Indoor Horse Riding Arena Costs Explained

Indoor Steel Building Riding Arena

With the sort of winters parts of the country get, an indoor riding arena can be a worthwhile investment if you don’t want the elements to stand between you and your equine friends.

Even in the sunny parts of the country, where the weather can get too wet or too frozen for a few solid weeks to set the hoofs outdoors, investing in a Equestrian Facility makes real sense.

While there is certainly no “one-size-fits-all” approach to building and designing an indoor riding arena, taking into consideration the cost factors involved should give you an idea of what you can expect to spend on the project.

This post will walk you through the different cost factors involved in building an indoor riding arena—and where possible will give you a ballpark figure for each—to help you get started with your project.

Cost of Building an Indoor Riding Arena

The cost of building an indoor riding arena is mainly determined by the following:

• Structure type of the arena
• Size of the arena
• Location of the arena
• Optional structural elements for the indoor riding arena
• Functional elements of the arena

Structure type of the arena

When we talk about structure type, there are basically three options that you can choose from:

Fabric covered structure

This type of structure consists of a steel frame that’s covered by a translucent fabric roof, commonly made from polyethylene. The maximum free-width of a fabric covered structure can expand up to 200 feet, making it an ideal structure type for indoor riding arena construction projects. It has one main drawback though; it’s difficult to insulate.

Wood frame structure

As the name indicates, a wood frame structure is made entirely from wood. It offers greater design flexibility compared to fabric covered structure, allowing contractors to incorporate doors and windows along the length of the arena. The doors and windows control the amount of natural light entering into the building.

Another advantage of a wood frame structure is that you can easily insulate its roof and walls if you want. That said, a wood frame construction has a limited width, usually around 90 feet, which makes its use impractical for large sized arenas. Also, it needs to be carefully designed with the right combination of treated and untreated lumber to ensure structure longevity.

Steel frame structure

A steel frame structure accommodates the highest arena width—to 200 feet or more—of all structure types. It’s free of posts and columns, providing an obstacle-free field for riding.

Like wood frame structures, roof and walls of a steel frame structure can easily be insulated for comfortable winter horse training. Vendors typically offer steel frame structures in the form of pre-fab buildings, where the complete arena is fabricated offsite and is later transported to the site for assembly.

An indoor riding arena built from a steel frame structure is known for its durability, strength and robustness.

A pointer: In terms of cost, wood frame arenas are more expensive to build than fabric covered or steel frame arenas; the latter category of arenas, steel, generally requires the least amount of investment. This, however, may vary depending on the contractor/manufacturer you hire for the project.

Size of the arena

The size of the arena also plays a very important role in determining the cost of the project. The bigger the size of your arena, the higher the cost. This doesn’t mean, however, that you can compromise on the size of your arena just to reduce project cost. At the end of the day, you want to invest in an indoor riding arena that’s adequately sized so it can meet your needs for years to come.

The size of an indoor riding arena is specified in width, length and height.

• The minimum recommended width for an indoor riding arena is 60 feet
• The minimum recommended length for an indoor riding arena is 120 feet
• The minimum recommended height for an indoor riding arena is 16 feet

It’s important to note that while the length of an indoor riding arena can always be extended, the width of an arena cannot be changed, and therefore it shouldn’t be skimped on. Also, if you plan to incorporate some jumps for training, it’s always better to adjust the height of your arena by at least another 2 feet.

Location of the arena

The location of the arena affects the cost of the project in four ways:

• Permit costs
• Site preparation costs
• Utility setup costs
• Local codes

Let’s take a look at them one by one.

Permit costs

To build an indoor riding arena, you must first get the required permits from your local municipality or county office. The types of permits you need to obtain will vary depending on the location of the site that you’ve selected for your project. For example, if you’re planning to build the arena in an environmentally sensitive land, you may have to apply for an additional permit from your jurisdiction-specified conservation authority. Likewise, in some cases, you may need a special development permit to start the construction process. Consult your local Building Officer for tailored guidance.

