Round Pen Questions...

[jrae]

We are going to build a round pen next weekend.....

What size do you prefer for working minis? We are planning on 60'.

If you have photos of yours, I'd love to see them!

 

[wildoak]

60' should be ample - you may have to do some chasing LOL. I believe mine is 45', and I wouldn't mind it being a bit larger although it works just fine. I wouldn't go any smaller than what I have.

Jan

 

[Irish Hills Farm]

My round pen is 40'. I have worked Jinx and Toy together in it last year and plan on working at least two together in it this year as well, maybe 3. We'll see.

Since you have TWHs, would you work them in the round pen as well? If so, you may want to stick with a 60' round pen.

How are the girls?

 

[jrae]

Hi Sheryl!

The girls are fine, I turn them out to play together for a few hours every day and they get along great! Dream has settled right in, she's a doll. Work has been crazy... :arg! so I haven't had as much time as I would like to work with her! Should settle down after this week, if we survive it!

I think we will stay with 60' to keep it big enough for the TWH's. I may have to do a lot of running around in there with Dream though! Oh well, I could use the exercise...

 

[Sanny]

I posted a similar question, before I saw your post.

A couple of things.....for some minis that are uncooperative, a 60 foot pen may be too large and you may get more exercise than you planned for yourself if you are trying to free lunge them or doing groundwork.

Also.....I used to have a 30 foot round pen which worked out great as far as size except that I used the mini panels to put it together and all of our horses are excellent jumpers and took great pride in circling once or twice and then jumping out and taking off on me.

 

[Jill]

My round pen is 40' and is just for the minis. I've worked the minis and biggies before in a 50' round pen at my former trainers.

Here's a picture of my round pen:

 

[wcr]

Mine is 48 and workis great for minis and biggies. There is just room for a longe whip with the long tail to keep them moving without me running around.

 

[zacharyfarms]

Jill,

[SIZE=14pt]Thank you for posting the picture of your wonderful round pen. How wide are each of your sections between the posts?[/SIZE]

 

[Jill]

My sections are 8' each, except where the gate is which is only 4'

 

[jrae]

Jill

Thanks for the photos!

I've seen several photos that show the wood boards on the inside of the posts...does anyone know why??

 

[chandab]

Jill

Thanks for the photos!

I've seen several photos that show the wood boards on the inside of the posts...does anyone know why??

Typically they are on the inside, so if a horse hits the rails, they don't pop off the posts from the impact. Probably more an issue with full-size horses than minis, although, I wouldn't past a mini to be strong enough to do the same.

My round corral is 50' diameter and made from portable pipe panels. I have extra panels, so could probably make it bigger if needed. [it was set-up for training my saddle horses, before I got the minis, but works well for them too.]

 

[disneyhorse]

Boards are usually on the inside of round pens because if the horse wings a leg out, they can get it caught along the pole and might damage it (leg or post). Also if the horse runs close enough to catch a hip on it, they can actually break their hip (probably more of a risk with a big horse than a mini).

Just makes the walls smoother for the horse, since they seem to injure themselves on just about everything.

Andrea