My name is Ron. I’m one of the Winsong Farm ‘crew’.
Winnie asked me for some details on how I built the teeter-totter.
The materials I used to make a 10ft long by 3ft wide teeter-totter are:
– One sheet of 3/4 inch plywood.
– Two 10ft 2×4’s.
– Two 8ft 2×4’s.
– Three 4×4 pressure treated posts, 10ft long.
– LOTS of screws. I used 3inch wood screws.
1. Start off by cutting the plywood 36inches down the full length.
– this will leave a 1ft strip, 8ft long that will be used later.
2. Using the 10ft 2×4’s, screw these to the edge of the long side of the plywood, centering the plywood on these 2×4’s.
3. Then use the 8ft 2×4’s, cut them to fit in between the ends of the 10ft 2×4’s screwed to the plywood to complete the rectangular frame. This will leave one foot at each end still needing plywood. This is where you use the 1ft strip left over in step one. Cut this to fit the ends and screw down. So looking down on top of the teeter-totter you should see a 1ft section of plywood, followed by an 8ft section, then one more 1ft section.
4. All thats left to do now is cut the 4×4’s to fit in between the 2×4’s. They should be all cut to 33 inches if all other measurements are correct. Best to measure before cutting though. Place these every 10 inches down the length of the teeter-totter. This will be on the underside of course.
The final thing I did was cut two more pieces of 2×4, 36inches long and I screwed these to the bottom of the teeter-totter about 6 inches apart. This makes a sort of channel to keep post(or whatever is used) from slipping out from underneath the teeter-totter. These pieces also make the teeter-totter actually work at a very low movement which we found perfect for first introducing the horses to it. Later we added a jumping rail under the teeter-totter to give it more movement.
As a finishing touch, I went around the entire perimetre of the top side of the plywood edge cutting a 45 degree angle.
We find this makes it a little less likely the horses hurt themselves if they slip off an edge.
Winnie has horses of all shapes and sizes and so far its held up quite good with no issues. About the only horse I would be hesitant to take across this design is an actual draft horse.
Any questions about this, feel free to contact me.
I would be happy to help.
Hope this helps!
Regards,
Ron Marino
Winnie:
When Allen Pogue was here he said, “This is how you use the teeter-totter.” And he placed a horse in the centre. He asked the horse to walk back one step, then walk one step forward. Soon the horse was using diagonal pairs to step forward and back. Turns out the horses quite like the rocking motion.
What we’d done with the teeter-totter is walk its length and occasionally walk across its width. We did add a jumping pole under the two supports in the centre, increasing the angle of the teeter-totter. We’re considering putting small slats across its width because some ramps on trailers have these wooden strips to help with traction. Allen says he puts carpet along the top to help with traction. I had to think about that. We have no traction problems. Then I remembered that he lives in Texas and I’m guessing that his teeter-totter is outdoors and the surface might get slippery due to rain, dew, etc. Our teeter-totter is in the arena and we don’t have condensation issues.
