Drive over gate

[tallyho8]

Though a horse won't normally cross a cattle guard, they are not recommended to use with valuable horses. It doesn't take too much to spook a horse and send him right over the gap where he will most certainly break a leg. I have been unlucky enough to see this happen a couple of times when hunters spooked them. It seems like stampeding cattle are more likely to just run through the barbed wire fence.

 

[txdon]

Oh yeah deep down in SOUTH TEXAS they have a gate called a bump gate, has anyone got a pic of that!

I don't know about south Texas but here is a picture of one in central Texas.

It does not work very well ....I keep bumping but nothing happens.

MY BUMP GATE:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/meetings-get-togethers/28115d1096416845-norte-tejas-north-texas-project-504012-gatemy.jpg

 

[midlf]

One of my BILs cows just did that. Broke her leg and had to shoot her.

Rob, What does BILs stand for?

usually stands for Brother in Law, same as SIL, MIL, FIL etc.

In this case the "s" is possessive as in "brother in law's cows".


edit - oops, if I saw page 2 I wouldn't have responded.

 

[roho]

Hello TXDON,
I think maybe U mis undestood my typing , I said a BUMP GATE not a bumpED gate! We got a lot of those types of bumped gates up here in Liberty County tooo! I don't think the bump gates are just in South Texas but that's where I saw them(down round Del Rio). I've seen deer hunters pull up. bump and pull truck w/16 ft lowboy throu w/o gate hitting trailer but then swing shut! I suppose that was what they were designed for! I noticed those beautiful yellow flowers in background of U'r pic, was that the goldenrod aka ragweed?

 

[3RRL]

Years ago I had a friend who had a bump gate like txdon.
Apparently they don't work too good if you're coming home drunk doing about 60?

 

[txdon]

Roho, the yellow flowers are broom weed.
Does the bump gate work in only one direction? Can cows bump it open?

 

[roho]

Well TXDON, It sure seemed to be able to be bumped from either side but I can't remember how it worked or looked!!! I know that it had to be some sorta catch latch that stops the gate but can't place it in my mind! 2 much water under the bridge! & now with solor panels, batterys and electronics the way they are, I'm sure that simple design is out by now!

 

[RobJ]

Roho, the yellow flowers are broom weed.
Does the bump gate work in only one direction? Can cows bump it open?

Cows usually wouldn't test it. Gates have small openings (like less than a 5 wire fence) and won't try it. BIL's grandson had a small cattle guard on some new property that the cows were jumping, he welded up a pole on each side, with another poll on top. Then hung rope straight down every foot or so to the ground. Picture beeds handing in a doorway. This kept the cows out but you could drive a truck through the rope. Now horses are a different story. I don't think it bothered them as much.

 

[Skerby]

Hi I just stumbled on this link and thought you might find it interesting, -Tim
http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/resmgmt/publist/leaflets/specstruct/316-31.pdf

 

[Hosskix]

Another interesting note on cattle guards:
When you have a cow or two that has learned to "walk a guard" you can take a light colored paint, like yellow, and paint every other pipe or rail.
They will quit walking over it.
Something to do with them being able to see the light color better so that they misjudge the gap.

And yes, there are a lot of cows and horses that fall off into them, I've had to help rescue many. Luckily, I've never personally seen one break a leg.
It probably helps that most of ours aren't very deep below the pipe.

As for the bump gate, I've (hopefully) attached a crude drawing of one.
The center post acts as a swivel with the gate attached to it and it has wires tied from one side of the post to the opposite end of the gate which causes torque to keep the gate closed.
you drive up and bump the right side of the gate with your vehicle and it swings open, if balaced right it will hang there for a few moments before pulling its self shut.
These are used more in goat and sheep country than in cattle country because a cow or horse will learn to open them eventually, sheep aren't that strong though. These gates are usually pretty darn heavy, most I've seen are about 20' wide and made with 5-6 pieces of 2X8 pressure treated boards.