Building Jumps That Last

[*JumpIt*]

For christmas I am going to build some jump fillers as a gift to my barn. Very simple design but I want to make sure it lasts. Most it will be made with treated wood but the panel (the main part of the jump) and the decorative wood on it won't be treated. Is there a product I can put on it t keep it from rotting?

Also can anyone recommend the best way to paint this so the paint doesn't wear of or chip too much? Any paint brand recomendations?

I will be making 2 nice ones and 2 silly schooling ones. I was thinking of putting "Eyes Up!" on one side and "Heels Down!" on the other side. I want to make one more in a similar fashion any ideas on what to put on it?

Thanks!

[Salty]

Great idea for a present!

I used 3/4 exterior plywood with exterior primer & paint for my panel. I bolted it to an exterior 2 x 4 which runs the full width of the panel & extends to sit in the jump cups.

I also made a rustic brush box out of natural oak boards. Again, everything was bolted together with carriage bolts. Kinda spendy but much safer than screws or nails. My jumps have lasted well, even with being out in the weather.

Painting a big eye on your "Eyes Up!" (no apostrophe) jump would be really cute. I've seen rainbows, setting suns, pigs--anything that could catch the rider's undue attention. Great for practice.

And for a gate, you can buy a section of PVC picket fence in a 2' height or higher. I haven't tried this myself, and am interested in how one would go about attaching something to the fence section so it could rest in the jump cups. I think you could just bolt something through holes that you'd pre-drilled.

[*JumpIt*]

Thanks! Any more ideas?

[Bobblehead]

Any paint and any method of painting is absolutely fine as long as you don't let anyone ever touch your jumps. :winkgrin: I just finished painting all the poles for our barn, and threatened with death anyone who dared touch one with a hoof. Not the horse, I'd never do that, but the rider. I'm also thinking about fining them $10 a touch, LOL. My beeyoutiful poles, already being chipped away at. I painted the whole set two years ago, and those immediately got chipped up too. Even worse, within a week one of them was broken in half.

Another thing I thought of was to start a betting pool about who would be the first person to knock a jump, and the winner of the pool would have to give me half the money. I might do it, since everyone I asked immediately said the same person's name.

Good luck, sorry I've got no real help for you.

[Janet]

"WAIT"

[RugBug]

Any paint and any method of painting is absolutely fine as long as you don't let anyone ever touch your jumps. :winkgrin: I just finished painting all the poles for our barn, and threatened with death anyone who dared touch one with a hoof. Not the horse, I'd never do that, but the rider. I'm also thinking about fining them $10 a touch, LOL. My beeyoutiful poles, already being chipped away at. I painted the whole set two years ago, and those immediately got chipped up too. Even worse, within a week one of them was broken in half.

Another thing I thought of was to start a betting pool about who would be the first person to knock a jump, and the winner of the pool would have to give me half the money. I might do it, since everyone I asked immediately said the same person's name.

Good luck, sorry I've got no real help for you.

:lol: Hitting the jumps is unavoidable. I find ours need to be painted once a year to really stay looking nice. That said, I can usually only manage once every other year. It's a horrendous job and very time consuming unless you get scads of help.

Breaking jumps/poles...however is a different story. We have a policy that if you break something outside of a lesson, you have to replace it.

To the OP: We've got one panel that has stood the test of time. I've been at this barn for about 9 years. This particular panel has been around since then. It is as heavy as a horse, requires two people to move it, but has lasted through winters, has not needed re-painting until this year(it has our barn logo on one side so it will be a significant process to repaint...not just a simple touch up) etc. This is the only jump that we've had that has lasted this long. I didn't make it, nor did I paint it...so I have no idea what has made it last.

[BeastieSlave]

I've just finished painting some new jumps. Here's what I did:

I used pressure treated material to make the jumps (used some of the jumps in "Jumps, etc." as a pattern) then I put the jumps and oles under one of the covered sheds and let them dry out for a couple months. Most treated lumber that you buy at local big box DIY stores will still be pretty wet and you won't want to paint until it's cured.

Once the jumps were dry, I primed every inch with a high quality interior/exterior latex primer. After that was thoroughly dry I painted with a good quality exterior latex semi-gloss paint. I used to be a big fan of oil based paints, but now I appreciate the easy clean up of latex! I let the jumps and poles dry for a week or so and moved them into the ring. They look great and the ones I did like this a couple years ago still look fabulous :yes:

I did one set with Thompson's Water Seal once the wood had cured. The wood looks nice, and I'm hoping it'll hold up well.

[JinxyFish313]

I like to use vinyl for striping. You don't need super high quality material, so its not too expensive to buy in bulk.

Make a cow jump! The pony I had for 12 years jumped everything and anything we ever pointed him at except for a box that had been painted like a cow.

I saw a "Four Faults" jump once, thought that was funny.

[Burgie]

I was thinking of putting "Eyes Up!" on one side and "Heels Down!" on the other side.


Like this...?
(Please disregard sloppy attire)

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii205/oldenburgie/passion/passion136.jpg

We built this for our trainer after she had to put down her beloved retired jumper:

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii205/oldenburgie/passion/chrissjump.jpg

[*JumpIt*]

Yes! That was the picture I got the idea from, I knew I'd seen a picture of it some where on the internet but couldn't remember where. I was thinking makinging a Navy Blue gate with white bubble letters and a white trim.

[Burgie]

Ooohh! I feel famous now!
I like your idea. Have fun with it!

[lesyl]

We painted a brick/stone wall. Used exterior paint and then spar varnish (three coats). After 6 months in the very harsh AZ sun it still looks good. We will need to revarnish this winter, but that has really helped it hold up much better than the jumps painted with interior paint and no spar varnish.

Spar varnish does have a slight yellowish cast and is a little shiney.

[fancyfooted]

"WAIT"

Absolutely, Janet! I need one like that so I can stop yelling it at my riders :lol: