Nibbled to Death by Ducks

I went up to MO to drop off my car and came back the next day with husband. Today, I go out to get Z loaded and moved to MO and will be up there til at least Saturday. I’ve got to get her moved or I’ll end up paying for more board which I simply can’t afford now that we have the house.

We don’t have internet set up yet at the MO house so bear with me for awhile til we get it.

The next two weeks, I’ve got to get critters packed and moved, as well as the extra bedroom set up for our paying guest.

This weekend, I need to get down to see the Big Guy, pay his board, check his feet, and look at his feed barrel.

Pandora is doing well but I am worried about her feet. They were let go too long when we were distracted and I won’t feel better about them til I see some substantial improvement. This is a constant worry nagging at the back of my mind.

Some neighbor horses showed up next door and that is another cause for worry. I have to get electric up before Z and the neighbors get too interested across the insubstantial, wire and t-post fence. What a disaster that would be!

Right now the two geldings appear to be young (maybe 2-3?) and have been friendly to Pandora but not pushy even when she showed she was in heat.  Hopefully, they will remain nice when Z shows up and starts her Queen of Everything production.

That panicked, frantic screaming is just me – ignore…. ARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!

More about the MO homestead

Husband took possession of the keys to our new place and took over my first load of horse stuff out to the tack room. The electricity has been changed into our name. A decision on phone internet is being decided…. YEAH!

He met with our neighbors who seem to be an extended clan of the same family group (grandparents, son and daughter with their own families). He also took a walk on the property line which yielded more information as well three ticks and a beautiful caterpillar!

The back boundary of the property is not fenced – it extends all the way to a second highway. This concerns me and we will need to put it on the agenda to get fenced sometime in the next six months. I like a property to be completely fenced to prevent horse escapes OTOH a horse would need to plow through heavy duty brush, brambles and a ravine to get through there so it’s rather unlikely…  :P

Husband sent me a corrected outline of the property OMG! — it’s frickin’ huge! The road behind is private and has a gate at the green dot. Pink is the existing crossfencing now and yellow the perimeter of the property.

What is more of a problem is that the south neighboring fence where I plan to put in a new pasture is also down. That is where a horse will inevitably go if he got out. That will need to be fixed in the next 60 days. We’ll put up smooth wire, t-posts and bracing end posts as well as putting on an offset electric guard rope for that perimeter fence because it will be cheap to install.

There is a back cross fence (north south) which is where the pastures would end. At this point there is a gate to the wilderness area located behind. I may end up re-doing this fence into something like five strands of Equi-Line with an offset electric to provide a very substantial, visual barrier to a horse.

The good news is that the primary pasture fence is in good enough shape a horse could be moved on it with very little work – putting up a hot wire and tightening a few things should do for now. The primary pasture wraps around the barn from front to back and I will be dividing it into two so I can rotate pastures or keep the horses separated while they all still have barn access. This is how Big Guy will be housed on the same property as Z and this seems to be the easiest solution.

Eventually, as the second pasture is added, a horse or pair of horses could be moved in front of the house as long as they had shelter or someone who could move them to shelter during the day. This would increase my pasture rotation possibilities.

Very much in the future is an idea of connecting the two pastures (barn pasture, house pasture) with a leg behind the house. Until I see the place and think more on it, that is only a thought not a real plan.

He also took some measurements for me so I can plan to put in two paddocks on the east side of the barn. The perimeter size will be 40 feet x 38′ which will be divided approx in half to provide a paddock for each of the 10×15 stalls located on that side (remember I’m changing those four stalls to be bigger).

These two paddocks, in turn, will open into a “playground” arena that will be 40′ x 50′. The arena will share three fencelines – one roadside, one at the driveway and then the new one installed for the paddocks. The remaining side will be shared by the front barn pasture. While the ponies are housed there they can have the paddocks or the larger arena when not in use as places to hang out.

This is a very important part of my design because I can then encourage horse-led (where the horse chooses to participate) activities! This is something I’ve never had before at any of my other boarding facilities where work areas have always been separated from play areas. Horses had to be led into the area and then released for liberty work; now the horse can decide to enter and engage with me on their own time and inclination.

This will be a HUGE part of my training in the future so I will go into it more as it gets put into action.

I leave Friday afternoon and will probably be out of touch until Monday. CAN’T WAIT!!

fencing choices for perimeters

In the previous post, I discussed fence choices for sacrifice areas such as paddocks. Since horses will be in close contact, considerable thought has to be given as to what will be safest. More expensive choices can be considered in smaller areas, verses perimeter fencing which must be done over large areas, may need a more affordable and cheaper fencing alternative.

Possibilities for Road Side pasture fencing or entrance fencing:

Pipe Fencing ~ A very expensive choice however, a good choice for a property line that runs alongside a busy road. Pipe fencing can be 100 percent pipe or a combination of pipe posts and a top rail of pipe with the rest of the rails being a cheaper product such as cable or rubber. Spacing between posts can be up to 10 feet, but check with your fabricator and installer.

