How to Make Homemade Horse Jumps

Building homemade horse jumps is one of the cheapest and most satisfying ways to set up a schooling arena at home. A full set of six DIY horse jumps can be put together for under 200 pounds in timber, paint and a weekend of work, against 600 pounds or more for the shop-bought equivalent. This guide covers exactly how to make horse jumps that are safe, stable and good enough for everyday practice: the full materials list, step-by-step builds for standards and poles, safe jump cups, cavaletti, fillers that look like a real course, regulation heights and a simple home layout to school over.

Why Build Your Own Horse Jumps

The single biggest reason riders build their own jumps is cost. A pair of finished wooden wings from an equestrian supplier typically runs 120 to 200 pounds before you have bought a single pole. Make them yourself and the same pair costs roughly 30 to 45 pounds in materials. Over a six-fence set, that is the difference between a few hundred pounds and the better part of a thousand.

Beyond the saving, home-built jumps let you school whenever you like without booking arena time, and they let you introduce pole work and grids gradually at your own pace. If your horse is green over fences, a familiar set of jumps at home takes the pressure off before you ever travel to a competition. They are also genuinely useful for the wide range of jumping exercises that build a horse’s control, balance and confidence.

Tools and Materials You Will Need

None of this requires advanced carpentry. If you can measure, drill and drive a screw, you can build a full set. Here is the kit for a pair of standards plus a few poles.

Tools

• Cordless drill or driver
• Spade bit or hole saw (16 mm or 5/8 inch) for the cup holes
• Handsaw, mitre saw or circular saw
• Tape measure, pencil and a set square
• Sandpaper or an orbital sander
• Paintbrush or small roller

Materials for one pair of standards

• 2 lengths of 75 mm x 75 mm (3 inch x 3 inch) pressure-treated timber, 1.5 m long, for the uprights
• 8 offcuts of 50 mm x 75 mm (2 inch x 3 inch) timber, each 400 to 500 mm long, for the feet
• A box of 75 mm exterior wood screws
• Steel cup pins or 16 mm dowel to take the jump cups
• Exterior wood primer and bright gloss or fence paint

Materials for poles

• Round timber poles 80 to 100 mm in diameter and 3 to 3.6 m long, or landscape timbers as a budget alternative
• Wood preserver and two contrasting colours of exterior paint

The cost and dimension table below is a realistic UK guide for building a basic six-fence set.

How to Build Wooden Jump Standards

Classic wooden standards (the uprights that hold your poles, also called wings) are the backbone of any set. They are simple, heavy enough to stay put and easy to repair. Build them in pairs.

1. Cut the uprights. A 1.5 m height suits schooling up to 1.30 m with margin to spare. If you plan to jump higher, build at least one pair at 1.8 m.
2. Cut the feet. For each standard, cut four pieces of 50 mm x 75 mm timber to 400 to 500 mm. Longer feet give a wider, steadier base.
3. Fix the feet in a cross or pinwheel. Screw the four feet to the bottom of the upright so they radiate out evenly, like the spokes of a wheel. This stops the standard rocking and makes it almost impossible to tip sideways.
4. Mark the cup holes. Starting about 230 mm (9 inches) from the bottom, mark a centre line up one face and make a mark every 75 mm (3 inches). Keep the spacing identical on both standards in a pair so your poles sit level.
5. Drill the holes. Use a 16 mm spade bit and drill straight through (or to a consistent depth if you prefer fixed pins). Keep the drill square so the cups hang true.
6. Sand everything. Round off the top edges and sand the whole standard smooth. Splinters at horse height are a real hazard, and rounded tops shed rain better.

That is a finished pair. Repeat for as many fences as you want. For the jumping disciplines these wings are built for, it helps to understand how a full show jumping course is laid out so you can mimic real distances at home.

Making Jump Poles: Timber vs PVC

Your poles matter as much as the standards. The rule is simple: a pole should knock down cleanly when a hoof clips it, never trap or injure the horse.

