How to Make Homemade Jump Bumps
Having watched Susan Salo’s Foundation Jumping video, and various other videos, and read several more books, I decided we needed some Jump Bumps (also known as Stride Regulators) for our puppy class at agility.
I ideally wanted 8 Jump Bumps, four at 4″ and four at 8″. CleanRun sells them for $39.80 and $79.80 [1], plus $416.43 shipping. That’s £335.17 ($536.03), which is a little out of my price range.
After doing some online searching, and some helpful family friends, it came to my attention that I could buy Half-Pipe Guttering, which meets roughly the same standards as the Official Jump Bumps. It’s rounded, which means that a) it won’t roll, and b) puppies can slip off it if they misjudge their stride.
So, I went and priced up at B&Q, Homebase, Screwfix and Wickes, because these are my local DIY stores*. The cheapest I could find was at Wickes, and so I purchased three 2m lengths of Guttering [2]. Once I got home, I cut each length in half to get six Jump Bumps.
My Jump Bumps at 1m long and 10cm wide (or 3.2ft long and 4″ wide). I would have liked 1.5m length but I couldn’t fit the 4m lengths into the car and I didn’t want to waste the 2m. I would also have liked some 8″ widths, but nowhere in the known universe sells 8″ width guttering. Houses just aren’t that big.
Since we train our puppies in an indoor arena (floodlit brown sand), I really wanted my Jump Bumps to be white rather than Gray, Brown or Black, which are the colours sold. Cue leftover Matt Emulsion Paint [3], and a bright and cold October afternoon.
It took three coats with a small paint roller to get the Jump Bumps properly white. Because the paint is Matt, it’s added a little bit of grip to the Jump Bumps, but I don’t anticipate any puppies being able to stand on these without slipping off.
So there are my Jump Bumps! They look pretty good, even if I do say so myself, and they cost me £13.17, which is a saving of £322.
*Local as in … about 40mins away. I probably should include petrol costs in this.
[1] http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=1842&ParentCat=635
[2] http://www.wickes.co.uk/Roundline-Gutter-Length-2m/invt/431856
[3] B&Q Value Matt Paint This is the paint we used. Note it’s Interior Paint! I’m fully expecting the paint to scratch and damage with use, but it will be easy and cheap to touch up.