More than 1,500 readers of TheHorse.com responded to a poll asking, “Where do you work your horses?”

• On the trail  63.11% (977)
  
• Outdoor arena  62.53% (968)
  
• Round pen  41.41% (641)
  
• Indoor arena  31.46% (487)
  
• Turnout area  24.87% (385)
  
• Other  14.21% (220)
  
• Walker  2.07% (32)

Readers shared their favorite places to work their horses in the comments below.

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• Trail is the most relaxing for horse and rider. Arenas get BORING
  
• Hand Walk to cool out or to wet to work them
  
• only have 2 acres, not much room to do anything outside of the turnout area
  
• indoor arena on occasion
  
• on the gravel road
  
• in the pasture
  
• mostly work on the trails or neighbor’s rings
  
• outdoor ring work when footing permits, hay field, jumping field, lots of x-country
  
• Cattle work-desert
  
• Using turnout and a ponyhorse for exercise
  
• I also use the “common” area
  
• everywhere!
  
• the trail is the best place to train and exercise both horse and rider
  
• In the country, I condition and train in the brush and trails, haul to an arena to compete barrels
  
• Great wide open after the round pen
  
• Any place I can get safe footing and show her different things!
  
• I use a field
  
• mostly warmed up then trailed or to arena with cows
  
• veriety adds spice to life!
  
• work on them where ever and when ever needed. constently training and improving communication
  
• vary my routine to keep my horse from getting bored
  
• Having the indoor arena for winter and inclement weather is so helpful for consistent training.
  
• Ours are out 24/7,but we play w/them all over our property
  
• I play Parelli with my horses anywhere I can!
  
• Racetrack
  
• Everywhere!-whenever I am with them
  
• pasture
  
• I work my horses everywhere that I can so that they are not afraid of anything
  
• Depends, if I am trying to work thru an unwanted behaviour then where I will get the most results.
  
• We’re in rural America, so pastures work well for our stock to maintain weight and added fitness.
  
• I board one horse at an all-weather facility which allows me to haul in the other 3 for schooling
  
• where ever my horse is able to ride
  
• horses do fine without a round pen
  
• We are lucky to have a large indoor for inclement weather, so we can ride 24/7
  
• also on my hayfields and in the pastures
  
• they live in a pasture so mostly work themselves; don’t have arena so i mostly work them on trails
  
• we have a 100 acre pasture the geldings stay in and i work my gelding on the hills “)
  
• Every time a horse is in “hand”, training/work is performed!
  
• I find the deep, soft sand on the beach ideal for muscle definition, as well as peace of mind
  
• I ride my clydie in our large paddock just walk & trot around it’s very relaxing for her
  
• We go to play days at other farms/ranches
  
• We have small med and large on the ranch, it makes it nice
  
• Dressage arena
  
• outdoor or my neighbor’s indoor if weather is bad
  
• 60 X 800 paddock gives room to work without danger of “open space”
  
• pasture
  
• sometimes a hack down the road
  
• I have a round pen, outdoor arena and a great big ranch for training endurance, I’m very lucky
  
• Cross country courses
  
• I like to work my horses in our pasture. Barrel horses get too much arena work!
  
• Outdoor arena/trail when at home, indoor arena at shows, if applicable
  
• I ride in the pasture a lot
  
• We don’t have an arena but we have 80 acres to ride!
  
• I train horses for safaries in Africa
  
• Used to go hacking about 6 miles a day, not poss. in city now.
  
• interval work on hills
  
• as mnay different places as possible
  
• In the snow!
  
• pasture
  
• warm up on the walker, ride all different venues to keep the mind fresh
  
• wherever and whenever
  
• I ride in a pasture on my farm
  
• In the pasture
  
• Mostly grass field
  
• In the pasture, on the road or on the trail. I’m so poor
  
• I’m fortunate enought o have a hill on my property, which is great for building stamina
  
• indoor sand ring, outdoor hogfuel ring & hogfuel trails
  
• A combination of the above
  
• The horses in training work on the track as well as the other places I checked.
  
• trailer to lessons at indoor, and ride in dirt driveway
  
• Working my dressage & jumper outside the arena keeps their minds fresh and makes them more adaptable
  
• outdoor arena & cross country course
  
• we trail ride for six days a week for an hour or two and the rest of day is in the pasture
  
• I try to keep my work relevant to the real world of use.
  
• open farmland
  
• good for the mind and lots of vegetations to do circles, etc.
  
• open field
  
• Riding the high desert trails of New Mexico works hindquarters, heart, lungs and soul
  
• I trailer to my trainers for lessons, rest of the time outdoor arena.
  
• The more places you work a horse the better prepared they are for anything.
  
• Hack out on large acreage; school in flat corner of field.
  
• any time together is educational
  
• Indoor arena and on trails to avoid boredom
  
• I usually ride around our hayfields and pasture then head out to the hills via a rural road.
  
• i like to keep a good variety in our training program, to keep the horses fresh and thinking
  
• on the farm
  
• Any goof footing open area this time of year!
  