Round Timber Poles

Round timber rails 80 to 100 mm in diameter are what nearly every professional yard uses. They have enough weight to sit still in the cups in a breeze, they knock down predictably, and painted in bright colours they are easy for a horse to read. Treat bare timber with preserver before painting.

Landscape Timbers

Landscape timbers are a popular budget pole. They are inexpensive, sturdy and have decent weight. Prime and paint them in bright bands, or wrap them in coloured outdoor tape so the horse can see them clearly.

PVC Pipe: Avoid for Real Jumping

PVC pipe makes a tempting lightweight pole, but it is too light to sit reliably in cups and can splinter into sharp shards if a horse stands on it. Reserve PVC strictly for ground poles and walking exercises, never for anything the horse actually leaves the ground over. If you want the lightness of PVC with more weight, slide a wooden dowel inside, but timber remains the safer choice for jumping.

Safe DIY Jump Cups and Pins

Jump cups hold the pole in the standard and are the one component most worth buying rather than making. Proper steel or moulded cups cost only a few pounds a pair and are shaped to release the pole at the right moment. If you do make your own, observe these rules:

• Use shallow, open cups so a rapped pole rolls out instead of jamming.
• On the back rail of a spread fence (an oxer), always use a safety cup or a shallow flat cup that releases easily. A deep, fixed back cup is one of the most dangerous things you can put on a home fence.
• Never weld or bolt a pole permanently in place. Every pole must be able to fall.
• File off any sharp edges and check the pins cannot work loose mid-session.

This is the heart of safe jump design: solid where it needs to be, but always ready to give way. The same principle separates a schooling fence from a fixed cross-country obstacle.

Building Cavaletti for Groundwork

Before your horse jumps anything, raised ground rails do most of the early work. A cavaletti is a low pole fixed on cross-shaped end blocks, usually offering two or three heights simply by rolling it onto a different face. They are brilliant for building rhythm, adjusting stride length and strengthening a topline without the strain of full fences.

1. Cut four lengths of 75 mm x 75 mm timber to about 500 mm for each pair of end crosses.
2. Half-lap or screw two pieces together at the centre to make an X for each end.
3. Fix a 100 mm pole between the two X-ends. Rolling the cross gives you roughly 150 mm, 200 mm or 300 mm heights.
4. Round all edges and paint for visibility.

A row of three or four cavaletti at a steady trot distance (around 1.3 to 1.5 m apart for trot) is the single most useful piece of kit you can build for a young or unfit horse.

Creative Jump Fillers and Wings

Fillers sit under the pole and give a fence a solid, spooky-looking face. Schooling over fillers at home means your horse meets them calmly at a show rather than for the first time in the ring.

Plastic Barrel Jumps

Plastic barrels make excellent wings and fillers. Stand them on end as narrow-fence wings, lay them on their side under a pole, or cut one in half lengthways to make an instant roll-top. Weight them with a little sand so they cannot roll if clipped.

Pallet Walls and Coops

Wooden pallets are the equestrian’s favourite freebie. Stand one or two upright behind a pole to make a wall, or lean a pair together to form a cross-country style coop. Sand any rough edges and remove protruding nails before use.

Tyre Fillers

Tyres are robust, free and long-lasting. Stack and strap them, paint them in bright colours, or cut them down for a low filler. Make sure the stack is stable and cannot collapse onto a horse’s legs.

Plywood Cut-Outs and Planks

Exterior plywood cut into simple shapes (a brick wall, a hedge silhouette, a plank face) and painted boldly gives a professional look for very little. Always hang or lean these so they fall away from the horse, never towards it.

Painting and Weatherproofing

Paint is not just decoration. Bright, contrasting colours help a horse judge the fence, and a good exterior finish is what keeps your jumps alive through a British winter.