Site preparation costs

Site preparation can take a chunk of your project’s budget. It mainly involves grading, excavation and drainage planning. When building an indoor riding arena, you ideally want to keep your site preparation costs to a minimum. However, that will be determined by the location of the site where you plan to build the arena. If the site is not level with the surrounding land, you’ll need to make it level to avoid water runoffs. If there’s too much dirt around, you’ll need to remove some of the soil to ensure an optimal base area support for the footing.

Utility setup costs

If you’re building the arena alongside a stable, you can leverage the infrastructure of the existing construction and connect it to the arena. However, if you’re building the arena as a stand-alone facility, you’ll then need to invest in getting the power, gas and water in.

Local Codes

Each pre-engineered metal building, or metal building kit, is designed to meet or exceed the local building codes. The location of your arena will determine the local codes the engineers must follow to design your building appropriately, to withstand the local weather & soil conditions. The more extreme the local weather conditions are, the higher the steel structure costs, as it needs to be reinforced to handle high winds, high snow loads, and seismic conditions.

Footing for the arena

There are several different types of footings that you can choose from. Each footing type varies in price.

Most indoor riding arena owners use a sand-soil footing for their facility. This type of footing offers a perfect balance between stability and speed. For riding arenas, where emphasis is on jumping during training, footing consisting of stone dust and rubber is preferred.

Other indoor riding arena footing options include:

• Fiber footing
• Rubber mulch
• Whoa dust (branded footing)

Whatever type of footing surface you decide to use for your indoor riding arena, it must provide:

• Good traction
• Effective dust control
• High stability
• Favorable weather resistance
• Cost effective installation

Optional structural elements for the indoor riding arena

The optional structural elements for an indoor riding arena include:

• Ventilation elements
• Insulation and heating elements

Ventilation elements

Adequate ventilation is critical to the operation of your indoor riding arena. It ensures healthy and airy indoors for your horses and limits condensation.

Ventilation inside a riding arena can be provided through:

• Strategically placed openings
• Mechanical systems

Examples of strategically placed openings include doors, windows and vented ridges.

Mechanical ventilation systems are more commonly used in insulated, heated horse buildings and commercial indoor riding arenas.

Insulation and heating elements

We’d strongly advise to keep your riding arena well insulated and heated if you live in cold weather climates. This will help you keep your horses warm.

However, if the weather in your area tends to remain warmer for most months of the year, then keeping your arena insulated is completely your choice.

To help you make an informed decision, here are a few (other) benefits of installing insulation in your indoor riding arena facility that you might want to consider:

• It helps promote a quieter environment
• It helps keeps your facility cooler in the summer heat

A Pointer: Mechanical ventilation systems cost more than natural ventilation systems; however, they provide more control to owners over the air exchange rate.

Functional elements of the arena

Last but not the least, functional elements.

Functional elements serve to increase the functionality of your indoor riding arena in terms of comfort, safety, hospitality and energy efficiency.

Below we list some popular functional elements used in indoor riding arenas:

• Stables: To house the horses inside an indoor riding arena. This way, owners don’t have to worry about moving their horses to (and from) the arena before (and after) every riding session.
• Cupolas: To add architectural accent to an indoor riding arena. These elements also provide ventilation to the building.
• Viewing area: To allow family, friends and fellow equestrians to watch the riders train the horses.
• Sky lights: To add natural lighting to an indoor riding arena. However, these elements can’t be added to fabric covered indoor riding facilities.
• Side lights: To add even more natural lighting to an indoor riding arena. These are much easier and less expensive to install than sky lights.
• Doors: To provide ventilation to an indoor riding arena. When incorporating man doors, owners must make sure that the doors are at least 12 feet high and 16 feet wide to allow mounted riders to easily pass through.
• Rider guards: To make an indoor riding arena safer for horses. These elements also provide a finished look to the interior of a riding arena.
• Rain gutters: To divert snow melt and rain water away from the doorways of a riding arena, keeping them from becoming mud holes.
• Vapor barriers: To reduce outside noise inside an indoor riding arena. These elements also make the building more energy efficient.
• Wainscoting: To make the interior of an indoor riding arena more visually appealing.
• LED lights: To keep an indoor riding arena well-lit and the horses inside the arena safe.
• Ceiling mounted fans: To provide ventilation inside the building of an indoor riding arena.

