How to Make Horse Jumps for Schooling

It only takes a few basic tools to construct your own horse jumps.

Backyard horse riders must often rely on trips to nearby boarding barns or riding arenas when they want to school their horses over jumps. Although it is convenient to have horse jumps at home, store-bought jumps are expensive and difficult to transport. Building your own schooling jumps is a thrifty solution and provides the opportunity to have just one horse jump or an entire course at home.

Things You'll Need

• 2 wood boards, 4-by-4 inch, 6 feet long
• 8 wood boards, 2-by-4-inch, 18 inches long
• Pencil or marker
• Drill
• 1/4-inch drill bit
• 1/2-inch spade bit
• 16 wood screws, 2 1/2 inches long
• Power screwdriver
• 2 wooden poles, 10 feet long
• 2 sawhorses or similar work surface
• Tape measure
• Painting tarp/canvas
• 250 grit sandpaper
• All-weather primer
• All-weather white paint
• Paintbrush
• Tack cloth
• 2 jump cups with attached pins

Instructions

Building the Jump

1. Lay one 4-by-4-inch board on the sawhorses or work surface. Unfurl the tape measure down the length of the wood and, starting 6 inches from the bottom, make marks every 3 inches.

2. Drill a hole completely through the board at every 3-inch marker with the 1/4-inch drill bit. Then, go back and re-drill the holes with the 1/2 spade bit to widen them. Repeat with the second 4-by-4-inch board.

3. Position a 2-by-4-inch board at a 90-degree angle along the left-side bottom of the 4-by-4-inch board.

4. Screw the 2-by-4-inch board to the bottom of the 4-by-4-inch board using a power screwdriver. Use two screws, 2 inches apart and 3 inches from the bottom. If you have trouble holding it in place while screwing, use a clamp to fasten it first. Rotate the 4-by-4-inch board 90 degrees to the right, and screw a second 2-by-4-inch board to the bottom of the 4-by-4-inch board using two screws.

5. Repeat for the remaining two sides, placing the screws slightly lower each time. This forms one vertical jump standard with a cross-shaped bottom. Create a second vertical jump standard using the remaining 4-by-4-inch board and four 2-by-4-inch boards.

Painting

1. Place both standards upright on the tarp or canvas. Place fencepost lumber on the sawhorses or a similar work surface.

2. Sand every side of the unpainted poles and the standards using a circular motion. Rub all surfaces lightly with a tack cloth to remove sanding residue.

3. Apply the primer to the jump standards and poles with a paintbrush. Let dry at least 48 hours.

4. Apply white paint with a paintbrush to the jumps standards and poles. Let dry at least 24 hours.

5. Lightly sand all surfaces of the poles and the standards. Rub all surfaces lightly with a tack cloth to remove sanding residue.

6. Apply white paint with a paintbrush to the jumps standards and poles. Let dry at least 24 hours. If the painted surface remains rough, sand a third time.

Assembling the Jump

1. Assemble a cross-rail jump by placing the centers of the standards 9.75 feet apart so that one arm of each base points inward and the holes face toward the front and back.

2. Line the holes of a jump cup with the drilled hole, measuring 27 inches from the ground, in one of the 4-by-4-inch boards. Insert the pin of the jump cup into one end of the cup, through the board and then through the other end of the cup. Repeat with the other jump cup and standard.

3. Place one end of a pole in one of the jump cups. Rest the other end on the ground just before the other standard. Do the same from the second standard back to the first. For a vertical rail jump, place the standards 10 feet apart, and use one pole between the two cups.

Tips & Warnings

• Two pieces of 4-inch PVC pipe, 10 feet long, work as a substitute for the poles

• Purchase jump cups from a tack catalog or store.

• Place screws 2 inches apart and slightly lower---2.5 inches from the bottom---to avoid hitting the other screws.

• Humid weather can make the drying times for the primer and paint take longer. If you can still smell the paint, it is not dry yet.

References

• Horse Channel: Building Jump Standards

Resources

• Premiere Equestrian: Jump Cups