# Tree in the arena



## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

I guess it depends on what you plan to be doing in the arena, where in the arena it is and if you'll be happy with it there?

Al Dunning a top cutting and cowhorse trainer in AZ has a huge cactus in his arena.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Red Maple is toxic to horses under certain conditions.

I grew up with maple trees in my parents front yard.
The roots love to surface and become a challenge to mow over and around, so yes... they could be a issue depending upon how large a tree and how large the root base is.
My parents would add inches of soil to cover the roots yearly and yearly they had to do it again cause there were the roots again at the surface...

The plus side is no matter when there is a breeze under a maple tree even on the stillest of days, so a cooling spot.
I too love maple trees, the shade and breeze they generate and the beauty they give when the fall arrives and leaves turn...then you get to rake and dispose of them, thousands of them..................


Al Dunning arenas looks lovely and you better steer well or ouch, ouch, ouch darn those spikes can hurt!!

:runninghorse2:...


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

One of the arenas at Commonwealth Park has a tree on one side. You can ride around it - it's my favorite spot to lunge because it's shady....


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

If it's not in the way, you could leave it. I would get rid of it but that's just me.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

We have a tree in our arena  It's not a problem, except for the tree. This year, it finally died. We're going to cut it down before winter so it doesn't fall over. It was lovely when it had leaves on it, and was never in the way. I often sat under it and watched my daughter and Harley ride. Our riding arena doubles as a sacrifice paddock when the horses are not on pasture, so the tree was a nice place for them to get shade. We also hung haynets on it. 

I would suggest limbing the bottom part of your maple if it's not already bare. It's good to be able to ride under the tree and you don't want the horses scratching themselves on the limbs and hurting themselves. Our horses never nibbled on it until it started to die. Then, strangely, Rusty would chew on the bark that was peeling off.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

@Acadianartist when your tree died, and you took it out, did it take some effort to backfill the spot, and did it negatively affect the footing in that spot?


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

COWCHICK77 said:


> I guess it depends on what you plan to be doing in the arena, where in the arena it is and if you'll be happy with it there?
> 
> Al Dunning a top cutting and cowhorse trainer in AZ has a huge cactus in his arena.



Wow, that's a BIG saguaro...... https://www.desertmuseum.org/kids/oz/long-fact-sheets/Saguaro Cactus.php


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

Chances are that in levelling the arena the root system of the tree will be compromised and it will, over a few years, start to die back.

Can you not move the arena to one side or the other?


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

ACinATX said:


> @Acadianartist when your tree died, and you took it out, did it take some effort to backfill the spot, and did it negatively affect the footing in that spot?


We haven't taken it out for that reason, and when we do, we will leave a stump for a while. We did have someone come in and mulch roots from other trees that used to be in there, but they weren't as big. It didn't cause any problems. I'm worried about removing the roots from a tree this big. Footing can be an issue, so I'd rather leave the stump for now (we'll make it tall enough that it's very visible) so we don't ride over that spot for a while.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

It depends on how big the arena, where located in the space and what you plan to do riding wise. I wouldn't worry about it being a maple unless you treat it as a dry lot and keep a horse on it when not riding. Then it could be an issue.


So many get worked up over trees that are poisonous but there are only a few (yew, oleander) that a very, very, small amount can be deadly. If you have a tree that is mixed in with a wooded area the horses spend time but there is plenty of grass, you provide hay and feed then they aren't going to mess with it. You would want to remove downed limbs after storms or high winds, perhaps close off that part of the pasture if the tree type is abundant and leaf fall is an issue - as in they actively go for those leaves. Other wise typically not an issue.




I've ridden in one with trees down the center line. There is enough distance between them you could ride three 20 meter circles, do 3 full serpentines, 3 or six halfs. You could use the trees to bend around or do circle s around each progressing down the length. For a practice arena it was fine and the big boon is the shade. The trees are limbed up and the dirt was hauled in and leveled so minimal disturbance to roots. Ground was relatively flat to begin with. I've been here 20 years and that arena was set up long before I started riding in it. Trees have to be over 75 years and the riding arena at least 50. It is in Texas pecan country. Only bad thing is nut fall. The owner had people come harvest and then she'd have the area raked and picked. 

We have similar here but it is set up for different exercises where my child rides. Pecans again that are picked up. 

My pen has shade trees(oaks, camphor, pine and maple) in the diagonal corners. If quartered one corner is large enough for a small dressage arena, the same end corner has three trees 16 feet off the fence in a triangle, on the other end centered is the round pen with the gates in one corner and the trees in the other (diagonal to the other trees). These are also off the fence line enough I can get the small mower along the fence. They were the trees we didn't clear except the camphor which was a volunteer that husband decided not to mow. 

This space doubles as a quarantine, injury/recovery, foaling and riding area. There is water at the gate in a trough that is set into the fence so both sides can get to it. I have a jump line on the long side opposite the small dressage space and a few jumps scattered where they are an easy distance but can be taken in different orders to practice turns and leads and strides. There is a place where the fence (electric - turned off when riding) in one of the corners is hooked with gate handles so you can get to a long narrow section sandwiched between pen and property perimeter. I put a line of citrus with cedars on the ends and roses on the fence. Now that everything is grown I turn horses in there to graze and it makes a handy spot to move someone to if they are in there while we ride. The round pen has become more of a holding pen and is set as an oval large enough for one horse to be ridden in. Useful when we have a new rider or new horse on property. The trees are great because it makes it a nice space to ride in since it is covered in shade for the most part. Total area is about 140X260 and then the strip sandwich that is about 50X260. It is sloped and not level but we make sure to ride both ways with anything we do. That is pretty much a given anyway. The area between oval pen and gates is dirt. the rest is grass, Tracks where we ride the most around the edges and 20m circles.

The round pen actually butts up to the dressage area so scale is off. The dressage area is close to 70x140 so not truly quartered as that end is slightly larger than the other.


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