# Round pen made of pallets?



## jgnmoose (May 27, 2015)

Technically you can make a round pen from anything. Ideally it will be about 50' to 60' in diameter and about 6' tall. 

I've seen them made from little more than posts with smooth wire and lined with boards, not much different than planks from a pallet. 

Good luck


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## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

JoBlueQuarter said:


> So, I just got the idea to make a round pen out of pallets. I don't have the material to make a normal round pen, but my dad just got a whole bunch of pallets.
> This is how I figure I'd make them sturdy, then just make a kind of round circle using this technique.
> 
> 
> ...


It's a cool idea, but the gaps look like the perfect size for a horse to get a foot hung up in there and get hurt. So I'd be eyeing that pretty carefully. Maybe one could take a crowbar to them and remove every second board or something.


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## JoBlueQuarter (Jan 20, 2017)

SteadyOn said:


> It's a cool idea, but the gaps look like the perfect size for a horse to get a foot hung up in there and get hurt. So I'd be eyeing that pretty carefully. Maybe one could take a crowbar to them and remove every second board or something.


Right. I didn't think of that. :shock: I'll make sure to check for that!

And thanks, @jgnmoose!


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## gnpenning (Aug 19, 2017)

Pallets can have different spacing for the slats. Make sure you use ones with thicker boards. Many are treated with pesticides since they go back and forth across the pond. Don't let your horse crib on them. Use PPE when cutting don't forget dust a mask. 

Check for proud nails. 

Use a longer post and keep them a foot or so off the ground. As mentioned don't make it to small or to low were a horse may consider jumping. You can add plywood over them down the road. 

We all started somewhere.


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## JoBlueQuarter (Jan 20, 2017)

gnpenning said:


> Pallets can have different spacing for the slats. Make sure you use ones with thicker boards. Many are treated with pesticides since they go back and forth across the pond. Don't let your horse crib on them. Use PPE when cutting don't forget dust a mask.
> 
> Check for proud nails.
> 
> Use a longer post and keep them a foot or so off the ground. As mentioned don't make it to small or to low were a horse may consider jumping. You can add plywood over them down the road.


Thanks! All your suggestions helped a lot!



gnpenning said:


> We all started somewhere.


Ya, it can get kinda discouraging though. I guess I'm lucky to have three horses at all, considering that my passion isn't exactly believed or supported.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

i would remove the bottom two boards.


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

A round pen made of pallets or even 'some' panels should only be used with horses without a tendency to test it.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

You've gotten good suggestions. Why do you want a round pen? What will you do in it that you can't do out of one?

Just asking because many horse people never have one and don't miss them.

I understand not having the support of family/friends. I never did and know others who didn't either.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

It should also not be used without supervision. I wouldn't put a horse in and use it as a holding pen. It would need to be fairly tall too. Removing ever other board will help with safety but because of the sandwich construction a hoof between front and back is still an issue. A kick to a pallet can result in significant injury not so much with the kick through but the pulling the leg back. As one of the posters mentioned make sure you have checked for proud nails and measure the distance between slats to ensure your smallest horse's hooves wouldn't fit between. I would prefer not to remove boards .

jgnmoose: "Technically you can make a round pen from anything. Ideally it will be about 50' to 60' in diameter and about 6' tall."

Getting pallets that high will mean strong reinforcement. It will need to be much taller than single pallet even if 1' off the ground. 60' round is a circle with a circumference of roughly 190 feet.


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## george the mule (Dec 7, 2014)

What others have said, plus pallets tend to be splintery and the boards break easily and leave ragged/sharp ends. A horse (or rider) slamming into such a panel might be sad while picking bits of Oak from their hide :-( Nice smooth new pallets would be way better than old/weathered ones in this respect, but after a couple of seasons in the sun, even new ones get rough. Maybe a thick coat of urethane or epoxy paint on the inside, but that is an expensive undertaking.

Probably a better choice would be to put in the posts and string them with several strands of white, or brightly colored rope. Something like clothesline would probably be OK.

edit: I've had a regular farm-panel round pen set up for years. Surfaced with composted poop, so it's nice and soft. The horses sometimes use it for a sorta lounge, but that's about it.

foto: At the roundpen lounge


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

What type of horses are you working in it? If it's gentle, broke horses that won't test it, your pallet round pen will work just fine. But I wouldn't put a youngster or retraining issue in there if that horse might try to go over it or through it, and you'd be amazed at the horses that will try to go through or over the panels once or twice the first few times you work them in it if they have never not gotten 'their way' before and throw a little temper tantrum. If you go this route, I'd make the posts taller and put a couple of boards or vinyl belting above the pallets so your height is at least 5'6". If you live in an area with manufacturing/farming surplus supplies, see if you can get a strip of conveyor belt to put around the bottom eighteen inches or so of your pen. It will keep the footing in, and prevent horses from putting a leg through. Even a gentle horse can slip and hit the walls of the pen, so you want to be sure the bottom is sturdy. Plywood around the bottom 2' will also work, but be expensive. 

