If you want to create a fun and exciting backyard for entertaining, consider creating horseshoe pits for everyone to enjoy when they come to your home. There are many people who assume that creating horseshoe pits is difficult, when really it is quite easy. The guide below walks you through the quick and easy process for creating durable horseshoe pits in your backyard.

Determine Where You Want to Place the Pits

The first thing you need to do is determine where you want the pits to be located in your yard. You want to be sure that they are located in an area that is somewhat level so that everyone can toss the shoes without having to compensate for changes in elevation between the pits.

Determine How Large You Want Each Pit to Be

Next, you need to decide how large you want the pits to be. You want to be sure that they are wide enough for people to be able to easily toss the shoes into the pit, but not so large that they are impossible to miss. Usually pits that are a three to four feet wide and three to four feet long are ideal.

Measure, Mark, and Dig the Pits

You then need to pull out your measuring tape and create a guide for where you want the horseshoe pits to be placed. You can use spray paint to mark the ground for the border of the horseshoe pits to make the process easier. Use a shovel to dig out the grass that is located in the pits so that you can have as smooth of a surface as you possibly can when you are done.

Create a Backstop and Boarder Around the Pits

To create the border for the horseshoe pits, the easiest thing to do is to use railroad ties from a lumber company stacked on top of one another. Measure the ties to be the exact length you need them to be and then cut them with a chainsaw to the proper lengths. Spread wood glue on top of a bottom railroad tie and place a tie on top of it. The ties are heavy, so they should not move easily, but the glue will keep the top and bottom ties in place. Repeat the process all the way around the three sides of the pit. Leave the front of each pit open so people can throw the horseshoes into them.

When you are done creating the pits, you can fill them with play sand. Be sure to only place a few inches of sand into the pits so that the shoes do not get totally buried when they are thrown. Once you finish adding sand to the pits, you can drive a metal stake into the center of each pit for the horseshoes to loop around when they are thrown. Be sure to rake the sand in the pits before using them each time to ensure that the sand can stop the shoes as soon as they hit it. If the sand is packed down and hard, the shoes could just slide across the top of the sand, leaving everyone with inaccurate tosses.

For more information, contact a company like ML Condon Company Inc.