A Pointer: The planning for incorporating functional elements inside an indoor riding arena should always be done in the early phases of the project. This helps to budget better.

Closing words

For every equestrian, their horses are their pride. They love taking care of them, they love riding them, and they passionately strive to provide the best environment for them. When it comes to training and riding, the outdoors can be a dangerous place for your horse.

Outdoor surfaces can be slippery; often times, they’re inconsistently graded, and even when they are not, the weather can make them so.  As such, the last thing you would want to happen is your horse to get injured while you train outdoors.

An indoor riding arena serves as a great solution in this case. It provides a safe environment for your horse and allows you to train without worrying about the snow, hail, rain or unpredictable surfaces.

In short, an indoor riding arena is the ultimate dream of every horse owner.

There is no fixed cost to  building an indoor riding arena. There’re so many factors involved in the project that make every job unique.

The primary factors as we have discussed above include:

• What type of building you want to invest in
• How big your indoor riding arena will be
• Where will your indoor riding arena be located
• What type of footing you want to install
• What type of structural elements you want to include in your arena
• What type of functional elements you want to add to your arena

Each of these factors are highly customizable. How you customize them will ultimately dictate the total cost of the project.

It’s also important to keep in mind that the overall cost of the project will depend on the contractor you hire. Every contractor/manufacturer will have their own rates, so you must choose a vendor that offers the best value for your project. You should choose a contractor that’s reliable, experienced, honest and dependable.

All in all, building an indoor riding arena is an investment. You should do your research and make an informed decision. Rest assured, your investment will serve you well for years to come.

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Indoor Riding Arena

The ultimate dream of any enthusiast horse owner is to construct their own indoor riding arena. For more professional traders with an entire suite of services, an indoor horse arena is a necessary component of their overall customer experience.

In this article we will discuss:

• The Ideal Size Of Your Indoor Riding Arena
• Obtaining Building Permits
• Arena Base And Footing Surface
• Features To Include In Your Indoor Riding Arena
• How To Choose The Ideal Location
• 11 Of The Most Important Things You Should Know Before Building Your Arena
• Choosing The Right Type Of Structure For Indoor Riding Arena
• Cost to build an indoor riding arena

Indoor riding arenas require owners to invest time and money, but the results are well worth the efforts. The long-term benefits of indoor riding will eventually cover the cost of your initial investment. Indoor horse arenas offer a controlled and safe environment to train and ride throughout the year under different weather conditions.

It is important to offer a consistent environment to your riders, trainers, and horses. Indoor riding arenas can help you accomplish this by minimizing the distractions from outside and providing a controlled indoor environment. Before undertaking such a large project, it is important to do your research.

The Ideal Size of Your Indoor Riding Arena

According to experts, the minimum dimensions for an average horse arena should be no less than 60’ in width and interior heights ranging from 16’ to 18’ measuring ground up to the peak of the trusses. The recommended horse arena sizes are as follows: 80’ wide x 200’ long and 60’ wide by 120’ long.

It’s important to incorporate a clear span structure, which means that there are no beams or posts inside the riding area. Steel buildings are ideal for these types of designs.

If you plan to ride in large groups, it is advisable to do so with a longer area for the indoor arena. In terms of height, it is typical for indoor riding arenas to be 16 feet high. Add an extra 2 or 3 feet in the case of jumping horses. Anything beyond that will fall under the realm of commercial or professional riding arenas.

