How to Build a Horseshoe Pit
If you’re tired of playing the usual sporty games at your backyard, one fun alternative is to play horseshoes. This game is enjoyable, and if you like playing it over and over, you should consider building a horseshoe pit at your backyard. It’s not very difficult, as long as you know how.
What You’ll Need:
Two pieces of either 2 x 6 or 2 x 4 eight foot-long treated wood, cut in half
Two pieces of either 2 x 6 or 2 x 4 six foot-long treated wood, also cut in half
A few bags of sand, enough to fill two 36 x 48 inch boxes that are three to four inches deep
16 to 24 pieces of exterior deck screws, each on 2 1/2 inch long
Two pieces of three foot-long steel posts, with one inch diameter
Landscape cloth to cover the horseshoe pit bottom (optional)
Material for marking the ground’s pit dimensions, such as flour, spray paint, lime (optional)
Electric drill with screwdriver
Saw
Sledge hammer
Shovel
Measuring tape
Procedure:
Ready your materials. Most of these can be bought from a hardware store.
Begin by creating a frame for the pit. Get two pieces of the 48″ and two pieces of the 36″ boards, and form a rectangle. Screw these wood pieces together where they meet at the corners, in order to make one frame. Repeat this to create a second frame, overlapping the ends in the similar directions, in order for the two frames to have the same dimensions.
Measure the place where you’re building the playing area. From the back of a pitching area to the back of another, you’ll need at least 48 feet (for the length), including two feet of clear space, just behind each of the box. The width must be six feet.
Center each of the box, side to side, at the ends of your playing area. The fronts must be 36 feet apart. Make sure the longer sides are parallel to the playing area’s length.
Get any one of the marking material, and use it to mark each box’s outside perimeter. This will let you know where to dig. Lift the boxes, then set them aside.
Start digging in the grass. To keep the sand in place later, create a somewhat bowl-shaped hole. Dig a few inches or more in the ground, in a rectangular shape, so the frame top will be sitting a bit lower than the grass. Don’t worry about this, because the grass will be ruined in the pit area anyway.
When the frame’s hole is dug out, put the frame in the crate. Get the iron stake (steel post), then jam it in the pit’s middle. Allow it to lean a bit forward, at least three inches, going to the other stake. Use the sledge hammer to pound it so that 13 to 15 inches of the stake extends just above the ground’s level outside the pit.
Get your sand and fill up the frame with it. The stake should still be sticking out, though.
Go where you marked the other box, then repeat the three previous steps, creating the second pit area.
Some Tips
Some professional horseshoe pits have “blue clay” instead of sand. It gives the horseshoe a wonderful “bounce”, but it costs more.
When frequently used, the sand will be knocked out of the pit or sink in the soil below, making it “disappear”. To make it last longer, line the bottom with a landscape cloth or dig the hole a bit deeper.
Moist the sand around the stakes, so they will hold the horseshoes better when they’re thrown.
If you love playing horseshoes, build a horseshoe pit. You’ll be able to enjoy the game anytime you want!