I'm not sure if this is the best posting location on this web site for the following question, but here it goes.........
I'm completely new at this country living stuff, but I love it. We bought 5 flat acres in western Oregon and want to get a couple horsed eventually. Question: What is the best, most economical type fence we should put around the land to contain the horses?
I will definitely read some of the posts on fencing throughout this wonderful web site, but would appreciate a few different opinions from you enlightened folks.
"....the best, most economical type fence we should put around the land to contain the horses?...."
I have field fencing with one electric braid at about four feet height on my patures and they are doing a good job in contain my horses.
I think I might have run through my thoughts on horse fencing on the sister site TBN but I can’t find it. So let me give you the condensed version which I admit is just my personal preference. My preference in order is below.
1. I think the best horse fencing is 2-5 rail pipe fencing with Red Brand 5’ no climb(its important that the wire be wrapped, not welded at the intersections and that the open spaces be no bigger than about 3†so a foot cant kick through it). You can run a hot wire around the inside at the top and bottom to keep them off the fence.
2. A 5’ wood fence is pretty good but I think you are in the wetter part of OR so rot can be a problem over time. Just as above, put no climb and hot wire around the inside.
3. You can also do a 5’ no climb with “T†posts for most of it, a good pipe post every so often and good corner braces. Again, hot wire to keep them off it.
4. A good 6-9 strand high tension wire fence looks good, holds up well and keep horses in pretty well as long as you keep them off it. My only concern is getting a foot through the wire, especially if they are shod. Again hot wire is important.
5. I would lump vinyl, barb wire and electric tape/rope in the same category…. Not safe for horses so don’t use them for containment.
You will hear many different opinions out there so see what makes the most sense to you. We keep performance horses at home and use pipe panels for most of it with no climb. Money is pretty scarce around our house hold, especially in the middle of show season, but it always seems like cheap insurance to install really good fencing. It’s really easy to blow through $1,000 for a vet. We also use pipe fencing along with no climb to reduce the risk of rustling. Before you laugh too hard, do a quick check around and you will see this is a far larger problem than most folks think.
If I had to compromise I would choose #3. Just use really good bracing in the corners so you can stretch it tight. Use a good no climb fence (like Red Brand) so the fence does not stretch and sag. Use “T†posts every 6-8 feet. Put PVC end caps on the tops of each “T†post. And lastly, run a hot wire around the top and the base to keep the horses off the fence. If you are going to use this type of fencing I would also make sure that you spray round up 4’ around the outside edge of the fence so the horses don’t try to get at feed on the other side.
if anyone has ever seen injurys caused by a spooked
horse going through hi-tensile fence would NEVER recommend it!
one of the safest fencing options is a product called electro-braid. very nice product. we have our pasture done with it and love it! we had a foal spook once and ran into it .she just
sprung right back. kinda reminds you of a boxing ring.
Darn, I sure dont mean to step on any toes. Use what is the best for your set up. For sure there is nothing good about seeing a horse get hurt and, to me, they are usually accidents waiting to happen.
I also cant think of a fence material that is perfect and cant think of one that I have not personally seen do serious damage. I just look at fences that seem to work well over years and for hundreds of horses and go with the odds.
I still like a well done( 5' 9 line) hi tensile over Centour or Electro braid for being long term safe solution but everyone has their own experiences.
To me, the best fence is an unobstructed distance too far between water holes. Short of that, I still think a good stout welded pipe with No Climb and a hot wire is the best fence.
Mark, Centaur is high tensile, it is just encapsulated in plastic. I have some Centaur but mostly electric tape. The Centaur is seven years old now while not as "shiny white" as new, has not deteriorated. Centaur is like any fence, that is the grass is always greener on the other side. You may still need some kind of electric to keep the horse from sticking his head through to get to that good grass (and pushing on your fence). The newer Centaur with electric may prevent that, I don't know? I too do not care for straight high tensile even with an electric charge.
I do have "H" braced corners for the Centaur rather than the concrete encapsulated posts that the warrenty calls for. So far, I have only had some tuffs of hair on the tensile wire crimps the H braces require.
I introduce new horses to the tape in a controlled area by shocking them with it. It usually only takes one time. I don't have problems with breaching the fence except for my sixteen foot wide chutes. On occasion, I will have to repair a clip and/or tighten a stretched tape.
The thing with any type of fence is to study the area and to know your animals. If you border a busy road, you want something they can't go through easily. Steep banks, poisonous trees, neighbors, stallions for example need to be considered. I am lucky to have a fair amount of farm land around my pastures so if the fence were to be breached, there is a lot of space to run to. We break up the ~20 horses on our farm into small "compatible" groups, the largest numbering seven. Four is even better.
I did have treated posts pounded into the ground rather than pipes or T stakes just in case I can ever afford to upgrade the tape.
We actually have only 31 acres but are fortunate to be surrounded by other farms. Our township requires 3 acres and it is very difficult to perc and subdivide so at the moment, we have a little bit of heaven. Our property is in the shape of a "Z" with the center being due N/S instead of SW/NE if you get my drift. The house and a couple of barns were already here when we came so we did what we could with the fencing. We ended up with two long chutes to access the fields. The horses get plenty of exercise being all hilly. We did learn that pasture layout takes planning and compromise.
I agree with mfaley's list; pipe fencing with no-climb wire is probably the best.
If you use high-tensile, it really should have one or more electrified strands. Even then it's not the best option.
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