Steppenwolfe
Super Member
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2012
- Messages
- 6,374
- Location
- The Blue Ridge Mountains
- Tractor
- Kubota MX5400, 1140 RTV
Very nice... 
Must have hotwire if you want to keep the horses safe. They will definitely catch the bottom wire and get cut severely. Non-climb isn't really safe if the horses have shoes because they will get it caught between the shoe and hoof. Hotwire is cheap and keeps your horses off the fence. Works well for goats too.I've spent years clearing my fence line, and I'm still a long ways from being done, but I'm finally at a place where I can start building it. Since I have horses and goats, I'm going to do it all in 2x4 horse fence that's 4 feet tall. I'm running a strand of barbwire at the bottom for my straight line, and also to discourage animals from digging under it. I'm also running barb wire at the top of the fence to discourage animals from leaning over the fence, and maybe slow some down from climbing over it.
I do not like H bracing. Welded seems to hold up OK for short runs, but I've never seen a wood H brace that was doing much of anything that's been there awhile. After doing a lot of reading online, watching YouTube videos, visiting different farms and ranches, and thinking about what works and why it works, I decided to go with a simple brace against my corner posts. I did this with my dog yard and I've been very happy with the results. Now I'm doing it for my pastures.
I have 68 acres. I'm dividing up the land into 4 grazing pastures that are around 12 to 14 acres. Then there will be a male goat pasture that's about 2 acres to separate them out from the girls. I have a gazebo that I started years ago, but lost interest in, that will be converted to the boy barn. I'll have to run power and water to the gazebo, but it's already close to there, so it's not going to be an issue. That will happen after I finish the first pasture. And the original pasture is 5 acres that has my barn and small pond. This will remain our feeding area. It also has the barn, which is going to become 3 times bigger. We will also create our handling area there, along with a holding area for goats that we are selling.
I currently have a couple types of fencing in place that I hate. The new pasture is outlined in red in the first picture. Green shows where the gates will be. I'm still taking out trees, but most of it is ready to go. The Google picture is several years old and it doesn't show how much that I've cleared since then.
The second picture shows what I want it to look like when it's all done. My plan is to be able to rotate the animals from one pasture to the other every week. They will have one week in a pasture, while the other 3 pastures will have 3 weeks of rest and growth. Then in the Fall, when growing season ends, I'll open all the gates between the pastures and they can go where they want until Spring. This will also allow me to spray for weeks and not have anybody in that pasture for several weeks. If a tree falls on a fence, I can keep that pasture closed until it's fixed. Hopefully I will remove all the trees that might do this, but I also know this is impossible and eventually I'll have to deal with a tree taking out my fence.
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I run 2x4 no climb horse fence on all my perimeters. And on top I run electric rope. That keeps them from leaning over the top and pushing the fence down. All my cross fencing is electric rope. Easy up and easy down if a disaster happens.Must have hotwire if you want to keep the horses safe. They will definitely catch the bottom wire and get cut severely. Non-climb isn't really safe if the horses have shoes because they will get it caught between the shoe and hoof. Hotwire is cheap and keeps your horses off the fence. Works well for goats too.
I have been using high tensile electric wire for my horses now for over 10 years. Bottom wire is not connected, all others are. They completely respect that wire and stay well back from it. I would never suggest using barbed wire anywhere near horses. I also use electric tape to break up larger areas, for better grazing with the tread-ins and they work well for temporary fence. On steel post, use a good quality insulator to prevent shorts. Going the high tensile route allows for somewhat wider post spacing and much easier for one man to build fence. Ends and corner posts need to be strong and well installed and braced. Also with high tensile, you will save a fair amount compared to woven horse wire fencing.I run 2x4 no climb horse fence on all my perimeters. And on top I run electric rope. That keeps them from leaning over the top and pushing the fence down. All my cross fencing is electric rope. Easy up and easy down if a disaster happens.
Sounds like a great plan - intensive grazing. I'd always dreamed of that, but never accomplished it. After 25 years of ranching, I'll try to be brief with my experiences.... I have horses and goats, I'm going to do it all in 2x4 horse fence that's 4 feet tall. I'm running a strand of barbwire at the bottom for my straight line, and also to discourage animals from digging under it. I'm also running barb wire at the top of the fence to discourage animals from leaning over the fence, and maybe slow some down from climbing over it.
I do not like H bracing. Welded seems to hold up OK for short runs, but I've never seen a wood H brace that was doing much of anything that's been there awhile. After doing a lot of reading online, watching YouTube videos, visiting different farms and ranches, and thinking about what works and why it works, I decided to go with a simple brace against my corner posts. I did this with my dog yard and I've been very happy with the results. Now I'm doing it for my pastures.
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You are right about the diagonals - in static situations. But for fencing you have soil which moves with the weather. The objective is to reduce forces that would cause the posts to move. Ground is not a static floor and the corner post is not truly anchored - like hurricane straps that might keep a wall corner anchored to the floor. And by forces, imagine an analogy where you have a free-standing wall. If a wind is pressing on the wall and you are on the other side, holding it up against the pressure, what are the forces? If you are holding it at a point 6' above the floor, you are acting like your diagonal fence brace. You are pressing at a diagonal angle, meaning horizontal but also vertical. If that wall was not heavy enough, you could not keep it from lifting off the floor. Similar forces are on your corner post.... As a contractor, I've done quite a bit of framing and it's amazing how much strength there is in a single diagonal 2x4 in holding up a wall. When looking at H braces, I feel that the strength is in the diagonal wire that is holding the cross beam in place. Once the wire stretches, the H brace loses it's strength. ...