Fence Post Spacing

[Raymond32]

What kind of livestock are you going to keep inside the 4 four acres? I've been building fences for 15yrs. For a cattle fence you could use 15ft spacing with 47"in wire, the corners is best to add cement, corners should be at least 8ft long & 4in thick, brace post should be 3"in thick x 7ft and when welding the braces you should measure 8-9 inches down from the top of the corner post, then weld your brace. The H brace is not as strong. For 330 ft you don't need a brace in the middle if you purchase a stretcher bar, with a set of pulleys you could stretch up 990 feet. You don't need a brace in the middle, it doesn't do anything. Anything above 800ft you would need to add a second brace to the end of the fence line.

Build a Cattle fence, the right way!
owner of
RM Fencing TX
82' ford 4x4 1700
05' D40 w/ loader

 

[MikePA]

<font color="blue">What kind of livestock are you going to keep inside the 4 four acres? </font>
From DTCOOPER's second post, "Barbados, 2 donkeys, and a horse or two."

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Welcome Raymond,

It's good to see another fence guy from Texas active on board.

Click on the "attachment" at the top of the my post and you'll see a picture of the way I stretch mesh fence.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Since I work by myself I've found some unique ways to handle rolls of wire.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Here's a better shot of my home made mesh fence stretcher. It works great on any kind of woven wire, V Mesh, 2 X 4, or Field Fence.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Back on topic. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I'd recommend following the manufacturers recommendations for a four acre pasture with just some goats and a couple equines.

The rule of thumb I use for fencing is the smaller the area contained them more stout the fence needs to be.

Something to keep in mind when doing fences for horses is there is few things more dangerous to a horse than another horse.

They are the blonds of the animal world.

 

[MFL]

DTCOOPER,

The barb/no barb discussion will go on as long as people keep horses. We keep four horses at a boarding barn that is fenced in mostly barbed wire with some hot lines, and in the six years we've been there the only one of the 22 horses that are boarded that's been hurt was one of ours! /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Gusto, our Paint got tangled in a strand of barb and almost cut his front left hoof off. My point is that it's a matter of percentages. If barb wire is used, the percentages of having a problem goes up. That said, we're working on fencing our property right now to be able to bring our horses over in the spring. We're using only high tensile and a hot top line. NO BARB WIRE!

IMO, if you have barb wire already and either don't have the resources to change it out, or aren't keeping babies or stallions, then leaving barb wire up makes sense. If however you're putting up new fencing and are planning on keeping equines, I would certainly look at some of the many other available options. On our property we're using field fence on the front two acres to enclose the yard (keep the dogs in), and HT wire and a hot line for the horses.

Here in GA, sinking a t-post in our clay is like sinking it into concrete. Our layout is bracing with wood every 165 ft. or so and t-posts every 15 ft. in between. We adjust for creek crossings, shale and low spots on the fence line.

The field fence sounds good, but I would consider a hot line on top in place of BW. Once your animals hit it once or twice, they'll know to stay a healthy distance away from your fence line.

Good luck and post pictures of your progress!

 

[Raymond32]

Hello DTCOOPER
I looked at the pic you posted, thats the idea. You could purchase a 3 ton MAASDAM POW'R Puller made in the USA. it pulls alot better, then the 1 or 2 ton pulleys. Also, Stay-Tite Fence Mfg Inc. in New Braunfels TX, they make a Horse wire called Horse-Tuff 61"in. tall it is made for specifically for horses, but it is also good for all kinds of live stock, it comes in 330ft or the 660ft. check it out at www.staytitefence.com

From TX

 

[tjkadar]

When we first bought our farm 26 years ago, it had a few pastures fenced with barbed wire. As quickly as possible, we replaced it. It is too easy for a horse to get itself cut up on the fence.

Currently, we use high tensile fencing. It is five strands with three strands hot. It is an extremely safe fencing, but it could be better. Sometimes the horses have a hard time seeing such a thin strand of wire when they are flying around a pasture. We are now in the process of replacing the top strand (at minimum) with a white, rope-like high tensile strand or if we can afford it a wide, band-like high tensile.

In the future, we'll probably have at least three strands that are the rope-like or band-like product. I've seen one of our horses hit the current high tensile wire at top speed. The wire slowly stretched, slowing the horse down safely, and then when it rebounded it moved the horse back into the pasture. Another time, the horse was dancing around so much after it hit the fence, the wire rebounded all around it leaving the horse standing on the outside of the fence. Not a mark on the horse.

However, I have also seen a horse kick through the fence and when she pulled her leg back, the high-tensile cut her like one of the wire cheese slicers (which is why we want to move to the rope-like or band-like high tensile).

High tensile fencing is a good fence. When a tree falls on it, you just cut the tree off the fence, the fence springs back into shape. If you want to keep out deer, etc., or keep in cows, you can move up to a six or more strand of fence. The fence is easy to maintain and easy to electrify. I think its easier to put up then welded wire too. You only need a line post every 40' with a spacer post every 20' feet (depending on wire type).

 

[riptides]

Yep.

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( we use high tensile fencing. )</font> Leaning towards this on our acreage. Currently replacing barbed wire stand by strand. Did the vinyl, did the oak board. Maintenance is a big factor on acreage.
We are removing the barbed wire just because of the safety factor. Having witnessed a few neighbors horses do the dance with it.

Daniel, best of luck in your thoughts, tons of good info here.
-Mike Z. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif