Fencing for horses and other animals...

[AgentWD40]

Hey,
I'm looking on some info on how to fence horses. I know there are various materials (wood, wire, vinyl), but which is best? What type of posts are best to use? And which type of wood/vinyl is the most durable/sturdy? Do you need to place the fence posts in concrete?

Also I'm looking to find out how much more complicated it would be to build the fenced off area (probably 2 750'x100' areas) to accommodate goats and/or sheep. Would this simply require wire mesh at the bottom of the fence?

If anybody knows of good places in the Sacramento area to start looking that would be great (pricing, information, etc). Other web sites with this sort of info would be great too. Any advice that you can offer would be great. I'm just not quite sure where to start. Thanks for the help.

PS- I must say this site is great. First you have helped choose a tractor for me. Now you're outfitting me with the proper implements for the tractor. Next fencing!

 

[Soundguy]

If it is just horses.. you can go with a 3board wood fence.. put the boards on the INSIDE.. so that when the animals hang over the fence.. they aren't pushing boards off.

Stalions and some t-breds may require a taller fence and/or 4 board.

I keep smaller animals as well.. so I installed wire too. I chose 2x4 no climb wire.. pretty much the most expensive stuff.. but keeps small animals like goats from climbing it.

If it were just cows.. 4x4 field fence and no boards would be fine.

Might do a combo.. 3 board fence.. and a 2' wire barrier strip at the bottom.. and / or electric braids.
I chose cresote fence for durability.. again.. more expensive.. but lasts much longer than plain PT or even asphalt painted PT.

Don't need concrete.. that can cause problems depending on the soil.

H brace every 100' or so for wire.. etc. Might get away with t-post and wire and wood corners and braces for smaller animals.. but I wouldn't trust it for cattle/equines.

Soundguy

 

[MikePA]

<font color="blue">...but which is best? </font>
There is no best, kinda like asking what the best tractor is. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif However, there is a worst fence for horses...barbed wire. Never use it for horses.

Wooden rail fences require more maintenance and do not last as long as wire or vinyl.

Some vinyl fences (the ones that look like a rail fence) can deteriorate over time.

I've used 4" x 4" x 8' PT posts and metal T posts with plastic covers. The T posts are only line posts with 4 x 4s at each end.

One of our pastures is a 4 rail (1" x 6" oak boards) wooden fence with an electric tape at the top. The 3 acres I just finished fencing uses 4 x 4 x 8s for posts with three strands of white 1.5" electric tape from HorseGuardFence . The corridor (170' long) I fenced in between our 2 pastures I used covered T Posts with the covers coming from HorseGuardFence.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

All things being equal this is the best.

All galvanized so there's zero maintenance.

The fabric is designed for horses. Even a colt can't get a hoof caught in it.

Unlike rail fence if the horse hits it at speed there isn't the hard points of contact. It's like a net that spreads the contact area over a greater area.

For horses I like to see it about six inches off the ground. Goats need to have it dead on the ground. They'd rather crawl under a fence than jump over it.

 

[Justaplain]

One more addition,-- a site board 1x6 3 feet up for that foal that gets ramming. Not necessary but saves one once in a while.

 

[MicroPilot]

Wroughtn_Harv you sure build some purty fences!! Looks expensive though. Is this type of fence something that anybody could build, or does this need to built by a pro?

 

[dmccarty]

Harv,

MicroPilot asked the question I was about to ask. Can you give us a ball park on the cost of that fence per linear foot?

I want to fence it part of our land to keep in the dogs and kids. Kinda keep out the deer. That fence looks like it might work...

Thanks,
Dan McCarty

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I get seventeen to eighteen dollars a foot for that kind of fence these days. It's outrageous I know. But good pipe, real good wire, decent concrete, and a patient old man don't come cheap.

The way I do it is all welded construction. But using industrial grade chainlink framework and some care will deliver a very good fence a lot cheaper and that can be done by a homeowner that don't weld.

I'd guess a homeowner could put in a five foot fence with my framework and concrete specs for ten to eleven dollars a foot plus labor.

The advantage is a durable safe fence that will last twenty five to thirty years without a blink.

I push the top rail not just for strength. It's also a barrier can animal can see. And that's important. A horse's natural reaction is to flee. And chances are if a horse is fleeing it's from another horse. If a new horse is introduced and is harassed by the dominant mare and doens't see the fence there can be an injury.

 

[Mark4510]

Eric, from my perspective Harv is about right. The only down side to his solution is cost so, depending on your needs and the horse, you can probably get by with less. If I was as rich as Harv, that is the fence I would put in with a strand of hot wire around the inside at the top.

But since I dont have his money or skills, I went with Redbrand "No Climb" with "T" posts. Each corner is braced and I have a Galvanized posts on the long runs to stiffen the fence up. I got some PVC caps to go over the top of the "T" posts so a horse does not get hurt.

My experience is that you can get all your questions answered here. Lots of really smart, experienced folks who are willing to help.

I am just outside of Sac so if you want places to get materials let me know. Did you happen to go to the Horse Expo in June?

Mark

 

[MikePA]

Here's a picture of the fence project I completed this past Sunday. The bottom picture shows the covered T Posts. Enclosed area is about 3 acres.