You can often find used round pens for about $500 - $700. Not cheap, but a lot less than new ones. Plus the panels can then be used for temporary stalls, fence repair, and the like if needed, and you can purchase more panels to make it bigger as money becomes available. 

I hear you on the non-supportive family. My husband wants NOTHING to do with my horses.


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## JoBlueQuarter (Jan 20, 2017)

SilverMaple said:


> What type of horses are you working in it? If it's gentle, broke horses that won't test it, your pallet round pen will work just fine. But I wouldn't put a youngster or retraining issue in there if that horse might try to go over it or through it, and you'd be amazed at the horses that will try to go through or over the panels once or twice the first few times you work them in it if they have never not gotten 'their way' before and throw a little temper tantrum. If you go this route, I'd make the posts taller and put a couple of boards or vinyl belting above the pallets so your height is at least 5'6". If you live in an area with manufacturing/farming surplus supplies, see if you can get a strip of conveyor belt to put around the bottom eighteen inches or so of your pen. It will keep the footing in, and prevent horses from putting a leg through. Even a gentle horse can slip and hit the walls of the pen, so you want to be sure the bottom is sturdy. Plywood around the bottom 2' will also work, but be expensive.
> 
> You can often find used round pens for about $500 - $700. Not cheap, but a lot less than new ones. Plus the panels can then be used for temporary stalls, fence repair, and the like if needed, and you can purchase more panels to make it bigger as money becomes available.
> 
> I hear you on the non-supportive family. My husband wants NOTHING to do with my horses.


My 17-year-old QH mare, and 2-year-old filly. The filly is pretty quiet and gentle. She is pretty respectful of fences, she's never tried to go under the one strand fence pen I put the horses in once when their other pen was being worked in. Even after the old pony went under! :shock: I honestly can't imagine her trying to get out, but if I make the round pen, I'll make sure it's high enough in case she does decide to test her jumping skills!
The conveyor belt is a good idea! Should be pretty easy finding some.

Thanks everybody who posted!


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## JoBlueQuarter (Jan 20, 2017)

george the mule said:


> What others have said, plus pallets tend to be splintery and the boards break easily and leave ragged/sharp ends. A horse (or rider) slamming into such a panel might be sad while picking bits of Oak from their hide :-( Nice smooth new pallets would be way better than old/weathered ones in this respect, but after a couple of seasons in the sun, even new ones get rough. Maybe a thick coat of urethane or epoxy paint on the inside, but that is an expensive undertaking.
> 
> Probably a better choice would be to put in the posts and string them with several strands of white, or brightly colored rope. Something like clothesline would probably be OK.
> 
> ...


I've thought about using rope. How many strands would I need, and how thick should the rope be?

Your roundpen looks awesome! The horses look like they like it!


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

Far as horses trying to go over panels, I have seen some pretty good wreaks with free standing round pens, with a horse getting a leg in those panels and pulling them over onto the hrose, and in one case, on a horse and rider
Thus, my round pen had heavy tall treated wooden posts, sunk into the ground, and heavy planks of wood.
My husband does hunt on horse back, but other then that, he is a gun collector, and not a horse person
He did help build the round pen and other horse facilities, as I always justified'those efforts by making the hroses both pay for themselves, and whatever hrose facilities were required
Plus, we try to support each other, thus I spent quite abit of time, freezing my **** off, on top of a snowy ridge, holding the hroses, while he went on foot further, looking for that trophy ram Then there were the ;fun'; times, packing out elk!
Yes, I did enjoy some of those trips, but I also rode in the mountains, at the time of year that I would rather haVE rode around home, and returned to my fireplace at night!
He in turned, helped build the round pen and the outside riding arena, even though he never uses them.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

JoBlueQuarter said:


> The conveyor belt is a good idea! Should be pretty easy finding some.
> 
> Thanks everybody who posted!


I like the conveyor belt suggestion even better than the pallet idea, and I recall seeing an outfit in Indiana that had all conveyor belt fence.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

boots said:


> I like the conveyor belt suggestion even better than the pallet idea, and I recall seeing an outfit in Indiana that had all conveyor belt fence.


