The problem:
A gate fixture that gets muscled around by six curious equines. On a daily basis, this gate becomes hard to open and hard to readjust when horses mess with it.
The fixture is actually a post embedded in a cement-filled tire. It weighs 80 pounds. Heavy enough to be a pain for me to realign every day. Light enough for the horses to have fun pushing it around every day.
The added problem:
Extensive ledge prevents digging (except with dynamite), and therefore precludes the option of securing the gate with a conventional post.
The solution:
Make the movable gate unmovable without using dynamite and without breaking the bank.
Since I can’t sink a post, I stabilize the existing one by building something around it that the horses can’t budge. It has to be really heavy, but still horse-friendly.
- First, I measure for and build a four-sided box to fit snugly around the tire. It’s so snug that the tire can barely move within it.
- Second, I measure for and build a larger four-sided box. When placed one inside another, I have a square, wooden donut.
- Fill the donut with rocks and concrete, making a 200-pound, jumbo donut. The horses won’t be able to move the donut. Nor, will they be able to nudge the fixture out of it.
All told, it takes more than a day to buy material, measure and remeasure, cut the 2 x 8 inch pine planks, prepare the ground, mix the concrete, and set the gate fixture in the center.
It’s hard, dirty work.
But the reward is rich: No more shifting gate. No more hefting the misplaced post back into 
position, day after day.
Hooray for DIY solutions!
Check out DIY saddle racks and DIY headstall holders with Kicking Horse Coffee.
How about a DIY Round Pen?
Got a DIY project you’d like to share? Contact us!