• Treat all bare timber with wood preserver first, paying attention to the joints where the feet meet the upright and where water sits.
• Prime, then finish with two coats of exterior gloss or fence paint.
• Use two strongly contrasting colours on poles, painted in bands, so they read clearly against grass and sand.
• Re-coat about once a year. Sand back any flaking, re-treat exposed wood and inspect the structure while you are at it.

Regulation Heights and Spacing

You do not need to match competition specifications to school at home, but building to recognised heights keeps your training relevant. British Showjumping classes are graded roughly as follows, and these make sensible targets to build towards.

For poles and grids, a single canter stride is about 3.5 m between fences plus take-off and landing, so a one-stride double sits around 7.3 to 7.6 m apart for an average horse. A cross rail (two poles crossed in the centre of a fence) is the ideal first fence because it naturally guides the horse to the middle.

Safety Rules for Home-Built Jumps

Every shortcut you take on a home fence is taken at your horse’s expense, so do not cut these.

• Nothing fixed or solid. Schooling fences must knock down. Never build a rigid, immovable fence to jump at home.
• Use breakaway or safety cups on oxer back rails. This is the most important single safety rule in fence design.
• No PVC for jumping. Ground poles only.
• Sand off every splinter and remove every nail. Run your hand over each surface before a horse goes near it.
• Check stability before each session. A standard that wobbles or a filler that can roll is an accident waiting to happen.
• Match the fence to the horse. Build up gradually and never present a green horse with a spooky filler at full height.

A Simple Home Course Layout

Six fences is plenty for a varied home course in a standard 20 m x 40 m arena. A reliable starter layout:

1. A cross rail on the long side as a confidence-building first fence.
2. An upright (vertical) a few strides on.
3. A small oxer (spread) with a safety back cup to teach the horse to stretch.
4. A one-stride double of uprights set around 7.3 to 7.6 m apart.
5. A filler fence (barrel or plywood face) to school over spooky obstacles.
6. A final upright on a turn to practise rebalancing.

Set the fences so the horse never lands and runs straight into a wall or another jump, and leave generous turning room. As your horse progresses, the same six fences can be re-rolled into dozens of grids and related-distance lines. Many of the world’s best jumpers, including breeds like the Irish Sport Horse and the Holsteiner, were schooled over exactly this kind of basic home set-up before they ever saw a big ring. If you want to take it further, building a small cross-country course is the natural next step, and reading up on show jumper horses will help you understand what your home schooling is building towards.

For official guidance on rider and horse welfare, the British Horse Society publishes excellent safety advice, while British Showjumping sets the height and equipment standards your home jumps can aim for. Younger riders will find friendly, practical training support through The Pony Club.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to build DIY horse jumps in the UK?

A full six-fence set of homemade horse jumps costs roughly 170 to 280 pounds in materials, against 600 pounds or more to buy the equivalent ready-made. A single pair of standards plus a pole works out at around 30 to 45 pounds.

What is the safest material for jump poles?

Round timber poles 80 to 100 mm in diameter are the safest and most widely used. They have enough weight to stay in the cups yet knock down cleanly. Avoid PVC for jumping and never use steel scaffold poles.

How tall should DIY jump standards be?

A 1.5 m standard handles jumps up to about 1.30 m with margin to spare and suits almost all home schooling. Build at least one pair at 1.8 m if you intend to jump higher. A wider cross-foot base always makes a steadier standard.

Can I use scaffold poles for horse jump poles?

Steel scaffold poles are far too heavy and unforgiving, and a horse striking one risks serious injury. Wooden scaffold-grade timber rails are fine and widely used, but never substitute steel for a jumping pole.

Do homemade horse jumps need to meet British Showjumping standards?

For schooling at home, no. For affiliated competition you would use the venue’s jumps anyway. The key principles worth copying are safety cups on oxer back rails, poles of 80 to 100 mm diameter, and standards stable enough to stay upright when a pole is rapped at a canter.