i need to build some jumps… Found some untreated 16’ 4x4s and plan to have DH rip the corners to make octagons. To minimize waste, they would be 8’ long. Is that too narrow? What about when it’s a cross rail? I’m having trouble imagining the length, I’m very bad spacially.
I have 8’ rails (landscaping timbers, actually) and have never had any issues. It’ll make the fences at shows seem super wide and spacious! If the cross rails seem too skinny, you can always just set the standards wider, but it was never an issue for me.
I use landscaping timbers, they are actually 9 feet long and are perfect for my tiny arena.
The only problem I have had with my 8-9’ rails is that if you are trying to make a fan of trot poles it’s harder than if the rails are 12’ long.
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Personally I would use the 4x4s to make 4’ standards and just get some 8’ landscape timbers, which already have rounded ends and are fairly light to move. 8’ is plenty wide for jumps, except it does make a crossrail with high sides just a bit scarier looking.
If a visual reference helps, all of these jumps were 8’ wide or less. The box fillers that eventually became coops were 5’ wide. Ignore the wonky Swedish oxer, not many of my standards had matching holes because I’m not the best at measuring. :lol:
https://www.facebook.com/adrienne.bosma/media_set?set=a.10153174375670038.1073741826.751565037
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Keep in mind, you don’t technically have to keep the standards at 8’ apart when using cross rails. I sometimes move them out a foot and just put the poles up higher so the part we jump is in the same spot.
I build them 8’. It certainly pays off at shows when suddenly you have all the room in the world to get over the fence. I use the pre-made fence posts for standards since they have cute little decorative tops. It only works if you’re building jumps for under 2’9". I use the landscape timbers for the poles since they are already rounded on 2 sides.
I’ve used landscape timbers for years. Honestly, by the time you get to a show, the jumps seem so wide after jumping 8 ft rails at home that it really can be beneficial.
I managed a farm where we actually ORDERED 8ft rails when we bought jumps for the indoor so we could cram more jumps in! No wing standards and 8ft rails can let you pack an indoor and still feel like you have room to get around (also good if you have to jump in a dressage ring).
I much prefer 8’ rails at home. They give you more space in your ring, and are easier to move around. Crossrails are no big deal as you just set them so the middle of the X is the height you want the same as if you had 10 or 12’ rails.
One place I boarded had a number of portable XC jumps all built 8’ wide. I think the owner had bought a skid of 8’ 4x4"s.
Has anyone built an 8’ plank jump? I’ve gotten my hands on scrap plywood and have a pretty nice design in my head for what I want to do with it!
Most of my indoor jumps poles are 8 feet. Works better in the space. A client built me two 5 or 6 foot planks this winter.
I do a lot of narrow jumps and standardless jumps in the winter. Makes them ride a bit more precisely and keep their horses straighter.
I have. I have made planks from two pieces of wood from the stall walls - 2 x 12 - which were either chewed up badly or broken. They have some interesting edges. I have also made an 8’ panel from a 2x4 and a piece of plywood that was only about 6’ wide. I painted one side like a stone wall and the other with a zig zag design on it. It’s rotting away now, but it lasted several years (outside the whole time).
I like my poles, gates etc to be 10’ long. But fillers like a brush box, roll-top, coop etc that sit under the jump, I like at 8’. This way it sits nicely under the jump otherwise the legs of the standards usually get in the way if they are longer than 8’. Typical competition rails/jumps I believe are 12’ long.
I prefer 10’ for schooling at home, but there’s certainly nothing wrong with 8’ rails. I’d maybe cut some to 8’, then cut a few to 10’ and 6’, so you have some wider poles to practice over and some narrow for a bit of “skinnies” practice.
Or to 10’, and use the 6’ remaining piece for standards.
The farm where I board has 8’ and 12’ poles
We use the 8’ poles. They are much lighter, easier to carry around, and as others have said, it makes the jumps with 12’ poles at shows seem easier.
My next goal is to find broken rails to build a 4’ wide skinny.
I have all 8’ rails and love them. They allow room for more jumps and condition you to be straight all the time. They are also light enough that I can carry 3 at a time and my six-year-old can also replace rails when needed. I get to shows and love the wider fences that look about 3" shorter too. 
All of ours are 8’. The middle of a jump is the middle of the jump be it 8 or 12’
We have all 8’ rails too, landscape timbers for the rails and for trot poles, and some old crappy round rails cut down to 7’6 for ground rails. It’s nice when everything is the same length, so there’s no more guessing and finding out your poles don’t match. The landscape rails are treated, so that means no painting, ever. It’s probably the best part of the 8’ rail plan 
It is a little trickier with the green horses to get them started, as you need a bit more control to get them to the jump instead of around it. But it doesn’t take long for them to get the idea, and it kind of forces us to ride rather than just be passengers 
10 foot rails are the best, in my opinion.
8 ft landscaping timbers are the best deal going, especially when they’re 50% off ($2/each).
