We Made A Thing

My Hubby: Lover of dogs, builder of awesome stuff!

In case you didn't know, I'm very fortunate to be married to a guy who is not only real good-lookin' and likes dogs, but is also extremely handy. And has a weakness for hoarding wood and picking up shipping pallets whenever he sees them on the side of the road.

This spring, we decided to start building jumps together because power tools are fun and I like jumping my pony over things.

Finally, FINALLY, our first creation has been completed and placed at the farm as of last weekend. Orchard Hill has it's very first XC fence!

IT LIVES!

We started with two shipping pallets, both cut in half (because I am weenie and did not want to make a giant jump) and painted with some heavy-duty exterior paint to improve durability. The wood they use for pallets is cheap and starts to break down pretty quickly if left out in the elements, so our little coop needed some protection. 

It took literally months to get these things painted, because we have no free time. 

Once the components were ready, the coop came together very easily with a power drill, saw, and some serious decking screws. 

We screwed each pallet half to another to make one long piece for each face of the coop, securing them together at the top by setting a 2x2 into the notch created by the pallets and screwing it all together, making one large A-frame type structure.

It was at this point that we realized that the fence was very, very tiny. Even too tiny for me. 

So we gave it legs!

Treated 2x4's to the rescue - a leg went at each corner, bumping up the total height of the coop to just over 2' with a width of 3'. With the option to add a stadium rail on top, or brush poking out from between the slats, and the ability to cover or fill the coop with strange things to make it more 'scary', we would be able to build questions that were more challenging without building the fence itself to intimidating heights. 

It still needed more weight, stability, and a solid-looking ground line since the coop was now "floating" several inches above the ground on its funny little legs. 

MOAR 2X4's!

We added additional boards to the bottom of each face, supports across the bottom of the ends, and additional pieces on the inside of the frame to make the jump stable, heavy, and visually inviting. 

This thing ain't movin'! 

We placed it on the crest of a hill at the farm, so it can be jumped both up and downhill. Our grand master plan is to eventually have a XC "track" that runs around the perimeter of our pastures and back field with logs and other small fences placed in a loop for schooling at home. 

Questionable screenshot. This is what you get when you take a fencepost video as the sun is going down.

I got to test it out yesterday afternoon, and it was SO COOL to be able to jump something that I had a part in designing and building! Dino was a rockstar and in heat-seeking missile mode, and jumped the coop beautifully both up- and down-hill. 

I'm tickled pink with how this first experimental project turned out, and am excited to build more jumps! My husband also definitely deserves some sort of award for being the muscle behind this awesome creation. Have you ever built jumps? I'd love to see pictures of your own home made fences! 

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