A riding school is one of the greatest conveniences a hunting man, trainer, or owner of polo ponies can possess; for it is not only very useful for the breaking-in of saddle horses and ponies, but it also supplies its possessor with the invaluable luxury of a dry and comfortable place in which to exercise his animals in wet, snowy and frosty weather. In Illustrated Horse Breaking I have dwelt at some length on the advantages of a riding school from a breaking point of view.

We may take the minimum size of a school as that of the arena of a circus, namely, a circle having a diameter of 13 metres, which is equal to about 43 ft. This length, or 2 or 3 ft. more, would be convenient for the side of a square school, which could be used as a square or circular ride, as might be desired. A size large enough for any purpose, would be 60 yards by 20 yards, which is that of a full-sized military riding school.

Supposing that it is intended to have a school, the track of which could be used as a square or circle; we might get constructed a stone or brick building 50 ft. square externally (or larger as might be required), and having walls about 12 ft. high. The place should be well lighted by windows, but not by a glass roof, which would make it cold in winter and hot in summer. The lower portion of the walls on the inside, for a height of about 3 ft., should slope inwards at a gradient of about 4 in 1, so that when a mounted horse is on the track close to the wall, the rider's legs and feet may be clear of it. It will be convenient to have two doors, facing each other, in the respective centres of their walls, and made to traverse, so that no accident may occur from a door being left on the swing. A width of about 10 ft. for the doorways will permit of a horse being ridden from the outside across the school at a fence placed near its centre. Mirrors on the walls of a riding school greatly help to light up the place, besides serving their own special duty.

Although the space in the centre of a quadrangularly arranged stable may be utilised for a school, it is much better to have the manege entirely separate from the stalls and boxes, the occupants of which can hardly fail to be more or less disturbed by the noise and presence of the horses at work in the school.

In England the floor of a school is often made by digging out the surface inside to a depth of about 2 ft., and then filling it up for about 18 in. with faggots of hazel or birch, and the remaining 6 in. with tan, which has to be renewed from time to time, according as it sinks. This plan entails a great expenditure of tan, and is not necessary; for it is just as good to dig up the ground and cover it with tan, without using any faggots. To either of these methods I much prefer the plan used in circuses and in riding schools all over the Continent, of employing sawdust instead of tan and faggots. To begin with, we may put, on a foundation of clay, a layer of sawdust 2 or 3 in. thick, over which a thin layer of clay is placed, and over that, another layer of sawdust. The feet of the horses will work up the clay and sawdust together, so as to form a soft and fairly elastic surface. On a soil of clay, or of clay mixed with sand, no preparation is needed beyond making the ground level; putting down a layer of sawdust, which should be raked up with the ground underneath; and adding more sawdust as may be necessary. Any excess of sawdust can be removed with a rake, or more added when required. After work, the surface should be raked over, and can be sprinkled with water from a rose. To keep down dust in dry weather, it is well to sprinkle salt (which has a great affinity for water) over the surface, thickly enough to give it the appearance of hoar frost. At first, we might use a pound of powdered rock salt for each square yard, and renew the salt as might be needed. Tan "balls" in a horse's feet, and if left in them, quickly heats and corrodes them, which are objections that sawdust is practically free from. Besides, the presence of tan on the ground makes a building look gloomy. Tan in a quantity sufficient for a school costs far more than sawdust, and does not give such a good result.