The doorways should be ideally 13 to 15 feet high to make room for a ride mounted over the horse. Make sure the doorway space is at least 16 feet wide.

Do keep in mind that while larger riding arenas look good on paper, they come with several hidden costs most arena owners fail to anticipate, and this includes more footing, real estate, and lighting.

Obtaining Building Permits

Before construction on the indoor arena can begin, you will need building permits through your local municipality and construction plans approved by an engineer. A lot of factors will be considered before granting you permit, and these include issues such as zoning and the environmental sensitivity of your land. You will need additional reports such as plans for water management in the case of a storm and soil testing before a permit is finally issued.

The approval process can range from one to three months. Some of the most common concerns include restrictions on certain requirements of the project scope, environmental issues, and zoning.

Some towns make it possible for landowners to skip the permit process altogether if the indoor riding arena is strictly for personal use, although we don’t recommend this practice. It is necessary to possess engineer-approved plans to make sure the building is properly designed in accordance with the local building codes.

The health and safety of your horses and people should be prioritized at all times. Besides, it is not possible to obtain insurance for your building if wasn’t backed up by engineer-approved drawings. Protect your investment by following proper guidelines and avoid accidents.

Valleyfield Farm, 100×200 Equestrian Riding Arena located in Alberta, Canada

Arena Base and Footing Surface

It is recommended to cover the base with four inches of limestone screenings over sand, clay or aggregate mix. The footing can be sourced locally or bought from outside. As long as the footing provides sufficient traction, shock absorption, and stability, to help riders and horses, you can use locally sourced sand.

There are several types of sands, each of which bring something unique to the table. The ideal mixture is prepared with grains of varying sizes. The most popular mixture is medium course sands that are hard and washed. Sands that crumble quickly to create dust, or sands with round grains offer minimal traction, and will ultimately result in bad experiences for riders and horses alike.

Deciding the quality of sand can be tricky, make sure you discuss this at length with your contractor and engineer to get the best possible traction for horses.

Features to Include In Your Indoor Riding Arena

Check out the list below to make your indoor riding arena look as professional as possible without breaking the budget.

Cupola: A single or two will provide the indoor arena with an aesthetically attractive look while creating adequate ventilation options.

Doors: Make sure you install big sliding doors to provide enough room for mounted riders carrying large equipment. The trick is to make getting in out of the horse arena both convenient and easy.

Protection from snow and rain: Make sure to protect high traffic areas from water and snow and minimize the risk of growing deep swampy holes.

Rider Guard: These not only provide the interiors with a finished look but also add an element of safety to the riding arena. Rider guards establish space between the horse’s hooves and the wall’s vertical framing, this in turn creates more distance between the moving horse and the wall, as well as the rider’s knees and stirrups.

Side Lights: Side lights are an economical means of bringing in more natural light inside the riding arena. They are easy to install and less expensive than sky lights. Plus, they can be designed to accommodate up to two times the size of a normal sky light and also bring twice the amount of natural light.

Vapor Barrier: Keeping the roof insulated will help with aesthetics, minimize noise, and minimize undesirable things such as condensation and prevent the hothouse effect.

Wainscoting: While not important, wainscoting can enhance the arena’s aesthetics. Wainscoting is added half way up the indoor arena while the rest of the wall can be covered with a color paint of your choice.

Valleyfield Farm, 100×200 Equestrian Riding Arena located in Alberta, Canada

How to Choose the Ideal Location:

The most important step before building an indoor riding arena is to first select an ideal location.

Choose a site that has the smoothest level throughout your property. This will minimize how much site prep and excavation you will need. In the case of a level area with trees, your savings can be significant.

By choosing a naturally level spot, you will eliminate the risk of water runoff from hills that surround the area. Here’s the general rule of thumb: if water has been accumulating in the area before you construction of the indoor riding arena began, it will inevitably happen after the construction is completed.

