Build A Show Quality Oxer Jump For $200.00!

When you go to a horse show, the rings are filled with glorious jumps that are oh-so-perfect. The rails glisten in the sun, the perfectly crisp lines from the stripes set a beautiful contrast to the jump that seems to belong in an art gallery….well that is how I look at jumps. A series of masterpieces in the arena enticing the horse and rider team to jump a clear round. It is what inspired me to have my own set of jumps, so I could replicate the feeling of excitement at the show, and to also help me and my horse get ready for the next show.

If you are anything like me, you have done your research on buying horse jumps. And unless you are extremely fortunate, or independently wealthy, buying horse jumps is just something you cannot justify doing. So why note build them for yourself? Yes, it does take time and a lot of effort, but in the end the hard work will be worth it, trust me.

When assembling jumps for your course, you will need to have verticals and oxers to have your jumps mimic what you will see at the horse show. The vertical jump is pretty self-explanatory, and what many of us start off with. A cross rail is an example of a vertical jump.

An oxer isn’t that difficult to construct, it is basically two vertical jumps pushed close together, and meant to be jumped as one obstacle. But how can you make your own? It’s simple, you will just need enough jump components to make two jumps, but you will combine them to create one jumping obstacle.

I think it is important to mention there are different types of oxers. You can build a square oxer (the top rails are equal on both sets of standards), an ascending oxer (the back rail is the tallest element of your jump), a Swedish oxer (this is where the rails form an x, if you put two cross rails together, this can be considered a Swedish oxer).

You can make a descending oxer (where the back rail of the jump is lower), however this can be confusing for your horse, and you will never see a descending oxer at a horse show because of this. I do not recommend creating this type of jump, because you could injure your horse or yourself, and why would you do this if you will never see this type of oxer at a show?

For this example, the oxer I am going to build is an ascending oxer, meaning the back rail is the highest part of the jump. If you want to build a jump like this one, this is what you will need:

• 2 pair of standards (I used 5ft standards)
• 3 rails (I used 10ft rails)
• 1 gate (I used a 10ft gate)
• 1 pair of flower boxes
• 3 raised rails
• 28 bunches of flowers
• 4 pair of jump cups

And then you just assemble the jump however you like!

You can make this jump with any size rails, gate, and flower boxes that you have. I was building this jump for a lady, so I had to take advantage of it and make a video to show you what you can do to build an oxer! But use what you have. For example, all of my jumps are 4ft standards, with 8ft rails. This is because I don’t have the space to set up 10ft jumps in my riding area. And it is a lot cheaper to build jumps at 8ft vs 10ft. As long as you have the components to build an oxer, the size doesn’t matter, it is whatever you have to make it work.

Now let’s break down the cost…

To build this jump from scratch at the 10ft size here is the cost break down:

• 4 landscaping timbers ($16.00)
• 3 10ft long 4 x 4’s ($36.00)
• 2 10ft long 2 x 4’s ($10.00)
• 2 8ft long 1 x3’s ($4.00)
• 9 8ft long 2 x 6’s($53.00)
• 28 bunches of flowers ($28.00 from the dollar store)
• 4 pair of jump cups ($16.00 from State Line Tack)
• Paint, screws, caulk, etc. ($37.00)

Total cost to build this oxer:  about $200.00 (depending on what type of paint you use, and how much stuff you already have like screws, caulking, sand paper, etc.)

Now, let me show you how inexpensively you can do this for an 8 foot oxer:

• 7 landscaping timbers ($28.00)
• 2 8ft long 2 x 4’x ($12.00)
• 2 8ft long 1 x 3’s ($4.00)
• 6 8ft long 2 x 6’s ($36.00)
• 22 bunches of flowers ($22.00 from the dollar store)
• 4 pair of jump cups ($16.00 from State Line Tack)
• Paint, screws, caulk, etc. ($28.00)

Total cost to build this oxer: about $150.00. Not a lot cheaper, but if you build 8 foot jumps for your arena, you could make an extra jump, so you could get basically 3 separate jumps for $200.00.

The great thing about building your own jumps is you can do whatever you want! You can have a course of jumps that the rails all match, or the entire set is color coordinated, whatever YOU want. You can have a beautiful set of jumps, just like the ones you encounter at the show grounds. So what are you waiting for? Let’s go build some jumps!