Was it at the I-74 and I-465 junction in Indianapolis? There was a boarding stable there that used them for fencing and it lasted for a long time but finally got to sagging so much they replaced it.


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## george the mule (Dec 7, 2014)

JoBlueQuarter said:


> I've thought about using rope. How many strands would I need, and how thick should the rope be?


Jo, probably, for most horses, just a single strand will do, as long as they can see it, but aesthetically, probably three or more. The keys being visibility, and safety, and cost. So you want something big and bright enough to be visible, but thin enough to give and break if the horse hits it, and as cheap as possible because they probably will at some point. You might try inexpensive white clothesline, or that flat braid they use for e-fencing. Twist the braid as you install it so the wind doesn't grab it so much. You might even try plastic "WARNING" tape for a real cheap enclosure, but don't expect it to last very long. Twist that, too.



JoBlueQuarter said:


> Your roundpen looks awesome! The horses look like they like it!


Yea, they do; it's like their "fort" or something. Thanks.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

JCnGrace said:


> Was it at the I-74 and I-465 junction in Indianapolis? There was a boarding stable there that used them for fencing and it lasted for a long time but finally got to sagging so much they replaced it.


I bet that's where I saw it! I remembered it was off I-465. 

I don't want to get too far off topic, but does anyone know why belting couldn't be re-stretched like wire and cable?


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

george the mule said:


> What others have said, plus pallets tend to be splintery and the boards break easily and leave ragged/sharp ends. A horse (or rider) slamming into such a panel might be sad while picking bits of Oak from their hide :-( Nice smooth new pallets would be way better than old/weathered ones in this respect, but after a couple of seasons in the sun, even new ones get rough. Maybe a thick coat of urethane or epoxy paint on the inside, but that is an expensive undertaking.
> 
> Probably a better choice would be to put in the posts and string them with several strands of white, or brightly colored rope. Something like clothesline would probably be OK.
> 
> ...


Also a little off-topic... but you have some lucky horses Steve! Love the "fort"! Out of curiosity... how long do you compost the manure before using it as a surface? Is it a problem when it gets wet?


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## george the mule (Dec 7, 2014)

Acadianartist said:


> Also a little off-topic... but you have some lucky horses Steve! Love the "fort"! Out of curiosity... how long do you compost the manure before using it as a surface? Is it a problem when it gets wet?


Hi AA!

"Compost" is probably a bit optimistic. The climate here is quite dry, and I never get real compost, but it does break down and decompose. I just make a pile, and let it sit for several months, turning it with the tractor once during that time. Then I pick it up, dump it in the round pen, and spread it/break it up some more with a wire harrow/arena rake. I kept at it until I had a uniform 4 to 6 inch layer. It has the feel and texture of forest loam initially, but does continue to break down over time, eventually becoming more like regular ol' dirt.
Our native "dirt" is sandy/gravelly, and gets squishy after a heavy rain, but drys quickly. The manure "footing" doesn't seem to get squishy or muddy to any great extent, but does remain damp longer.
This is the same "compost" that I load into my manure spreader to spread in the pastures, and work in with the harrow. I doubt it has much fertilizer effect, but it does contribute to the water holding ability of the soil, and seems to make some difference in how green things stay; at least my pastures stay green longer than the neighbors. Neighbor has started doing it as well this year, borrowing my spreader and harrow.
I learned this trick from a friend who plays polo and stables about 30 polo horses. She did their arena, the surface of their polo field, and the 1/2 mile oval track that surrounds it the same way I describe, with good results.
Poop gotta go somewhere; might as well serve as footing on it's way back to dirt ;-)
And, no, it doesn't stink; hardly has any smell at all.

Steve


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

A friend in New Mexico just built a round pen and riding arena with wood posts and strands of 3" white electric fencing tape. The round pen has six strands, the arena 3. It's not electrified, but it is a nice visual barrier and doesn't look half bad and seems to be working ok for now. She plans to replace the electric with vinyl fencing as she can afford it.

Her place has a perimeter fence around it so a horse that would go through it won't escape entirely, but she said her 2 saddle horses and her 2 y.o. haven't challenged it at all.


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

Well, yes, for broke horses you can use about anything, and they will not Challenge it
For instance, I often don't even have my one strand of portable electric fencing plugged in, yet my horses never chellenge it
The whole idea of a round pen for me though, is to work young green horses. I don;t round pen my broke hroses, nor keep a young horse riding long in a round pen, for that matter


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