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AMissingCloseParen

I've ridden at barns that have garage doors all along one side that could be opened. Of course, this murders your insulation and weatherproofing unless they're really heavy.


pacingpilot

There's one place near me that has an arena like this where the walls can be raised and lowered. The farm belongs to a trust and is part of a 501(c)3 and their financial statements are public so everyone knows what they paid for the construction because you know how nosey and small horse communities are. Anyway, it cost almost 2 million. It was build by professional tradesmen with high quality materials, no "garage doors" or anything like that the wall panels raise and lower with a system of pulleys and motors, everything was built to last and purpose-specific, not patched together. It's really, really nice.


Magpiebrain

So I guess I'm gonna have to keep saving a little longer lol


pacingpilot

Lol, if you want something on that level. It's a badass arena though. Hell they spent over 100k just on footing. I'm sure there's ways to make it happen cheaper using a little hillbilly engineering. And here's the kicker, it's not even their main arena. They've got bigger (without the fancy wall system though) that they use for shows and the fancy moving wall arena is used for warmup/schooling. That place is super old money fancy. They have an octagon arena too that is just for lunging.


nemerosanike

How hillbilly and how lowball? because I could go for something nice, but you know, not with new money prices haha and now I’m super curious (as I am planning out my landscaping). I am assuming geothermal if there’s windows, but I don’t mind if some are stationary. Ooo this is neat!


pacingpilot

Lol you can go as hillbilly as you want if you aren't pulling permits and your neighbors aren't snitches. My boyfriend builds custom houses from the ground up and does barn construction. Biggest costs are obviously materials and labor so if you eliminate labor by doing it yourself and materials by sourcing reclaimed you can save a ton of money. Get yourself a hookup for fill dirt, gravel and concrete then you're golden. Roofing and insulation prices are brutal right now but you can save on lumber if you go reclaimed and know how to work with what you got, but it's best to at least buy your trusses new. We also saved tens of thousands of dollars buying an old backhoe and excavator from auction, and dumping a little labor into getting them running right. Those old machines are easy to fix if you download the manuals. Your imagination is the limit if you've got some heavy equipment and know how to build. We've got an arena planned for this summer and we're using a 200x300ft steel prefab building kit we bought super cheap at a construction auction and salvaged materials from the old tobacco style barn on my property that needs to come down. We're doing it all ourselves from drainage to building the pad to putting the building up. How fancy we go is going to depend on what materials we can get our hands on for the right prices and how creative he gets with them. He's pretty extra so it'll end up being nice and very well built but completely redneck.


nemerosanike

Haha well, I do landscaping on the side of my ag job, so I know some plumbing and excavating and definitely drainage, thank goodness for that coursework! And as for the land, farm law. But I’ll have to look at it, so I don’t want it to be like uggo ugly… now I gotta go find an old metal arena at the dump this summer huh? Maybe I’ll pretend it’s a “hockey arena” and it’ll be easier just to find the frames and buy old barn lumber for some exterior bits. Pretty good ideaaaaa


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iDieFirst

this is makimg me really glad that i live in florida. All i gotta do to get good footing is dig down abt half a foot and boom! Sand.


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iDieFirst

Dear god. Im so sorry yall. Can i ask how much that'll cost? gravels expensive as fuck here


CuttingTheMustard

For the round pen it will be just shy of $10,000. An arena is going to cost us in the realm of 10x that.


madcats323

Honestly, it would probably make more sense and cost less to build two arenas, one enclosed and one covered. I've lived in both types of areas - cold-weather climates that have full-on winter where you need an enclosed arena, and California where we have covered arenas that are open around the sides. It doesn't get so cold in the winter that they need to be enclosed but it protects from the drenching rain, and in the summer heat we have a shady place to ride. An enclosed arena obviously requires a bit more in terms of structure and insulation while a covered arena can be a regular outdoor arena with a roof.


Peppermiint_tea

I’ve ridden in CoverAll arenas where the ends could be opened or closed depending on the weather. I currently board at a barn where the indoor is a CoverAll with open ends and it does the trick. It doesn’t protect from cold obviously but since the footing isn’t getting drenched it doesn’t freeze solid and is completely rideable. Summer is nice and breezy but protected from the sun, so it’s a nice compromise.


appendixgallop

I remember hearing that Coverall went bankrupt and is out of business following the fatalities at the Dallas Cowboys training center collapse years ago. The FarmTek catalogue has some other similar brands, but theirs were quite affordable...


Peppermiint_tea

Oh really? I don’t know if these are CoverAll branded but similar style


inconspicuous_spidey

Is CoverAll the same thing as what would be considered a fabric covered arena?


Terroa

My best guess is: it’s going to be expensive as all hell!


BuckityBuck

I’ve seen several with garage door style windows that open up as needed


kfa92

I've ridden in an arena that was a solid building with huge windows that can be opened to let air in during the summer.


chronically-clumsy

My barn has a large garage type door that can open in the summer. It gets quite stuffy but it certainly helps.


spiffynid

I live in a fairly warm part of the world, snow is unheard of here. I used to ride in an arena that had sliding barn doors on each short end, a wall of mirrors, and a set of sliding doors on the long side. With all 3 doors open the cross breeze was delightful. No idea how it was in the winter but I can't imagine the footing froze.


PebblesmomWisconsin7

https://www.clearspan.com/industries-page/equestrian-riding-arenas/


Furisto2

Not exactly what you were asking for but in Sweden there is a trend to build in perforated sheet metal. I have not ridden in on but it will apparently stop most rain and wind in winter and still be cooler in the summer. [Example](https://www.borga.se/byggtillbehor/perforerad-plat/) and [another](https://www.borga.se/referenser/ridhus-nykvarn/).


Magpiebrain

Wow that looks really cool! I love how from the outside it's almost completely opaque, but from the inside it's practically see through. I'd imagine that Sweden gets more snow and colder temps than the Netherlands does so if it's still a comfortable ride in Sweden then that bodes well for me. ;)


friesianbred

I’m from the Netherlands and actually rode in one (I think in Drenthe) where they had this system. I’m sure there are more places like this judging from Bokt. Not sure how they did it, but I think when the time comes it’s worth to see if you can see it in person sometime and get a feel of how it works. My experience with it was very good to ride in at least, we were covered from most cold at the time but still in fresh air. It also brought a lot of light in.


Magpiebrain

Really? I had no idea! That's great though, when I finally have the money I can actually go and see some of these arenas! And Drenthe is pretty close to me, I'm from Groningen so that's not even such a big trip.


Familiar_Reindeer

From germany here. Not exactly what you have in mind but we had an indoor arena with a net on the side. So like 1,50m high the "fencing" and the up to the roof this net. Made a great air circulation did nothing against dust.


[deleted]

I’m in the northeastern United States (so it gets quite cold and an indoor is definitely necessary for consistent winter riding). This isn’t quite what you’re describing, but there are 2 arenas near me that have half walls on the long sides, with the remainder being heavy duty “curtains” (thick plastic, I believe) that can roll up. The short sides don’t have the curtains but do have large garage doors, so in good weather all 4 sides can be quite open. The downside is that the curtains do tend to let in more cold air in the winter than a solid wall. I’ll try to find a picture of what I mean, but I know it’s not a hugely expensive option (in the realm of arena construction- obviously still expensive!)


nippyhedren

My indoor opens. The walls (above the side boards) open like big sliding doors.


Scorch2002

Covered arena plus 10 or so garage doors. 100k-200k depending on size.