I need any info I can get on the layout and setup of horse & wagon, and horse & log scoot Obstacle courses. I wanted to include this in a heritage day event we are having.

Roger email at and I will forward what I have to you.
Just reference Obstacle courses in the subject line for me.

Beth

RH on RFD has an obstacle course featured on their current show. I think it may have been in Idaho. You could copy that or check in with some of the Draft Horse Associations for some advice. I take it that they are most the design of the show organizer based on what they can put together from their own experience of observing another course. I think the idea is to go over a fake bridge, back into a stall or parking space sized area, go through a gate, maybe stop at a mailbox and do it timed with points off for errors. I am not sure how they score it as I have never done an obstacle course.

I think the log skidding facade is a twenty foot wide
and 100 foot long and the cones are set up maybe 20 feet apart, in the center, starting at twenty foot from one end and they skid a sixteen foot log. They start with 10 points as a perfect score and deduct for faults like touching the outside line or touching a cone with the log.

Maybe that will help, I hope.

Good Luck Roger.

Jason Rutledge

I introduced the log pole bending at our fair here about 20 yrs ago. We ended up also using a stop watch and timed them, because one year a contestant took 45 minutes to get a perfect score. This will keep the event moving right along. The last time I watched this event a 6 year old cute girl won this event using her grandpa's percheron horse, the crowd when wild cheering her on

For an obstacle course we set the cones 6 inches wider than the single tree for a single horse and 12 inches wider for a double tree for a team. If you knock a ball of off the cone you lose 5 points, if you knock the cone over you lose 10 points. This point system is used for log skids, sugar runs(you pull a sled through the cones and stop at buckets along the way and pick up a cup of water, you must keep one foot on the sled at all times, its a lot of fun try it.) We usually back the team or horse through the cones, hitch to the log or sled, do a figure eight through the cones, do some tight corners, a serpentine, anything to simulate going through the woods, to the end where the log or sled must be stopped between the starting cones without going past the far end of the cone. I hope this helps, I have done tighter courses also. It is a lot of fun to see what you can do with your horses. In the team driving obstacle course you do basically the same course except you add a 12 X 12 box with on 6 foot opening to bring your team in and out of and you then the other addition is to have your horses do a complete circle while you stand inside a hula hoop, you must stay inside the hoop, sometimes they make you have your horses go between cones while they are making the circle. We usually have 2 hoops in 2 different places so you have to make your horses go in both directions. I hope this helps, like I said try it, it is a lot of fun.

I forgot to mention we also use a stop watch but time is only used in case of a tie. Usually we have 5 min. to complete the course.