to have when I build my round pen again is  a 100ft arena and then have a second pice that can be moved in and out of place so you can have a 50-60ft round pen for close ground work,lunging,etc. and a 100ft arena for riding, playing at liberity,training in saddle,lessions,more advanced things,etc. To me this is the most useful style pen for me becuz I have limited room for 2 seperate areas so why not combine the two?

Answer 2

A good round pen area is 60'.  Thats the common size for training and lunging.  it is also fine for learning to ride and just playing.  90' is a little big its more for like the drafts when there training because of there long strides.  But 60' is normal and I'm sure its going to be a beautiful round pen and everything!

Answer 3

60 ft radius is a good size...it is large enough not to hurt (physically) young horses but is small enough for you to maintain control of the action.  It is also a good size to start your horses under saddle, they can do all gaits, up to cantering in this radius and do it safely..

Answer 4

50-60 ft is good size where you don't have to wipe yourself out keeping your horse moving in it.  Anything bigger and you'll find outself getting just as worn out as your horse.

Answer 5

60 feet is best for what you plan to do. The 90 footer is like a little arena and the horse can easily get away from you. We have a 60 foot round pen. You can do a lot in it and feel comfortable. I give riding lessons in there, start colts, use it for a quarantine corral so horses can be out but not in the large pastures. I find it to be a real asset. I don't have a regulation arena as I get what I need done in this, then have pastures and trails in my woods for graduate work. I also had a riding gate installed. It is much taller than a standard gate so a mounted rider can pass safely through and it has a latch you can work from the saddle. This is really nice for teaching gate opening skills for trail class.

Answer 6

60ft is good.but you just have to have enoughf space to run around and just play.

Answer 7

50' is ideal for training purposes.  If you are going to also use it for giving lessons to beginners, 60' will accommodate that better, and is still not too large for training purposes.

ADD...if you'll be training young horses, it should be of adequate height to discourage them from attempting to jump out.  Mine is only 5' high, but I don't train young horses anymore.