White PVC or Hard  Vinyl/Plastic fencing ~ I’ve already stated why I am not a fan of this type of fence. It is a favorite though to use along the entrance of a property. IMO this is an expensive, pretty product that requires expensive maintenance and doesn’t contain horses well. Requires an offset electric guard wire and is spaced 8′ apart.

Wooden Board fencing ~ High in maintenance since wood warps in weather and ages, as well as if it is painted needing a re-paint. However, board fencing does allow a lot of fun options on styling your fence such as this Crossbuck fence below.

Spacing is 8 feet and an offset electric guard wire needs to be installed to prevent horses leaning on fence.

Flexible Vinyl fencing ~ Two companies, RAMM and Centaur are providing a flexible vinyl fencing product that you can use by itself to provide a rail look with less maintenance; these fences do need to be periodically tightened and also need proper installation to work right. The Centaur product can by itself be electrified, or you can add an offset guard wire which I would on any perimeter fence.

Color choices are generally black, brown or white. White offsets the boundaries of a property and from the road is the most visible to the passerby. However, if you are in a high moisture area will mildew. I personally prefer black and brown fences as they fade away into the background and the property itself is more visible.

They can also be combined with wire filament (cable, plastic, electric rope etc…) for a lower cost. Spacing can be between 8-10 feet depending on the type of fence and install.

RAMM fence with three rails and two lines

The big benefit of this fence is that it has flex to it. If a horse hits the fence he won’t be shattering or breaking boards, metal or hard plastic that could potentially injure him. The Centaur product does contain a wire within the rail product. Fastens onto large posts.

Fences for very long property lines:

EquiLine filament fencing ~ I’ve seen this fence in action and really like it. It works well over hilly terrain, bounces when horses hit it, and is a cheaper alternative to the above fence products. It’s a good choice for cross fencing and hilly terrain.

However, it is not as cheap as wire and it does need tensioning. It also needs wooden posts as opposed to t-posts so costs more in that area of the installation. Does need to be offset with electric (preferably a black and white rope or tape) to really keep horses off the fence. Can be spaced 10-12 feet apart.

EquiLine by Premier1 with offset black and white electric rope

Electric Rope and Tape fencing ~ For horse containment, I would never use just electric alone unless you plan on using several rows of it (at LEAST FOUR). While one electric strand as a standalone might keep a cow contained it will not keep a horse safely on your property.

I personally prefer a fence that contains a variety of elements – such as a wide tape across the top with rope strands, or EquiLine with an offset electric rope, or wire fencing with offset electric tape, board fence with electric, etc….

Some people like tape and others rope. My personal preference is a black and white rope over tape because I live in a windy part of the U.S. Tape inevitably blows about and gets disconnected here. I also like the contrast of black and white because it makes the rope visible to the horse against green grass or white snow. Horses see in contrasts so you want the fence to show irregardless of the weather.

My least favorite electric option is using smooth wire for electric. It’s not visible to the horse and can garrote-cut like any smooth wire.

Smooth Wire or Barbed Wire (later not recommended) fencing ~ Smooth wire and t-posts is super cheap and a fast way to construct a fence. It can also be removed (except for corner posts). T-posts can be 8-12 feet apart (realize the farther apart posts are you are sacrificing support).

It has the potential for some very nasty injuries. It’s NOT my top choice for the obvious reason that it cuts like a garrot when a horse goes through it and it can be incredibly hard for a horse to see. For example, after putting up this fence, Z almost went through it! I personally prefer the EquiLine but wire can be installed using t-posts so it makes it a cheap, quick and dirty, fence that is favored by many.

Remember, the end posts, corner posts, and gate posts should be at least 4×4 posts sunk in concrete with additional bracing between (see the other post about smooth wire for photos). If doing a small line of fence like Pandora’s paddock, use a fence tightener which can be used by hand. For maximum tension, use a tractor to pull tight.

Smooth wire with bracing end posts

black and white smooth wire

To make the wire a bit safer at a previous self-care place, I made it more visible, by spraypainting it with bands of black and white. Since horses see contrasts better then humans, the black and white should help.

Shown here (below) you can see the top two lines are already done, and the bottom is still the original silver color. All the t-posts have been capped so no horse will become a shiskabob (this happens when the horse rears at fenceline and comes down on top of a t-post).
 

The plan (above) was to eventually put on two lines of of electric which is held by the plastic topper and the white plastic clip shown midway down. The electric would have been a combo color of white and black rope to increase visibility and respect for the fence.

T-posts with Wire Panel Fencing ~ Wire panel fencing comes in rolls and is attached to wooden end posts and braced along the line with metal t-posts. This is a good choice if you live in an urban area and need to keep dogs out (though they can access the gate area it does restrict their entry point).

