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Building a Horseshoe Pit at Home- Fun, Easy and Historical

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It’s one of those sounds of summer in the country. The sharp, metallic “clink” of metal hitting metal, and the low murmur and soft cheers of the players. Ice rattling in tea glasses on a table off to the side promises refreshment. Pitching horseshoes is a tradition of warm weather, good friends and family, and time spent together.

If there’s one thing that’s true about horses, they need shoes. If there’s one thing that’s true about horseshoes, they do wear out and have to be replaced. At some point in the long ago past, some bored and inventive person or persons decided that those piles of discarded horseshoes just lying around the barn had to be good for something.

So it was probably a very small step from “I bet I can pitch this old horseshoe closer to that stake in the ground than you can” to the modern game of horseshoes. In fact, there
are ancient references to Roman and old English games very similar to horseshoes.

Many rural homeowners have tried to think of something to have in the yard for kids and company to do on those long, slow summer evenings when it’s just too nice to be inside. A family horseshoe pit may just be the answer to the problem. Happily, it’s not too hard to make a pit, and once made, the pit requires minimum care to offer years of fun and competition.

Getting Started
Of course, horseshoe pitching is a simple game, and in its most basic form all that is needed for a pitching pit is two one-inch iron stakes hammered into the ground about 40 feet apart and four iron horseshoes. The throwers face the opposite stake and try to land each horseshoe closest to the stake. That’s pretty simple. However, after just a few games with this basic set up, the stakes will begin to loosen and tilt from the impact of the shoes so that the shoes just won’t hold for ringers. The soil around the stakes will start to look pretty ratty. The throwing area at each end will wear out and look bad. If the game is to be played at home in the best possible way, a more permanent, better horseshoe pit needs to be built.

For the best horseshoe pit, the homeowner needs to think level. A slanting pit is just not much fun. Look around the yard and find the most level piece of unoccupied ground. By the way don’t
put a pit too close to the house or anything which might break if hit by an iron horseshoe. Errant tosses do occur, especially with beginners. We need a stretch of land at least fifty feet long. It needs to be twelve feet wide. More “out of bounds” space is better. Also, if the pit can be located close to a big tree which provides shade for spectators and cold refreshments for the contestants, life will be better.

Since we’ll be digging, don’t pick a site for the pit which has big tree roots which make digging very tough.
 

The Basic Layout of the Horseshoe Pit
Imagine a long, skinny rectangle fortysix feet long and six feet wide. That’s the outside boundaries of the new horseshoe pit. The stakes are exactly forty feet apart, and they are planted right on the center line of the rectangle. Each stake is planted in its own landing box- we’ll look in detail at these in a moment. Although it’s not absolutely required, a backstop behind each stake’s landing area will make the pit more attractive and will help control long throws and “runners”- shoes which want to roll far away from the game area.

There’s a throw line at each end of the pit which is the point contestants stand behind to throw. For men from eighteen to sixty-nine years old, the throw line is thirty-seven feet from the stake at the opposite end. For kids, women, and men over seventy, the throw line is twentyseven
feet from the stake.

The stake at each end is planted in a pit that is three feet by three feet and filled with sand, clay or synthetic composition material.

It’s important to keep the distances accurate, so measure twice and dig once. Use a long tape measure and string to get the layout right before starting to dig the stake pits.

This is the Pits!
The landing pit at each end of the horseshoe ground is very important. If the surface is too hard, the thrown horseshoes will bounce and roll away from the stake. If the landing ground is
uneven and rough, accurate pitches will be difficult. We need a smooth, level landing surface.

For our home horseshoe pit, each landing area will be a three foot by three foot area dug down at least four inches deep- eight inches deep is better- with the iron stake in the measured center. If just hammered into the ground, the stake will soon loosen and tilt. For a more
permanent installation, we’ll dig a deeper hole in the middle of the landing box and install the stake and pour a concrete support and holding log. Some boxes use sections of heavy wood buried in the ground, but concrete lasts longer. Be sure to tilt the stake toward the opposite
stake just a little- maybe an inch or two lean at the top is good. This helps hold thrown ringers. The stakes need to be out of the ground no less than fourteen inches and no more than fifteen inches.

After the stake is set and the concrete is firm- usually by the next day- we can fill the landing pit with sand or crushed clay up to the level of the ground. Water the sand or clay to help settle it in the pit.

Some homeowners put a border around the sides and back of the three by three foot pit, but that’s up to individual builders.

For Final Touches
If the family starts playing horseshoes a lot, the home owner may need to think about digging and pouring concrete walkways which run the length of the pit on both sides. These surfaces will not get muddy after rain or watering, and they do look neater than a dirt path worn in the lawn.

Now, How to Play and Keep Score
Horseshoes is a social game, and it is mostly played as doubles. Each game has four shoes- two for each player in a round. In basic doubles, one player on a team is at each end of the court along with a member of the other team. One team starts by pitching to the other end, and the partner at that end calls the scores, picks up the shoes, and then pitches back to the other end. Sides alternate pitching. Official horseshoes can be no wider than seven 1/14 inches, no longer than seven 5/8 inches, the opening can be no wider than three ½ inches, and the shoe weighs between two lb. four ounces and two lb. ten ounces.

Scoring is done like this:

  • Call ringers first. A ringer must completely encircle the stake. If no ringers occur, the closest shoe can score points.
  • A ringer is worth three points.
  • If no ringers, leaners or touchers count two points.
  • If no ringers, the closest shoewithin six inches- counts one point.
  • Commonly, if two ringers are made in the same game, they cancel each otherno
    points. These identical throws are called “dead-ringers.”
  • The highest score for a single player is twelve points. Games are played to twenty-one points, and a team must win by two points. Of course, there are a number of alternate scoring systems, and since the court is in your yard, you can invent and modify scoring to suit yourself.
     

Telling someone how to pitch a horseshoe is sort of like telling someone how to ride a bike. It’s easier just to try it and make modifi cations to suit each individual. Each person is different, and each person will have a different pitching style. Basically, take a solid stance behind the throwing line, and make a good strong underhand toss with lots of spin. Try different holds, amount of power used, and even foot position. If the throw comes close, keep doing it that way.
 

The one thing that is consistent from pitcher to pitcher is that practice improves the results. With some practice and concentration, it should not be too long before the sound of “clink” happens whenever you step to the line and let your horseshoe fly.

More Info
Some very helpful information can be found online at the following sources:

For supplies:

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