# Riding area is on a hill & uneven ground.



## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Working on uneven ground and being careful of it, is fine, in fact it's good practice!


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

Rent a skid loader and level it out.


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## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

Take advantage of what you have available. Trotting and cantering up hills can help a horse develop its hindquarters and get accustomed to using them more. You can use the hills to learn how to adjust your weight so your horse does not accelerate when going down hill.


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## Kimmy1985 (Jun 8, 2014)

churumbeque said:


> Rent a skid loader and level it out.


HAHA! I'd love to, but like I said, its not an option right now. 


So walking/trotting sidehill - I'm worried about stressing tendons & what not - maybe I'm being too worrisome??


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## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

Horses go up and down and across hills all the time. If a rider is balanced over the horse's center of gravity, his weight should make little more difference than when riding on flat terrain. 

Like most physical activities, just don't overdo it. Listen to your horse and respond accordingly.


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## BearPony (Jan 9, 2013)

My pasture is quite hilly. The flat-ish part that I use for schooling is about the size of a small dressage arena. I find that as long as I'm careful about the footing and utilize the rest of the big field for hill work, warm ups, other exercises, etc. it works out just fine as a working space. My horses really are fine at all gaits on various terrain/inclines, but on a day to day basis I go slowly down hills and more quickly up to keep it easier on their joints but build muscle. The bonus is that when I haul to my trainer's flat and well manicured arena everything feels easy!

However, my horses live out on the hills and uneven terrain 24/7 so it is what they are used to. I would start a lot more slowly if the horse spends all or most of its time on flat or manicured footing.


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## Kimmy1985 (Jun 8, 2014)

I have a similar situation to yours BearPony - she's lives in a hilly pasture 24/7 and the flat-ish part I school in is part of that pasture, so she SHOULD be accustomed to it lol 


Thanks for the replies everyone!


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