fencing for Horses and goats???

[WTA]

We are using 4 strands of high tension electric wire for all of our fields to keep the horses in. We have goats cattle and chickens too. I have the springs and tensioners on all the runs of wire too and have seen a couple horses get into it before without harm. We've even had a tree fall on one section and all it did was pop the wire off the insulators. All 4 of my wires are normally hot but that is just to keep the weeds back mostly and also to keep predators out as much as possible. People think it's a good idea to dump unwanted dogs out here where I live. We have the biggest baddest fence charger I could find and it will just fry a dog. Weeds too.

In my goat birthing pen we are using the sheep and goat panels. I learned the hard way about keeping an excited buck goat in with those last year. I came out to feed in the morning and found the bone head hanging by one of his back feet in the top of the panel. His leg was cut up pretty bad but he survived and his leg healed. A couple more hours and he would have been dead though I'm sure. I don't like those hard wire welded fences at all.

Also, we have two horses here now that have been T post impaled before. Not here though thank god. My horse had it happen to her before I got her while she tried to get through a barb wire fence. She rared up on the t post was the best we could figure. I got her with the help of the sheriffs dept after her owner couldn't be found that day.
The other one got impaled durring a bad flood in NM when the t posts weren't even visible above the water.

I'm making round ball caps for all of my t posts as fast as I can now. I'm just making them on a wood lathe out of pruned limbs from our trees. Something to consider if you use T posts.

 

[riptides]

This is a new pasture. I have the t posts around 3 sides and then wood rail fence around 2 sides near the house. We have a horse that is at a freinds so We have not had him hear yet. The goats are future plans but I am trying to plan for them. I had always heard that goats were good companions to horses so we "weren't" planning on seperating them. Should I? Do you have a pic of your horse fence setup?

Thanks for the info.
Wade

Let me trek back home tonight with a camera.

Goats are great companions for horses. But the two can differ in fencing needs. I have not seen a goat yet that sort of stays put like a horse.

I should mention that all my supplies were either at Southern States or the local TSC. We did get t-Post caps too.

 

[pitt_md]

I will be fencing in a new pasture for horses as soon as I get the shelter built.
I will be using 'white lightning" by Centar White Lightning electric horse fence wire is coated far additional safety. for the top electric wire and "polyplus" for the middle wire. Those two wires provide good visability and keep the horses from leaning on the fence. Between them I run single 12.5 guage high tensel steel lines. Using 4"x8' treated posts and 6" treated posts for the corners. Makes for a real nice looking fence but its expnsive going this route. Since this fence will be close to the house I spent the extra money to enhance the looks of the property.

 

[riptides]

Do you have a pic of your horse fence setup?

Wade

Here is the back yard, fenced for horse. The t-post with cap.

The rest of the fencing covers around 5 acres.

It was a lot of t-posts! All driven in by hand.

 

[gerard]

Hmmm this makes a big difference in my thinking then. So I should look at running either 4 or 5 lines of the smooth wire electrify the Top wire and also run the nylon mesh for sight???? Renze, could you post a pic of your setup?

Where is the best place to purchase the wire rolls, mesh rolls and what electric box would you recommed?

Thanks
Wade

Just another opinion but fencing horse and gaots are two different things. We have 7 horses and my wifes had horse for 35 years. She would never use high tensile wire, even if you use 4-5 strands. Horse can spook, get chased by a dog etc and if they try and run through high tensile plan on putting them down. The wire will cut right through and leave some pretty deep lacerations. Use either no climb woven wire(not welded), centuar type coated high tensile 3-4.5 inches wide, or as previosuly mentioned 1.5 inch woven fabric thats electrified and strung between T posts. (This is what we use. We've had horses get chased by dogs at 5AM and they ran through the fence and took out about 100 feet of fence but all they got were some abrasions across their chest. High tensile they would not have fared so well). Under normal situations they stay well clear of the fence after they get zapped the first time. (I use a 9000 volt charger).

 

[rcrcomputing]

Whatever you do, do NOT ask my neighbor how to fence in goats. He started with field fence 48". They just step right through it. After eating my new fruit trees and a few other things, he then puts chicken wire all the way around tied to the field fence. They no longer go thru the fence. They now jump the fence.
And even the little ones are getting thru somewhere or nuther.
Soooo, we can't have flowers or anything goats like, which is EVERYTHING. I've a fine horse, no climb fence around the garden area thank goodness. It's a daily thing.

When I get home with my rottie (he goes to work with me), the goats scatter with a rottweiler on their tail..
Fun to watch, but while I keep saying he's going to get a handle on it someday, I've about given up on it. And I need to do something about it. I just hate to be a horse's rear about things..

 

[Tul01]

RCR that makes me laugh, sorry, my neighbor is the same except for whatever reason, possibly lazy horses? they don't leave. He has old 3 strand barb wire fencing that is laying flat in several spots and his horses don't even wander out! And its an alfalfa field on the greener side of the fence. I laugh at him all the time when we visit so now I think he won't fix it on purpose.

Brent

 

[2manyrocks]

I spray vegetation killer along my fence to keep the weeds out of it.

When we had goats, I used strands of electric fence wire, but as has been pointed out, horses almost need a padded suit.

 

[clovergamecock]

So for now I will just have 2 horses to contain. Roughly 1300' is wood fence with 3 wood 1x6x16 rails on each section. The rest or the fenced area is probably 1500' feet and all T posts. So 4 1 1\2 strands of tape should be adequate for horse containment and a control box good for about 5 miles to account for future expansion of the pasture? i am taking the goats out of the equation for now as we "have" 2 horses and "no' goats.


Thanks
Guys!
Wade

 

[whistlepig]

So for now I will just have 2 horses to contain. Roughly 1300' is wood fence with 3 wood 1x6x16 rails on each section. The rest or the fenced area is probably 1500' feet and all T posts. So 4 1 1\2 strands of tape should be adequate for horse containment and a control box good for about 5 miles to account for future expansion of the pasture? i am taking the goats out of the equation for now as we "have" 2 horses and "no' goats.


Thanks
Guys!
Wade

Electric fence by itself will not always turn a horse. We section off pasture with strands of electric tape to rotate pasture. Sometimes they run through the tape. Not very often but often enough that I wouldn't want electric tape to be the only thing between the horses and the highway. We put up Red Brand 2"x4" woven wire. "No-Climb" fence is what I think they call it. We also have a strand of electric tape around the top. I didn't want to use the "No-Climb" fence because it was so expensive. But SWMBO talked me in to it. This is nice fence. Stretches so much better than cattle fence and lays flatter. There is a lot of wire per foot in this kind of fence and it is very rigid. We have had it up for two years now and it is well worth the money spent. Putting up fence is a lot of work. Not a project to try to save money on material.