# Round pen question re: board spacing



## ecasey (Oct 18, 2013)

Hi there. I'm building a round pen with wood posts and wood boards, but I have a question about spacing for between the boards. Should I make the spaces between the boards big enough that a horse could get a hoof/leg through and back out again, or so small they can't get a hoof through in the first place?

I plan to put (2) 2x8s stacked on top of one another at the bottom to hold in the sand and keep a horse from getting a leg out near the bottom (saw a horse with a really bad injury from that once). So I'm talking about from about 16" above the ground level, how should the spacing be done there?

Metal round pens have those big spaces where legs can go in and out, but their edges are round so less likely to cause injury than a straight edge board. But if I don't need to worry about the straight edge boards, it would be nice for someone standing outside the round pen to be able to see inside it.

Thanks for your help!


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Depending upon where you are and for what real purpose the round pen is...
Some do not want there to be any spacing between boards and 6' tall so the horse has his full attention just on you, no distractions.

So, your bottom boards...I would go one more round high so 24" from ground level then do what you need for the top boards.
Horses working on a arc in a round pen will carry the hind leg possibly higher stepping under them-self with that bending body...
You will also be throwing dirt against that barrier in a hurry and 18" is not that high to retain it inside the pen.

Me, make that pen a 60' round, a large gate access to get a tractor in to drag and grade that surface and high enough walls built so not easy to jump out...5' + needed.
:runninghorse2:
_jmo..._


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

It will depend on what you'll use the round pen for whether you want the boards close together or farther apart. For breaking and teaching handling to unhandled horses, I prefer a round pen with solid walls. For just 'free lunging' in a circle before you saddle up to ride and maybe as a smaller turn out, then you can space them wider because the horse isn't likely to throw himself against the walls. For teaching jumping (free jumping) then I like one that has a smaller round pen inside, larger outside and solid walls on both. 

The first and last examples need to be 6 feet tall plus and solid. The 2nd example can be 5 feet plus and made more open. I'm with HLG, I'd make my bottom boards at least 24" high, and I'd keep them just slightly above ground level to keep wet dirt off of them, maybe put some gravel around the area where you're building the pen to help drainage.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

I found some pics of the more solid ones that I prefer. 



















This one is actually ideal for a climate that gets rain, the concrete at the bottom keeps the wood up out of any water, snow or mud.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Or they can be more open.


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## ecasey (Oct 18, 2013)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> Or they can be more open.


This is what I was wondering... can they be spaced this far apart or would that be really dangerous for young ones?

I will have young ones to old ones in there. The young ones just to give them a place to run around in because their paddocks are too muddy and I worry they'll slip and pull a tendon or something running there. They will get broke in there eventually (by a trainer). But my young ones are very chilled out quarter horses, so I don't imagine breaking them will involve too much craziness. And for my older ones, I'll use it to do ground work and warm up before riding out.


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## ecasey (Oct 18, 2013)

The walls will be 5.25 feet high.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

1. If you plan on putting foals, weanlings, 1-2 year olds in there, plus doing beginning work, my thought is solid walls, high enough nobody can jump out.

2. I have Walking Horses. My round pen is 100'. It's a good thing I don't use it for anything but giving kids rides or the chiro wants to see the horse move, because it isn't big enough for my 16.1H fella to really get moving.

I have a lightweight aluminum rail round pen BUT --- when I bought it my horses were all broke to death and it was for just what I mentioned above: giving children rides and moving the horses for the chiro. 

I mow grass in there, it's as non-formal of a roundpen as one can imagine and certainly not sturdy enough to hold up to a wayward horse - although it did nicely fold up like an accordion when the big barn cat knocked my Saturn out of gear (it's standard shift) and it rolled downhill into the roundpen:eek_color::eek_color:

Yah, that really happened. My car was headed for the next county without me, were it not for the big pine tree that stopped the roundpen panels, that stopped the car. I can laugh now but it was a big OH S*** moment at the time

There's your roundpen humor for the day - build solid walls so you don't have vet bills with the young and the green horses, and keep the car windows rolled up so the cat can't get in the car:cowboy:


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

ecasey said:


> This is what I was wondering... can they be spaced this far apart or would that be really dangerous for young ones?


How young is 'young'? When I'm referring to young ones, I'm talking about just weaned, so 4-6 months. The yearlings on up would probably be ok as long as they have been worked with some and don't freak out when someone applies a little pressure to them. The weaners, on the other hand, are emotional and can flip out and do all kinds of silly things in a pen with spaces between the boards. If you're talking young, emotional, unhandled, horses I'd close it up for safety. If they're pretty firmly grounded and used to being moved around by people and won't try to strain themselves through the fencing (YES I have had babies do that), then they'll be ok. Otherwise, I'd go solid or very tightly placed boards.


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## ecasey (Oct 18, 2013)

I have 2 six-month-olds who need a place to run around in. One is my orphan foal and couldn't be more chilled out. He's been handled by humans every single day and doesn't budge when brushed or hooves picked out, etc. The other is his BFF, same age, but raised until recently in a herd. She's more responsive to pressure but not nutty by any means. She's also handled a lot by humans.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

I like the solid ones but if you go with the open boards then I would like room for a hoof to go through. Injuries will happen but definitely make the spacing wider. You don't want the hoof to go in and then not come out.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

Personally, I like an "open" round pen. I want them to be able to see distractions so that they can still learn to train through them. 

My round pen actually consists of standard corral panels, secured with posts in the ground.


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

Anyway the 'young ones, could be turned out full time, in a large pasture?
I don't think running around some, in a roundpen , is enough exercise for a young hrose, and horses are more prone to hurt themselves, penned up, then turned out for brief periods, where they are so pent up with energy, they disregard footing, ect
I always turned out my young horses, once they were weaned. Yes, footing gets slippery at times, esp in winter, with icy sections, ect, but benefits out weigh any risks of those hroses hurting themselves
They will grow up more sure footed, sounder, JMO
The only time I used my rounpen, was when I taught horses to either lunge, when showing them, before they were old enough to ride, or when actually starting them under saddle
My roundpen, has wooden posts, with thick planking, that starts about three feet off the ground. It is not solid, as I never believed in preventing attention from leaving, through isolation, but rather by teaching a horse to keep his focus on you, when worked with, and not on buddies in that pasture


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