Building Horse Fence & Run-in shed in the Winter in VA? What to look out for?

[MossflowerWoods]

Google Planimeter

I like the above site. Someone here posted the link.

I made my arena gates out of the fence boards. They straddle half of the half-round posts and because they open in towards the horses (the horses can't push them out) they are just as strong as the rest of the fence. Plus they blend in better than the tube gates. At 6.50 for a 16 foot oak rough cut (what I paid) they are a lot cheaper then a tube gate too. I'll try to take pictures this weekend.

Nice, my problem with Google Maps is the sattelite pic is 6 or more years old, we do not get plat lines shown either. I would LOVE to trace my pasture areas, but they only show on Bing...

I like the wooden gate idea on the ring when I build one... Hinges and the gate itself sagging would worry me (I've built large gates for cedar dog-eared style fence in town years ago... I'd love to see pix...

16' Oak boards were 7.99 at my place last time I checked, maybe more...

Thanks & Be well,
David

 

[MossflowerWoods]

I would not use poplar inside the run in shed.

Bubba,

I will use something cheap from the local surplus lumber lot, likely pine that has been sitting a while, for the inside kick boards.

Be well,
David

 

[WM75Guy]

Google Planimeter

I like the above site. Someone here posted the link. It works in conjunction with google maps/satellite view. In our area the plat lines show on google maps but they don't show when you flip to sat view. With this tool you can trace your plat lines in the map view and see them when you switch to sat view. But the nice thing is you can trace your field edges and get the acreage.

I made my arena gates out of the fence boards. They straddle half of the half-round posts and because they open in towards the horses (the horses can't push them out) they are just as strong as the rest of the fence. Plus they blend in better than the tube gates. At 6.50 for a 16 foot oak rough cut (what I paid) they are a lot cheaper then a tube gate too. I'll try to take pictures this weekend.

This map is very recent, maybe 2 months old.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

This map is very recent, maybe 2 months old.

Not in my area...

Years old... many years old.

David

 

[SuperCobra]

Not in my area...

Years old... many years old.

David

I thought that was strange as I'm probably only 20 miles from you as the crow flies (intersection of Brock and Orange Plank) but I just looked and it looks like the property lines on google maps disappear at the Spotsy/Caroline County line. I wonder if google maps interfaces
with the county GIS; Spotsy has a pretty good GIS site. My google satellite looks about 2 years old but I have found much more recent other places. Try MapQuest, Bing, and even Zillow (not sure who provides their images).

Where/who is your surplus lumber yard? Last time I bought oak fence boards was at least five years ago so I'm sure his prices went up - if he is still in business - local farmer who had a mill. Have you checked Ferguson's prices? He's a small Lucas mill that advertised on Craigslist. I haven't inquired yet but he advertises you can buy what he has stocked or he will travel and cut on your place if you have the logs. I was thinking of doing that with some trees I have to cut down if the hourly rate/production is good.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

I thought that was strange as I'm probably only 20 miles from you as the crow flies (intersection of Brock and Orange Plank) but I just looked and it looks like the property lines on google maps disappear at the Spotsy/Caroline County line. I wonder if google maps interfaces
with the county GIS; Spotsy has a pretty good GIS site. My google satellite looks about 2 years old but I have found much more recent other places. Try MapQuest, Bing, and even Zillow (not sure who provides their images).

Where/who is your surplus lumber yard? Last time I bought oak fence boards was at least five years ago so I'm sure his prices went up - if he is still in business - local farmer who had a mill. Have you checked Ferguson's prices? He's a small Lucas mill that advertised on Craigslist. I haven't inquired yet but he advertises you can buy what he has stocked or he will travel and cut on your place if you have the logs. I was thinking of doing that with some trees I have to cut down if the hourly rate/production is good.

I'm going to PM you and give you my email. Hook me up with this guy, I might DEF want him to come cut some planks for me at my place!

Bing and Zillow have the pix from Oct/Nov 2010. I can see the row of small round bales I picked up from SLHawkins, I can also see the Black Walnut trees that Mike (LstInThot) came out and cut down for me because I'd broken my collar bone. Both of those activities are documented here SOMEWHERE on TBN, and the bird shot that pic between those two events.

But the Google picture is ANCIENT! I can see the boat the prior owners had, and I think she sold it shortly after he died, and he died in like 2005 or ever 2004.

The pic is not much use to me.I have not checked out Mapquest in some time...

Be well,
David

 

[SuperCobra]

Nice, my problem with Google Maps is the sattelite pic is 6 or more years old, we do not get plat lines shown either. I would LOVE to trace my pasture areas, but they only show on Bing...

I like the wooden gate idea on the ring when I build one... Hinges and the gate itself sagging would worry me (I've built large gates for cedar dog-eared style fence in town years ago... I'd love to see pix...

16' Oak boards were 7.99 at my place last time I checked, maybe more...

Thanks & Be well,
David

Here's some pictures of my gates. The black gate is 12' (11'6" opening) and the other one is 8'. I don't have a problem with it sagging when closed because as you can see the top board rests on a 1x sandwiched by another 1x that is a little higher to keep it closed. There is enough flex in the gate to lift it up over the outer board. If I was making a three board gate I'd probably put the supporting blocks (1x) under all three rails. The 12' one sags a little when open but I also keep it closed. You can see where I braced the hinge end. I didn't use diagonal braces because I wanted it to blend in. You can see the horses can't push out on the gate because it straddles the boards. Although on the 12' the gate doesn't straddle the face of the post enough. The horses could probably push the center of the gate to get it to flex open. I should've shifted the ends of the neighboring fence boards over a little more as they are not on center. A double post or wider post or even a chain would also fix that. For the hinges, I used carriage bolts through the boards and lag screws in the posts. Although horses are usually attended when in the arena, I would feel comfortable using this method in the pasture too.


















Not sure how that got in there but since it is there, the bottom picture is of another use I found for the ratchet rake - poor man's forks. Yeah I know - a lot of weight way out front. I go low and slow. Another reason for a twelve foot gate.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

Here's some pictures of my gates. The black gate is 12' (11'6" opening) and the other one is 8'. ... I go low and slow. Another reason for a twelve foot gate.

I am SOOOOOO stealing this idea!

I may need to come over and put my hands on them to get a feel for how they work... I'm going to use gates like these out in the woods where I will have trails that the tractor or riders might want to use, occasional gates, closed 99.9% of the time... Those are VERY NICE...

I assume the posts are 1/2 rounds?

Thanks,
David

 

[MossflowerWoods]

I ordered the fence materials today.

105 16' poplar boards
73 1/2 round posts
5 round posts (for the gates)
6 12' metal gates

OOF!

David

 

[riptides]

12 foot gate, cedar post fence, and wire mesh combo. Post area for throw-away spot. Mesh for pasture.



These are half-posts, the gate sits on a half buried next to the other half holding the fence up. Buried next to each other, they make the gate opening sturdy. IMHO.

Sorry for the delay, some dark cloud has been over us this w/e. Everyone else, sunny and 60-70. Very odd.