Make Your Own Dressage Markers
If you’re just getting started in dressage, here are some quick and simple ways to make your own markers, shared by members of the EquiSearch discussion forum
A full set of dressage markers can set you back a pretty penny if you’re not careful. But what if your finances just won’t stretch that far, or if you’re not even sure if dressage is for you? After all, does it really matter if it’s just you, your horse and possibly a few friends? This question came up in the EquiSearch discussion forum and our readers came up with some creative ideas!
- “I decided to buy some of these soccer cones and spray paint them white, and then buy either mailbox letters, or those 3″ sticker letters you use on projects and poster boards for the letters themselves… I found the cones at trusty (and cheap) Wal-Mart for $4 for a pack of 4 in the sporting goods section under the soccer balls. (I bought 3 packs and it was around $14) I already had white spray paint, and I found the mailbox letters at Wal-Mart also. They were 44 cents each, since they are reflecting, they were out of the regular, but I think that they’re cheaper”. — Ranchgirloke
- “What we did was took light sheet tin that was already painted white, cut them to size and spray painted the letters on (two letters side by side of the same). Then we had some old cattle panels that we cut to be the same length as the tin letters, then we bent them in the middle to be at an angle, then we zip-tied the tin on to them. They stand up in the ground and if you are coming along from one of the sides you can always see the letters, same for if you are coming straight on. They don’t fall over so easily either”. — Janjobi
- “I went one step cheaper and used gallon milk jugs filled with sand and just marked them with a big black marker. Not very pretty, but got the job done. And my bones are stronger from drinking all that milk…” — Renee55
- “At this one farm I’ve showed at, they took those small blue trash baskets (we use them for recycling in my office, painted them white and put the letter on the ring face, then cut a hole through them and ran PVC pipe though. The pipe weighs down the buckets and it looks sharp! (I’m not sure if I’m describing this well, but its very clever)” — Remari
- “I made my own dressage letters with empty gallon plastic milk jugs (can be filled with water or sand so they don’t fall over in the wind). You can buy the sets of letters as stickers (I’ve seen them about five inches square which fits nicely on the milk jug) or you can get creative with black electrician’s tape and make your own letters”. — Jayne – Horses Guide