This more than likely means the need to construct drainage channels surrounding the indoor arena. Another alternative is to elevate the area where you plan on constructing the indoor riding arena. As long as it accomplishes the goal of diverting water away from the area instead of having it cut right into the middle, causing damage to your hard work.

At the end of the day, the best way to remove moisture is by percolation underneath the indoor arena footing and into the ground. Every one inch of rain inside the arena requires a time span of at least 24 hours for all the water to filter through the ground and make riding safe again.  Once again, it is important to carry out plenty of research and make sure you accommodate for undesirable elements such as moisture, dust and ventilation.

Let’s Discuss 11 of the Most Important Things You Should Know Before Building Your Arena:

• Learn local building laws related to your town. Every place will have its own rules, and what may be valid for one town will drastically differ in another. Some places require buildings to abide by strict agriculturally friendly codes. There are several items that towns can differ on, this includes the following:
  i) How much land to devote per horse.
  ii) Which services should be involved into the construction (such as board of health, zoning, conservation, building, etc).
  iii) How far buildings should be set back from property boundaries, etc.
• Before starting construction, you should be prepared to make sure your project is on the right side of the law. A good idea is to talk with someone who had an indoor horse arena built near you. Since they have already gone through the process, they can offer a firsthand experience of the difficulties they ran into, and provide answers to some of the more complex challenges that you might have to solve before undertaking the project.
• Get in touch with a contractor and try to get a rough estimate of what the site work and plan will cost.
• The location of your indoor riding arena is key here. This includes the exact area where it’s going to be built on the property and other variables such as where the sun shines, the presence of low lying, humid areas, the direction in which the water runs off to, the direction in which the wind blows, the amount of dirt that needs to be moved. In many cases, your project will require the use of an excavator to make the task much easier.
• It is important to leave enough room around the premises for parking, horse turn out, riding ground, and a trailer turn around. A good idea is to sketch every asset on a plot map, you can fetch one from the town for more accurate results. You can alternatively buy orange flags from your nearest hardware retailer and place them on the plot map to get a rough estimate of how much space each asset will take up.
• A big part of your plan is to find a trustworthy contractor. Put your references to good use and find the right match.
• Before hiring someone for the job,  ask your list of potential contractors to do a small project for you such as an excavation job. While this may not be free, it will give you a good idea of their quality of service, how far off they are from their initial estimate, whether you get timely response, and how you two get along.

Valleyfield Farm, 100×200 Equestrian Riding Arena located in Alberta, Canada

Choosing the Right Type of Structure for Indoor Riding Arena

When it comes to choosing the right type of structure, there is no one size fits all design choice for indoor riding arenas. The type of structure largely depends on your budget and preferences such as arena size, location, and load requirements for rain, wind and snow.

Fabric Covered

These arenas are supported by a steel frame covered by a translucent fabric roof. Polyethylene is the preferred choice by most contractors, but it must be replaced every 15 to 20 years. The two prominent design choices include both domed and peaked roof variants.

The maximum construction span for fabric covered indoor riding arenas can reach of widths up to 200’, but this figure widely depends on the manufacturer. At the end of the day, the primary advantage of using fabric covered structures is higher amount of natural lighting and an open feeling. It can be challenging to insulate these arenas which are typically not heated.

Wood Post Frame

These buildings are supported by a wooden frame which typically affords more flexibility to architectures when it comes to the overall design choice. The construction for wood post frame buildings does not require the setup of a continuous wall foundation. One limitation with wooden framed riding arenas is that the maximum width cannot exceed 90 feet.

Steel Frame

Steel framed arenas offer incredible versatility to contractors. They offer the aesthetic appeal of cathedral-like buildings. The best part is that steel framed arenas are ideal for both winter and summer seasons because it is easy to adjust ambient temperatures around-the-clock for comfortable indoor riding.

Steel frame buildings allow you to go with bigger construction spans.

Cost to build an indoor riding arena

Read about the different costs associated with building an indoor riding arena here: 

Indoor Horse Riding Arena Cost