Perimeter fencing pasture

[grsthegreat]

She's an Anatolian Shepherd. 100 lbs of muscle. She's considered fawn colored. Her sister is bigger and more of a red color.

We looked into the BMC as an option. Wife wanted a bigger dog bred to guard livestock. She heard Anatolians were good around chickens.

My friend has 3…..one likes eating the chickens though

 

[redman135]

OP 1) put your fence on the outside of the posts, as the staples will work out over time, when on the inside.

2) Are you using treated timber? I have been told that horses chew treated timber for the salt in the treatment.

3) I am in New Zealand. We always run fence in straight section with stayed/braced corners. Going in a curve means you MUST stay each post otherwise the post will pull in over time and you have a slack fence.
4) Note,Deer farmers have found that slack straining internal netting fences for deer mean that when deer run into the fence they are tossed back without breaking their neck, like with a traditional tight strained fence. Would this work for spooky horses as well?

 

[drumminj]

OP 1) put your fence on the outside of the posts, as the staples will work out over time, when on the inside.

This thread is the first time I've seen the suggestion (saw the same about the boards/nails above). Everything else I've read states that putting the wire and boards inside is stronger as if an animal leans/presses against it, it's the strength of the boards + posts that resists them, vs just the staples or nails holding the board or fencing to the post.

Are you suggesting the staples will work out over time only if they're on the inside? Or that they're going to do that no matter what, so being on the outside makes it less of an injury risk for the animal?

2) Are you using treated timber? I have been told that horses chew treated timber for the salt in the treatment.

Yes will be treated lumber. Most likely we will have a coat of black paint over it so hopefully any salt or other minerals won't be as obvious from a simple "lick" or the board

3) I am in New Zealand. We always run fence in straight section with stayed/braced corners. Going in a curve means you MUST stay each post otherwise the post will pull in over time and you have a slack fence.

This makes sense to me, but in practice I wonder how much force is really exerted on each post for a gentle curve if they're spaced 8' apart and it's a 5" round post. Regardless I'm going to do my best to keep runs straight and used braced "corners" for any change in direction.

I believe it was the Bekaert installation guide that suggested if you are installing on a curve, to angle the posts 2" towards the outside of the curve. Here's the quote:

If your fence must curve, reduce post spacing in the curve area. Keep fence wire on the outside of the curve. The spacing change required will be determined by the severity of the curve. The sharper the turn the more posts it will require. A very gradual curve will not require post spacing to be greatly reduced. Set posts on curves with a two inch lean to the outside of the curve.

 

[drumminj]

I did the rounded corners, but that really only matters if your horses are too loony to not run into the fence line.

What was your method for this? Was it just post + board fencing so you could angle/sweep however you want?

I would NOT want to have boards on the inside of the fence. Over time, the nails and boards can come loose and create sharp hazards.

This concern makes sense, but many pictures I see and most comments I seen in equine forums speak to having boards or wire on the inside of the posts to avoid a horse "running through" the fence. Aesthetically it would look better having it on the "outside" along the fence and our drive so I'd love for that to be best, but most suggestions I've seen have been to run it on the inside.

 

[redman135]

1 item I forgot to put earlier is to put a "hot"/electric top wire. Stops horses and cattle from leaning over a fence and wrecking it over time.

 

[redman135]

drumminj, I went back and reread that part of my post. It should read ON CORNERS you put the wires on the outside of the post, as the staples will work out over time on the inside of the post. Otherwise you put the wire on the side of the highest preassure, as other have said.

 

[drssg]

What was your method for this? Was it just post + board fencing so you could angle/sweep however you want?



This concern makes sense, but many pictures I see and most comments I seen in equine forums speak to having boards or wire on the inside of the posts to avoid a horse "running through" the fence. Aesthetically it would look better having it on the "outside" along the fence and our drive so I'd love for that to be best, but most suggestions I've seen have been to run it on the inside.

I just used posts and boards, so rounding the corners wasn't an issue.

I agree that the fence is stronger when it is on the inside, but I have found that to be a non-issue. A strand of electric wire prevents the horses from challenging it.

On the rare occasion that they knock down a board, it is on the outside of the fence, instead of having a board with nails sticking up on the ground of the pasture.

 

[drumminj]

With respect to the discussion on which side of the posts to put things, here's what Red Brand has to say for the wire: Install Fence Posts on Proper Side | The Red Brand Post

However that doesn't speak to wood boards.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

You might also consider an "H post" setup on the sweeping turns ... This is a straight section, but helps to sturdy up a fence ... Can be wood or metal ... Some places sell them already made up ...

 

[gsganzer]

She's an Anatolian Shepherd. 100 lbs of muscle. She's considered fawn colored. Her sister is bigger and more of a red color.

We looked into the BMC as an option. Wife wanted a bigger dog bred to guard livestock. She heard Anatolians were good around chickens.

It never even occurred to me that it was an Anatolian, but I can see the longer fur now. The coloring was so similar to our yellow BMC, with the muzzle mask, eye liner and ears. You can see the similarities in the coloring. Anatolians are great dogs, our rancher uses them as guard dogs for their angora goats. Here's a photo of our BMC, a day or two before we put him down.

Also in the photo is a Border-Pit that we rescued as a stray dropped off on our road. She'd the most athletically agile dog I've ever seen. I yelled to her as she was jumping our 52" tall welded pipe horse fence and she froze mid-jump, perfectly balancing on the top rail on all 4's looking back at me. Other times, I've caught her 15' up a tree, climbing to get a squirrel. She's really muscular, like a coiled spring.