Comprehensive Guide to Designing, Building, and Using Covered Round Pens

Table of Contents

Introduction

As ultimate destinations of inspiration and innovation in the equestrian world, covered round pens are booming phenomenons. Novices, trainers, and equestrian fanatics alike are increasingly investing in these pens for their undeniable utility in creating controlled, safe, and efficient training surroundings.

Understanding Covered Round Pens

Covered round pens are significant investments in the equestrian realm. These enclosures impart systematic horse training and riding experience, emphasising on safety and unrivalled convenience. Bordered by panels and sheltered with a roof, these pens are ideal for year-round practice, irrespective of external weather conditions.

Planning Your Covered Round Pen

When considering a covered round pen for your property, you should factor in some critical points:

Location: Position the round pen in a quiet, serene location to avoid distractions. Easy access to the pen and ample space to manoeuvre around it is necessary.

Size: Round pens typically range from 40-100 feet in diameter. Depending upon your comfort, space, and horse(s), you should make the ideal choice.

Surface Material: Excellent footing is crucial for maintaining horse and rider safety. Ideally, the footing should be deep enough to provide cushioning, but not so thick as to interfere with the horse’s movement.

Designing Your Covered Round Pen

Given its vitality, designing a covered round pen needs precision and expertise:

Shape: Round pens are designed as perfect circles, enabling the horse to move around the perimeter without corners, facilitating a seamless training process.

Wall Type: Solid walls are often the choice for round pens, serving to eliminate visual deductions and concentrate the horse’s attention inwards.

Covering: The cover renders the pen an all-weather usability. The covering’s height should allow comfortable horse and rider movement, cast sufficient light inside the pen, and lend excellent ventilation.

Building Your Covered Round Pen

The construction step is pivotal to a robust, long-lasting covered round pen:

Taking Dimensions: The pen’s size and height should allow the horses to move freely, maintaining safety.

Ground Preparation: Excavating the area, levelling it, adding the right grade of drainage sub-base, and compacting the ground forms the preliminary steps.

Wall Installation: Assembling wall panels should be done with extreme precision to maintain the perfect circular shape.

Cover Installation: The cover installation should provide sufficient height and lighting, ensuring necessary ventilation.

Footing Installation: The ideal footing mix of sand and rubber pieces provides cushioning and necessary grip.

Usability Tips For Your Covered Round Pen

Using your covered round pen effectively can substantially enrich training encounters:

Use Conducive Training Gear: Lunge whips, saddle, rope halters are the few essentials that can aid fruitful training.

Establish Boundaries: Boundaries help foster respect between the horse and rider.

Change Directions: Regular switch in directions prevents the horse from getting habituated in a monotonous pattern.

Ensure Post-Training Care: A cool-down walk and a thorough check to detect injuries, if any, ensures a healthy horse.

Conclusion

In essence, covered round pens are driving a revolution in equestrian training. With the correct planning, design, and construction, these units offer an all-weather, safe, and highly effective space for horse training, contributing to a comprehensive, superior equestrian experience.