If you had a foal or were breeding horses, the size of the square would need to prevent foal hooves entering and getting caught (it’s called “no-climb” wire). I’m not sure of the dimesions of the squares on this fence – it may be no climb.

T-posts can be installed using a t-post driver. This fits over the top of your t-post and you pull it up, hammering the t-post down into the ground. It takes A LOT OF shoulder strength! A message board thread about putting in t-posts can be found here. I believe those above are spaced about 10 feet apart. I wouldn’t go any wider as your fence will lose stability.

These fencelines ended with Railroad Ties used as posts and cross braced, installed by a  tractor. You need a machine to pull the fence tight or again it WILL sag.

JMO but for our geographical plains area, I would have put rope instead of tape as it blows too much. This fence also works best on flat terrain, not hilly land.

*~*~*~*

That covers the basics of fencing the perimeter of your property for horse use. Points to consider when choosing a fence:

Function of the fence – arena, roundpen, entrance, parking, house, decorative, contains animals (type, number, age, etc…)

Neighbors and roads – where would your horse goes if he escaped? Cross fencing can be more breakable then say road side fencing. Dog problem? Consider panel fencing AND a paintball gun.

Terrain – hilly, smooth and flat, heavily wooded, ponds and creeks

Value of your animals vs. fencing costs – show barns, boarding stables and expensive horses need to be protected as an investment. Cheaper horses still need protection but property owners may need to do so upon a restricted budget.

Consider combination fencing and keep upgrading fencing as the budget allows. Good fencing is never a regret. A dead or severely injured horse is.

ALWAYS add electric to any fencing!

Some sort of electric is essential with any sort of horse fence. A fence without electric will inevitably get rubbed upon and pushed down. However, for electric to work you MUST check it on a regular basis to insure that it is still carrying a charge, keep brush and grass from contacting the fence along the fenceline as this drains the charge, and make sure you select a charger to power the linear feet of fence you are using -using a charger without the right amount of power leads to a weak fence.

If using a solar charger, have a battery back up connected so when you lose the sun for a few days you don’t lose your fence!

fencing choices for paddocks

Looking at the barn layout husband brought home, I figure I’ll be making two paddocks off the east side of the barn. Each paddock will feed into a separate stall and that means Pandora will have shelter immediately without having to build the pony shed (though I will be building one later for a separate grazing area).  

I’m researching the different fencing options to consider for the paddocks and eventually an arena (to be built in the fall).

Pipe fencing – it would match current fence but is too expensive for me to install at a rental. It provides a substantial visual barrier to horses in close quarters, however, there is a slim chance, because it is unyielding, that a horse can become severely injured if participating in very rough horse play (I do know of a horse who speared himself onto a pipe paddock fence and died).

West paddocks with pipe fencing

Pipe fencing with cable ~ I’ve only seen this at a few places as it is not common. However, it is a wonderful compromise with the durability and beauty of pipe fencing and the cheapness of cable. Below is rubber “rope” used below a top line of pipe for a round pen.

This cable (below) was actually utility wire that had been used and threaded through metal loops that had been sodered onto the pipe posts. A line of pipe runs along and joins the top. While the cable might break the pipe would not so continues to provide a barrier until a repair can be made. The horse in this photo is 14.2 and the top fence line high, perhaps 6′.

Wooden Board fence – would be pretty, safe and easy/quick to put up. A line of offset electric would help to prevent rubbing or kicking. Maintenance can be a hassle as boards warp with weather and age. If we owned the place I would probably go with something longer-termed with less maintenance. Spacing approx 8 ft apart.

possible option if combined with electric

If kicked by a horse, it would break (as we already know) so the chance of injury is less. However, it also means more maintenance headaches.

"I know nothing about this...."

Smooth wire- unless offset by electric would not prevent a horse from taking it down and having a potentially very nasty injury. Close quarter enclosures like this will get a lot of horse rubbing and playing on the fenceline. Having a more visually substantial barrier would be best.

This is a better choice for the perimeter fence then the paddocks or arena. Even on the perimeter, I would put in a guard wire such as black and white electrified rope or tape for better visibility. Remember, to top off t-posts to prevent horse injury. Cheap and fencing posting can be 10-12 feet if wire is stretched and anchored correctly with cemented and braced corner and ending fence posts.

Not a very visible fence

T-post with Wire Panel Fencing – The panels can be attached to wooden posts and most commonly t-posts (shown here in red and white) which provides a cheap perimeter fence. The main concern is to make sure the squares are not large enough that a hoof can be caught within. If you are going to house mini’s or foals, make the holes even smaller. All t-posts must be capped in close quarters.