• for work outdoor arena, after that relax on the trails
  
• trailer to trails occassionally, have small acreage to work horses on
  
• In the arena & on the trails!
  
• Love the beach but my indoor has to be my fav
  
• We have a big, relatively flat grassy field we ride in. The footing stays fairly decent year round.
  
• If I had a round pen I would work on that, but I also school a lot on cross country cources
  
• dressage arena
  
• Also in the orchards that surround our house
  
• The world is my round pen.
  
• After all this rain, I wish I had an indoor arena. *sigh*
  
• No arena/ring, so we ride in a 5 acre field
  
• I start in the round pen, move to an acre pasture, then a15 acre pasture, then trail
  
• backyard
  
• Live in AZ near state land; lots of riding area, sometimes just hand walk on trail too
  
• Pasture
  
• Pasture
  
• frozen ground no work 🙁
  
• Anywhere and everywhere………..
  
• also work in the stall
  
• pasture
  
• I dont have a horse yet! 🙁
  
• open 10 acre meadow, lucky to have it!
  
• racetrack
  
• in the fields on my farm
  
• cross country courses at forrest preserve
  
• We are blesse with a small track and good open fields
  
• I work my horse in a variety of places. It keeps the two of us from getting bored
  
• We ride indoors in the winter and out in the summer
  
• anywhere there’s good footing available plus variety is the spice of life making a bombproof horse
  
• In bad weather indoors. 1x a week out on the trails. a week out on the trails other wisex a
  
• young horses not ready for the trail in the round pen
  
• 100×120 4″ sand outdoor arena. Good, but I live in WA, so it can be too wet to use after heavy rain
  
• I also ride in the field
  
• I have a pasture with a hill, so I do a lot of warm up there before we go to work in the arena
  
• Arena and treadmill
  
• race track & fields
  
• I prefer an open field with “tracks”
  
• Mostly just trail ride
  
• Also on on trail rides
  
• Cross country is the favorite!
  
• I work them in a area
  
• I prefer trails and open arenas, but I occasionaly use an indoor one.
  
• endurance horses cross train in my arena
  
• penning cows in the stockyards and search and rescue
  
• Actually use an imaginary arena in the open
  
• At the grounds of our riding club
  
• no arena, just in the yard
  
• out 24/7 with pasturemates–no boredom, no stalls to clean
  
• 50 acrea open rolling fields
  
• indoor in the winter months and out doors in the summer, however we get out on the open field as muc
  
• in the pasture and feilds in summer and trailer to indoor in winter
  
• Always outdoors – in fall and winter on the hunt field!
  
• dont have access to a round pen or an arena, so have to work horses in paddock area
  
• On a racetrack
  
• I work my ponies wherever we happen to be don’t need special equipment
  
• We trail ride out to the beach in good weather 🙂
  
• can’t afford an indoor arean…it would be nice though
  
• race track or turf gallop
  
• I’d use an indoor too if I had one
  
• dressage arena
  
• We have 320 acres. Go to sorting arena in area for practices….Practice on our own cattle
  
• Race Track
  
• Spend a ton of time on ground work too
  
• My horses are in my backyard, so I make do with what I can get. I try to trailer to facilities
  
• We sometimes work out in the pasture
  
• in the middle of the field running up the hills!!!!
  
• in a big open grassy pasture
  
• along the country roads by our home
  
• The covered Euro exerciser is fantastic during rainy season!
  
• really wish i had an indoor right now! have ridden very lightly on driveway, no other dry place 🙁
  
• where ever i can work them wheres its safe and not knee deep mud
  
• I wish we had an indoor arena!
  
• Depends on age/training level of the horse and weather conditions
  
• cross training is essential to my mare’s willingness to work
  
• and outside in the field once the ground is reasonable firm or short trail rides near the farm
  
• Jog around large field, trail ride in off season
  
• Outside distractions are more important to trail horses than show horses so I do everything outside
  
• indoors only in the winter
  
• haul to an indoor in winter
  
• new outdoor arena behind barn & adjacent to community bridle path
  
• Polocrosse field
  
• anywhere I can find dry flat ground to work
  
• Also use hay field behind the dressage arena…and BO’s driveway when I’m riding in the evening.
  
• around the yard, in the river bed
  
• Indoor in winter, outdoor, fields and trails in summer
  
• “work” in arena, “pleasure” on trails
  
• In an open field (weather permitting) or the covered arena
  
• The Euro auto-walkers are great for getting lots of miles but horses still need some hand-walking.
  
• We do a lot of pasture riding to break up boredom
  
• Young horses start out in a round pen. Then on to cross country / trails!
  
• open pasture riding so they don’t become sourer in the arena. I also use mother nature’s obstacles
  
• would love an indoor but can only dream
  
• 90% trail, 10% outdoor arena (compete in AERC events)
  
• indoor, trail, dirt roads and hilly paddocks… no outdoor arena yet
  
• on the loop around the turnout pens