Unless you're lucky enough to live in a region with year-round perfect weather, you've probably had your share of miserable rides, forced to battle rain, wind, excess heat or cold, sleet and snow, and poor footing. One way to escape such adverse conditions is to build an indoor arena, typically a post-and-beam or all-steel building. But many horse owners find this impractical for any number of reasons, not the least of which is the expense of constructing and maintaining such a facility.
That doesn't mean you're doomed to a lifetime of suffering through weather extremes and canceling rides because the skies have opened up or the slush is piled up to your horse's hocks. You may find that a covered arena provides a suitable alternative, offering protection from the elements while fitting into your plans and budget. It's still a big investment, but as we'll see, various options are available that may make it an affordable and worthwhile expenditure.
Many of the decisions you need to make about a covered arena are similar to those you'd make for any arena project. The covered design may add a special twist or two, but the same basic concerns apply. (See "Build Your Own Arena," January 2005, and "Arena Footings," March 2005, for advice on arena topics.) Let's start with a look at the fundamental choices you'll have to make when planning your covered arena.
Arena Size
Determining the proper size of your arena is critical because those dimensions will have a huge impact on cost. You may save some money on construction by going smaller, but if the space isn't big enough to serve your needs, it will be false economy.
Your best bet is to carefully consider your year-round training requirements. Do you simply want a roof over your 60-foot round pen for some all-weather exercise? Or do you need a full-blown arena for you and your friends to do some roping?
Also consider your future needs. It may be cheaper to invest in a bigger arena now and use part of it to store hay, shavings or equipment so that if you (or prospective buyers) need more room later, it will be available. The more versatile the facility, the better its resale value will be. And the difference between, say, a structure that's 66 feet wide and one that's 72 feet wide is likely to be small enough to make the extra six feet a wise investment.
Local Load Ratings
One of the key factors in determining the cost of building an arena is the wind load and live (snow) load ratings for your area. The more extreme your weather conditions are, the higher your building costs will be. That's because your arena will have to meet higher load ratings, which means more structural support against the elements.
Wind load indicates the velocity of wind a building must withstand without blowing down. A typical wind load might be 80 miles per hour. Live load is the amount of snow your roof must hold, measured in terms of pounds per square foot. So, for example, if your live- load rating is 60, your roof structure will have to be engineered to stand up to 60 pounds of snow per square foot.
Depending on your location, you may also have to contend with seismic load ratings, which could entail additional support posts.
For a traditional indoor arena, the starter size is typically 60 by 100 feet. But specific disciplines have their own recommended standards, so be sure you choose a size that fits what you'll be doing with your horse.
Depending on the construction style you go with, your dimensions will need to be bigger than the riding area dictates, since you'll be dealing with a support structure that may encroach on the interior space. Morton Buildings equine product manager Dennis Rusch said that a 72-foot span has become especially popular because it can accommodate a standard small dressage ring (66 feet wide), as well as provide sufficient room for many other types of riding.
Arena length is generally easy to adjust because of the modular design of most constructions. You can increase the length simply by adding sections to extend the framework.
