Painting Horse Jump Rails

Painting Horse Jump Rails

Well I am into week 2 of my stay-cation. And I have been able to get a lot of the big projects on my to-do list complete. This means I still have time off, so now I can dedicate some time to my garage. Which means I have time to paint a whole lot of jump rails.

And for whatever reason, I have a lot of jump standards, and not as many rails, and a couple of gates that I have hung onto. But I had a lot more standards than I had rails, and I have the time, so I decided to fix the problem of not having a large selection of rails to chose from.

I wanted to share with you some of the different patterns I have been creating for rails in my garage. Maybe this will inspire you to make something new for your own arena, or if you are planning on having a rail painting party, here are some easy ideas for new color combinations for your jump rails. Ok, let’s get to painting some jump rails!

Light Blue, White and Black Rails

I had been wanting to make these rails since I received a Chronicle of the Horse magazine in the mail. I saw the jump on the cover, and I was like “Oh yeah, I need this jump.” I was toying with the idea of making the wing standards, but that was a little more involved than I was ready to commit too. So I decided just to do the rails. I also really liked how the flowers went with the jump, so I found something similar to duplicate the flowers.

In the end, I am pretty happy with how the rails turned out. They are really pretty, and I it was fun to change up the striping pattern while making the rails.

Gray With White Rails

I still had some left over gray paint from when I painted my barn and coral panels for the horses paddocks, and I don’t like to be wasteful. And I am loving the gray and white color combination so much right now I thought it would be fun to have some gray striped rails for my jumps.

The striping pattern is simple, but it works. And I can use these rails with a solid plank that I made, or just use them alone.

Plum With White Rails

Again, the plum paint was left over paint that I had from painting my front door. I got this paint at Sherwin Williams and even though I got it on sale, it was still really expensive. So I wanted to use it before it went to waste.

I can use the rails on their own, or with a plank. And I can even mix and match them with the gray rails I made.

This is something to keep in mind when you are painting your own rails. If you want to have them be even more versatile, think about using them along with other colored rails.

White With Green and Red Rails

When searching for different color combinations, I kept coming across green and red combination that I really liked. So I decided to give it a go, since I already had all of the paint colors. And this is what I came up with.

I am happy how they turned out, and it offers a little different pop of color for the jump.

I found a picture of Beezie Madden going over a similar jump. So maybe this will make me brave, like her?

White Orange And Green Rails

I decided to mix some of the colors I already have in order to make the colors for these rails. I figure that having jumps that are similar to what I may encounter (if I ever get the courage to go to the Colorado Horse Park as a competitor) would be a good idea. And at the horse park they have rails in these colors.

It was pretty simple to make the orange, I just mixed yellow and red. And again the green was pretty easy too, I mixed blue and green until I got the color I was hoping for.

This was kind of an afterthought. I was trying to think of something a little different, and I think this color combination does just that.

Voltaire Design Inspired Rails

I have wanted to make rails like this for such a long time. Every year when I go to the horse park, I see the rails and think to myself how much I want to have some for myself.

So I FINALLY got them done. And because the striping pattern is so much more intricate, and there are a lot of stripes I decided to repaint some of the 10 foot rails that I have.

I’m not going to tell you this was easy, but it was worth it for sure.

It took a lot of time to figure out the pattern, and then paint and sometimes repaint the stripes. But it got done and I get to cross off another project that I have been wanting to do for a very long time.

Adding the extra colors really makes these rails custom and one of a kind.

And they are just so darn pretty!

18 Rails Completed

I have been able to get an additional 18 rails painted to add to my jump collection. That gives me a total of 24 rails for crafting jumps with, for now. This will change I am sure over the summer, and into next year. But for now, I have a great collection to choose from.

And because I  made these rails out of landscaping timbers, they were affordable to make. Even though landscaping timbers are slowly increasing in price, it only cost me around $4.00 per rail.

So I was able to make all of this, for less than $100.00

I already had the paint, and I did have to buy more sandpaper and painter’s caulk, but doing it over time made it affordable.

And if you are just getting started with making some rails, don’t panic. Even when you add a few different colors, you can probably make a few new rails in a week, and add them to your own collection.

Do you have a favorite color combination for jump rails? How about a favorite pattern? I would love to see jump rails that you have created in your garage, or workshop! If you can, post a photo below!