Round Pen Construction

Height
You can consider many options such as the size of your horse, the dispositions of the horses you will be working and the fight and flight probably of the horses in your pen. I consider anything less than 6 feet tall as a danger to you and your horse. You do not want to give your horse the idea that jumping that fence or ramming into to it is an option for him or her. Tall round pens detour the horses instinct to fight a fence.  Don’t give your horse the idea that they can get out of their confinement area and that is exactly what a round pen is.  First and foremost, a round pen is to be a safe confinement area for the horse.  

Width
Opinions vary on the size of a round pen from 40-50-60 and even 100 plus feet if you are working cattle and training a cutting horse in it. I think 40 feet is to small. The area is to tight for a horse to try and lope in. The small pen can be harmful to the legs and joints of a horse and especially a young horse. If you have a rouge in the pen with you, the small pen is not very forgiving should you need to get away from a monster. 50 feet is my preferred size, perhaps a bit larger depending on the size of the panels and how they fit the pen. 50 feet gives the horse room to work at a trot and at a lope. It gives you the closeness to reach out with a buggy whip or rope to push your horse without much movement on your part. Remember, it is the horse that is getting a workout and training, not you. The size allows you to change the horses direction on the fence. I prefer to have the horse change direction turning towards you and not away from you. This is not a debate on training methods but on the round pen itself. 50 feet lets the horse come off the fence and change leads and direction in the middle of the pen. I do like a 60 foot pen for these reasons. 1. It will allow the horse to move more free with less strain on the legs and joints. It also gives you more room if you are working a colt while riding a trained horse. I dislike the 60 foot pen because while on the ground, I find it to large to move a horse without considerable effort on the trainer’s part. It also offers a frightened horse the ability to make a run at the pen panels and that is never good. A pen larger than 60 feet should only be used to work cattle in such as cutting or roping a lead steer.

Visibility
Visibility must be considered. Small pipe/tubing reduces the intimidation effect of the panels in the pen. Never allow a horse to believe he is bigger and stronger than the pen. If the pen looks weak, a young head strong horse will prove to you that your pen is weak. I like a flat surface larger than 2 inches. This is very visible with 6 rails and will keep your horses mind off trying to jump or push the panels.  
 
 Corners
It’s called a round pen for a reason! Round is to help the horse have a fluid motion without hitting corners. When you get mounted on your project you will want the pen round also. If your pen is constructed with long panels, (10-12-14-16 feet) you will not have a true round pen. Your horse will not work up to his potential. His shoulders, sides and your legs will take a beating if you choose long panels.  My preferred length of panel is 7 feet. 22 panels and a bow gate make a pen just over 50 feet and it is smooth inside. Your horse will not be looking for a corner where the panels connect.  

Leg traps
I refuse to use panels that have looped legs for support. If you work horses you will have horses running their legs under the panels, it happens. A looped leg on the panel is a leg trap that you don’t want! Again, I like and promote a 7 foot panel with a single wide and square leg. No middle support is needed on a 7 foot panel. Where the panels connect should be close so that the leg of each panel has no room for a horse’s leg to get in between them. I am not a fan of round support legs, even if they are constructed with 2 inch pipe. Being round they have a small contact area compared to the preferred 2 inch square tubing. Go ahead and smack your shin with a 2 inch pipe and then use a 2 inch flat surface, then you will fully understand. A 2 inch properly made round pen panel will have a connecting area that offers a 5 inch flat area that can support a horses hoof pushing on it.

Gauge of tubing
There are many options available from your local feed store ranging from 22 to 14 gauge material. Heavy duty panels are promoted as 18 gauge and heavier. I don’t want to buy the most expensive and heaviest panel that I can buy, but I refuse to throw away money on light weight panels. I consider anything less than 16 gauge to be a light weight panel. Some manufactures promote a 16 gauge panel because the support is 16 gauge but the rails are 18 gauge. Always look at the weight of the panel and do your comparison. Again, I make no bones about it, I like a full 14 gauge panel that is 6 feet tall and 7 feet in length for the reasons I have explained here. I don’t want to have a horse break down my pen that I just spent good money on and you should not either.  
 
Protective coating
Many options again. Powder coat, basic paint or galvanized are a few. I prefer galvanized because a can of cold galv will cover up and protect any scratch on the panel. Besides, I don’t think you can beat zinc as a protective weather coating.

Ground contact
We have already gone over leg traps, avoid those panels. 2 inch round pipe works ok for the most part but it does not have the surface contact area of 2 inch square tubing. I like 2 inch square tubing with a 1-2 inch flat tab on the bottom for extra support. This will help keep round pen panels from sinking

Bow gates
Again, many options from width to height. Anything under a 4 foot wide gate is unacceptable.  I am a fan of wide gates because from experience, you will have that horse that tries to run you over going in or out of a gate. I like to plan for the worst while expecting the best of an animal. 7 foot wide strong bow gates offer you and your horse that added safety that makes a difference in your lives.

Latches
I have seen many and dislike most! I hate the chain latch, what a pain it is. Now if you wish to use it as a back up as a safety chain, ok, I will by that.  I love the heavy duty slam latch on the Pro Panels. One that can be easily opened and closed and yet is horse safe. I don’t like sliders or cheaply made hooks. I go in and out of the pen many times and there is no better gate latch then the one offered on the BLTandT Pro Panels

Pricing  
I never buy the most expensive nor will I waste money on the cheapest. Do your own comparisons and shop around. Don’t just buy something that looks pretty or is on sale. Your pen is an investment and as such should hold or increase in value. You should expect to pay for quality and safety.
  
Professional summery;

Do your due diligence and make a one time investment, one that you will not be disappointed in.
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