chain rings
“breaks when stressed”
Not soon enough.
“Don’t use the chain. It’s against the rules for a reason. Imagine freaked out horse becoming intangled in that stuff and running with yards of chains and cones attached to him.”
happened to me at a horse show at bloomfield. on day before show when we were schooling in all the rings. horse comes at me festooned with scads of chain.
it doesn’t break enough or soon enough. not safe.
Mine does.
Chain is legal, and I still see a lot of them at recognized shows all over the country.
I’ve never had a problem with it, and I’ve been tangled in it.
Maybe the safest ring out there is the CDS pylon/PVC pipe ring. But it’s beyond the budget here, as are PVC board fences.
Thank you! This was beginning to remind me of the “peppermint candy will cause a positive drug test” that goes around occasionally.
They’re not that heavy - maybe 10lbs apiece, maybe less. They actually have lightweight versions, although I don’t know how much difference there is.
Our dressage assos. used bathroom size waste baskets, the rectangular ones. Cut a hole near the bottom on each short side about 2" diameter. Use 2" pvc pipe for the rails. Flip waste baskets upside down and place poles in holes to form the rails.
And watch them get blown over in a stiff wind. Ask me how I know this. :sigh:
[QUOTE=Ghazzu;3297079]
Thank you! This was beginning to remind me of the “peppermint candy will cause a positive drug test” that goes around occasionally.[/QUOTE]
I haven’t heard that one. However, some peppermint snacks (the kind made with grain, not starlight mints) will get you eliminated if you feed them just before a test or if your horse doesn’t chew them thoroughly before you put on the bridle because they have red dye and it can mix with the mouth foam and look like blood.
I should change my response above to emphasize that the chain must be breakable in order to be legal. Doesn’t mean that I like the stuff, but it is relatively cheap and easy to store, which is why it’s remained popular for dressage rings. It sags, horses don’t respect it like boards and come too close to it at times, it’s harder than boards to get straight during set-up, and it resembles the Gordian Knot if just dumped back in the trash can for storage without taking care to wind it properly. It’s certainly safer than any combo involving cinder blocks.
About the breakable part, twist ties become a vital part of the show equipment bag. Over the years I’ve seen chain rings repaired hastily with a shoe lace (picture the ring steward leaving her lace-less shoe stuck in the mud), a dog leash and, I swear, a bra strap.
I use five gallon empty paint buckets and conduit pipe (more rubber, grey like the buckets) Simply drill the buckets on each side for the pipe. You can put some sand in the buckets and turn upside down. Duct tape if necessary (wind).
Works like a charm. You can also find white five gallon buckets at Lowes and use PVC.
N
Being a DVM, and using what’s available, I can also vouch for white adhesive tape as a repair option.
(And brown gauze as guy ropes to hold the judge’s awning down…)
Our GMO used a white plastic chain arena for years without issue. It worked very well, would break very easily when challenged, and looked nice. How we solved the tangled knot problem was to get a big wheel or something similiar to wrap the chain around and keep it from getting knotted. I don’t ever remember a horse getting caught up in one. It seemed like it would break first. The trick was getting the poles into the ground deep enough for stability.
I saw a clever idea this past weekend at a schooling show…
The barn had used larger PVC pipe with a plastic joint (looks like a T) ontop of the joint was a small plastic trashcan that was attached upside down and the letters were spray-painted on the sides. The trashcan was permantly affixed to the pipe/joint combination and artificial flowers were neatly arranged out the top of the trashcan (I’m guessing to hide the connection). Then break-away chain was strung the complete perimiter of the arena. The horses were quite respectful of this set-up. Keep in mind, that this is a permanent arena set-up and not portable. I just thought that it was cool idea.
Blkarab
[QUOTE=egontoast;3289332]
Fill beer bottles with sand for markers and run recycled barbwire around the perimeter.
For a fancier look, glue macaroni on the beer bottles and spray with gilt paint. String patio lights along the barbwire for added klass and night time appeal.
Pipecleaners are handy for making letters or you can fashion the letters out of papier mache and spray paint them. Another possibility is to fashion them out of cookie dough and give them away as prizes. YUM![/QUOTE]
Wow, I havent laughed that hard in a while!! thanks
The cheapest is the white chain option. I saw it available in the local hardware store complete with the step-in OR weighted base posts to hang it off. In the HARDWARE store! Imagine that! Invest in a pack of long twist ties, you’ll need them. The odd horse will drag the chain a few meters before it breaks if it leave the arena.
The white 3-4 inch PVC pipe looks lovely, but be very careful- after a couple of years, the plasticizers go out of the stuff from exposure to UV light(sun) and if a horse happens to step on and break a rail, it breaks with knifelike shards and can cut right through tendons etc.
Concrete bricks are very heavy, and the light ones they sell in the garden store that are partially poly filla, are more expensive. They are a problem if you fall off and hit your head on one, just like the jumps in a hunter ring. I actually prefer the heavier jump poles and concrete block as a surround, though. It doesn’t move in the wind. I wear a helmet and the horses have more respect if they knock against a wooden pole trying to evade the ring. But its not very portable and your volunteer ring crew will dwindle after the first show.
At the same place that you buy the chain they have handy little packs of replacement links and S hooks. Imagine that?
I saw someone today winding their chain arena on the winder for a garden hose. Great idea.
A very sharp and economical portable arrangement; white vinyl latice strips sawn with a skillsaw to size, then linked with white vinyl ties, then set up sort of teepeed along the perimeter of the ring , white square pails with electrical tape denoting the letters on the flat sides
Lisa, Synergy Sporthorses
http://www.synergysporthorses.net
Do you have a picture of this?
[QUOTE=Hi Jump;3314112]
A very sharp and economical portable arrangement; white vinyl latice strips sawn with a skillsaw to size, then linked with white vinyl ties, then set up sort of teepeed along the perimeter of the ring , white square pails with electrical tape denoting the letters on the flat sides
Lisa, Synergy Sporthorses
http://www.synergysporthorses.net[/QUOTE]
I’m trying to visualize it and having difficulty. Our local group is trying to do this same thing. We’ve survived the last several years with PVC pipe laying on the GROUND! not even connected.
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