Visible From Outer Space: Part 1

 

OMG! So we have finally decided to erect a full scale replica of Stonehenge and invite our Druid friends to a festival celebrating the return of the autumnal equinox! NOT!!

We are actually constructing a round pen. This is in anticipation of the arrival of Nico/Neko (still don't have that spelling established...). My riding instructor/trainer Sabina has suggested- and been backed up by many, many equestrian experts- that a round pen is an excellent training tool that promotes bonding with your horse and emphasizes proper groundwork and improves their ability to physically improve and carry themselves correctly.

Of course, I turned to Bob and solemnly intoned, "Round pen..." to which he (correctly) responded, "Huh?" So we found a way to approximate a round pen for a fraction of the typical cost. Home Depot is an absolute boon to artists and artist/horse owners who want training facilities at reasonable price. A real metal gate constructed round pen averages about $1200-1600. It consists of 12 foot panels of pipe in a circle to create a pen of about 60 feet across and about 188 feet around (circumference). Ours cost way, way, WAY less!!

So  I found a site on the Internet that had instructions for casting concrete no-dig footings. And then Bob (smart man that he is) suggested that maybe pre-cast footings were available... which they were! So then I said I had pre-priced plastic PVC pipes that could be used as uprights and cross pieces around the top. The above picture is the 2" PVC pipes affixed to the cast concrete bases. They worked great; we did have to get 20 of them to go around the perimeter. And we did have to return 10 of them that turned out to be an inferior, crumbly cast. Hey! Loads of fun; they each weigh 50 pounds!!

So with new, better castings, we proceeded to erect the 10 foot cross members. And quickly found that 10 foot PVC does not like to flex to accommodate the bend of the ring. So we attempted to weight them, hoping to provoke a curve.

We carefully piled logs on boards and weighted them down in the sun, thinking that maybe the heat of the sun would help cajole them into a bend. Nope! Next morning, when we rolled all that weight off, they promptly shrugged off our attempts at bending them so back off to Hope Depot to return 9 of the 2" pipes and to get nine 1 1/4" pipes instead. (We alternated 2" pipes with 1 1/4" pipe... which worked! There was enough "give" in the smaller pipe to compensate for the bend.)

So here's Bob and the uprights for scale. Look at the middle left and there's Bob picking up rocks, because of course, wherever we put an upright, there were rocks!

Rocks: need I say more?

Anyway, once that had been accomplished, we sort of sailed along; measuring from the center point out 30 feet and establishing the outer edge. Today we finished erecting the top cross members. Essentially, that's the top picture. I have thanked the inestimable Bob and his dedication to a cause he will never share in: Bob will never "round pen" Nico/Neko the horse, or even ride her in it. But he's so game!! Willing to assist me in the above crazy project. I will post the pictures of the completed round pen in my next blog posting. It's been an interesting side line to all the other wacky things we do...