How to Build a Covered Roping Pen

Measure the land area with a measuring tape. A roping pen should be approximately 150 feet by 300 feet. Mark the four corners for the roping pen with wood or metal spikes.

Clear any plants or weeds from the marked pen area. The soil or sand ground cover should be loosely compacted, letting the horse avoid any stress injuries from hard ground impacts.

Dig holes with the shovel for the wood support posts, about every 6 feet. Install the posts around the entire pen perimeter. Verify that the posts are securely placed within the ground.

Nail a 2-by-4 wood plank between two posts with a hammer, making sure the plank touches the ground. This wood piece will retain the soil or sand within the pen.

Repeat Step 4 until the pen is almost completely enclosed. Leave a space between one set of posts for movement into and out of the pen.

Nail another 2-by-4 wood plank between the posts at approximately 4 feet above the ground. This will keep the horse and calf from exiting the pen.

Repeat Step 6 until the pen is almost completely enclosed, leaving the space from Step 5 open as well.

Nail pre-fabricated roof trusses to each post top with a hammer. Confirm that the adjacent roof trusses face each other as they are nailed into the posts. Nail the roof trusses together at their meeting points above the pen's middle point. Make sure the trusses cross the entire pen's length.

Nail corrugated metal roofing to the trusses with a hammer. Cover the entire pen with metal roofing for a completely protected roping area.