Stupid question about pole work on my own!

[Astupidquestion]

I've been given use of a school and some poles near my horse's field. I'm looking forward to having fun doing some pole work but I have a very stupid question. What do I do with my horse while I set up the poles?! Do I need to bring a head collar and baler twine with me to tie him up in the school while I set up? And then if I want to move them, tie him up again? Presumably most people don't have an assistant to help, but I've never thought about how to do this 😄

Is it literally just a school and poles in the middle of a field, no stables/hard standing/tie up area? If so and it's very close to horse's field I would probably go there first (either in the car or on foot) to set everything up, then walk/ride over with the horse. I wouldn't particularly want to be faffing with twine and tying him to an arena fence for any length of time if there isn't a proper tie-up area, just because I'd be alarmed at the possibility of him pulling back and damaging the arena fencing and/or chewing or kicking it while my back was turned.

That being said I have taught my horse to 'park' and he's also very good in-hand so I wouldn't mind shifting poles around a little with him either parked in the middle or following me in hand - well trained as he is though he would lose patience if that took more than a few mins so wouldn't do a whole course set up like that - this is why I do pole clinics or lessons for more complex set-ups. So if the poles can stay out in between sessions and it's just a case of moving them around a bit you'll likely be fine?

Thanks for replying. It's hard to explain but there wouldn't be anywhere else to tie him expect in the school. I could go there first to set up, but it's actually a long way by car (I hack there straight across the fields). I just thought there must be a trick I'm missing that other people know about how to manage this!

Ah no worries! No I don't think in that particular circumstance there is an easy answer you're missing. Our yard offers arena hires and people do often hack to us, but they usually either don't do poles so no set-up, bring an assistant, come in pairs so one can hold both horses while the other sets up, or they sometimes tie up their horses or use a spare stable on a bit of the yard where they're seperate from the horses that live there (for infection control purposes). Sounds like none of those are an option for you!

If your boy is good to be tied up in a strange place, and doesn't chew or pull you are probably ok to bring a headcollar and twine and tie him up briefly while you move poles - but really do keep it brief as you really don't want to cause any damage!

Thank you!

I set my poles up before I groom/tack up at stables.
In this case I'd tie him while I did it, or let him follow me about and make it a bit of an in-hand work out too!

I never jump alone, always have someone with me to help set up/keep an eye.

Is the arena enclosed? To be honest, I used to just wrap my reins (so they didn’t put a leg through if something did spook them) and leave them loose in the arena whilst I shifted poles/ jumps etc. Didn’t tend to go far due to lack of food 🤣

Beware of the cheeky roller!

I have known the odd pony/horse who is an utter sod for having a cheeky roll in an arena (even when wearing a saddle) if the opportunity is ever given to them.

Depends how well behaved he is, I've set up poles while leading my horse along behind me before - but if theyre likely to be spooky or need dragging it doesn't work