Because of pawing, boredom, playing etc… in such close quarters as paddocks, I would skip this for paddock use and keep as a possibility for a perimeter fence as it keeps out dogs. I’ve found that it has a tendency to sag so make sure you pull it tigh at a bracing end post. Here it is topped with electric tape to prevent rubbing:

EquiLine – (vinyl line) – one of my favorite options as it is 100 percent plastic and will not cause the damage that wire will if a horse goes through it. Horses will bounce off it or bring it down safely. However, it would need electric (a guard strand) and I wouldn’t put at roadside as it doesn’t provide enough of a barrier.

I’ve been at stables that have used this product in paddocks and I’ve been impressed with it’s safety. Can be spaced 10 – 12 feet apart.

Equiline offset with electric

RAMM Flex Fence – a wider, plastic fencing that gives a look of “rails”. This would be a good choice for an arena and since the paddocks will be next to the arena, if I did it all in black or brown it would blend well with the black pipe fencing at the driveway. They even make a high impact product for roundpens and arenas.

Very pretty to use at property entrances, around barns, and versatile enough that it could be used for perimeter, paddocks, and arenas. Go with an 8 foot spacing in the paddocks, maybe a 10′ in the arena.

Black combination fence

Since the paddocks will need to contain minis/horses, who all know each other (as opposed to a boarding situation with horses being changed), I’ll go with a five rail fence at the paddocks. This will probably alternate with three wide, and two electric (black and white rope). The question is to use Flex Fence or wooden boards? I am guessing wooden boards will be cheaper but not as durable.

PVC or hard vinyl fence - my least favorite fence was used extensively at the Hell Barn. While it looks pretty (for a short period of time), it has several major issues: 1.) it breaks easily; 2.) when broken the shards are sharp like glass; 3.) it is expensive to build and to replace; 4.) requires a lot of fence posts that are also easily broken and are a huge pain to replace; and 5.) shows mildew after a rain.

Personally, I cannot think of one good thing to say about this fence – it’s crap that rich people buy who know nothing about horses but who want everything to be impressive to the neighbors. If you have to use it, put it in arenas and borders where there is minimum horse contact and maximum need to be “pretty.” Totally unsuitable for close quarter paddocks and roundpens.

~*~*~*~

You may want to consider other rail configurations to fit your specific needs such as your horses level of aggression or play, foals, studs, boarders with changing horses vs. a stable herd, age of horses etc…

When putting horses together in close quarters such as paddocks, always consider putting in an electric guard strand to prevent horses from rubbing, pushing or leaning on the fence. Electric would not be installed inside the riding areas but I may install an offset guard wire on the inside of the pasture that shares that fenceline.

Smooth wire fencing with hot wire for horses

The highest read posts on my blog are always one of the barn planning posts. People are more interested  in building a horse loafing shed then reading me go on about Big Name Trainers. HA! So my Cunning Plan is to always throw more farm planning information onto the blog to keep those vistation numbers up! DOUBLE HA!

The 10 acre mini-farm where  Big Guy does his retirement boarding, has some awesome horse fence. It’s not expensive board fence but is serviceable, cheaper smooth wire, offset by electric. Wire has it’s major disadvantages, especially when a horse goes through it – and why I would never put it up unless you also use hot wire. However, the reality is that it is cheap and so is the no. 1 fencing material used in my area.

Flat 10 acres with pond and some scrub trees

Where this fence is a standout is because it was done RIGHT. It is pulled tight and has proper end posts for bracing the wire. Without these the fence and gate will eventually sag.
 

Generally, these posts are sunk in concrete. The upright posts are braced by a cross rail, and the wire is also braced and held with a tightener.

 

When adding another line of fence, additional posts need to be installed and the bracing continued:

The hot wire is offset on the inside of the pasture fenceline and is powered by a solar panel. If you have too many cloudy days you can back this up with a car battery (gate panel solar kits are sold with such). The white line is the hot wire and the white circle marks the insulator which holds it.

The hot wire (seen in photo below as the black wire on the post) must be buried under the gate so the current is kept unbroken.

What I have found at many barns is people unwilling to do this step properly. Instead, they run the wire across the gate so you have to unhook it (a big pain in the ass). Inevitably, someone gets shocked, or they forget to hook the wire and the current is turned off (the horses figure this out very quickly!).

In the above photo you can also see the smooth wire wrapped around the fence post and making a Y. When installing fence, this must be done with a crank action tool or better yet, tractor, in order to pull the wire as tight as possible. If not done, the fence WILL sag.

I would prefer to have these t-posts capped. They sell plastic toppers or you can use tennis balls. At one of our boarding facilities a horse had been rearing close to the fence line, playing with another horse. He came down on top of a t-post and speared himself – I found him after the accident and miraclously he survived – but with a HUGE scar.

These three horses are seniors, pretty smart about fencing, and the 10 acres allows plenty of room for three horses to play. So far we haven’t had any issues; keep fingers crossed.