This is also posted on TBN.

We have an indoor arena for horses; I asked for doors on each (long) side to be 12 feet wide, and the door on the far end to be 10 foot wide. They installed sliding doors. In doing so they added an extra 2x6 to the door jamb interior 6x6 post [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img] and then mounted some door latch hardware on that.

The inside diameter of the side doors is now 11 feet 7 inches. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] Even if I took off/cut into the 2x6 board, I'd still have 11 feet 9 (approx) inches of inside diameter. Yes, the doors should have originally been 12 feet wide inside diameter [img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img] , but they are not and we were not thinking about interior gates a year ago when it first went up.

The standard (livestock) gate sizes are 8', 10', 12', etc. The gate must fit into the door jamb - if it was mounted on the inside of the arena, the hardware/gate would stick out a couple inches and possibly snag horses or riders if they were too close. It can't be mounted on the outside because of the sliding door. Note: gates are typically 2 1/2 inches shorter than stated size in order to accomodate the gate hardware. I'm not going to cut into the 6x6 posts - they are a main structural element.


I've got a 10' gate for a 11'8" opening.. I could:
a) insist on attaching it to the inside of the arena, and maybe build up a little edge protector (2x4 with plywood 'ramp') that covers the gate hardware and keeps the horses from getting snagged- but this faces opposition from the CFO/horse-person-in-charge [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] , or
b) just build up more 2x6's on the door jamb until the diameter is 10' (I really don't like this for several reasons), or
c) install the gate/gate hinge hardware on one side and find 'some' way to latch the other end (over a distance of 1 foot 6 inches, give or take an inch).

I'm focusing on c). Other options are welcome. If c) sounds good, how can I:
a) keep the 'latch contraption' inside the door jamb
b) be reasonably strong (against the pressure of an inquisitive horse (not a wild, fired up horse who would run through a horse fence anyway))
c) be able to swing out of the way (90 degrees) when the gate is open
d) have a latch that is easy to open and close.

Any thoughts, suggestions or comments will be appreciated.

Thanks.