[Kaioti]

Ok. I have one HECK of a summer project coming up. The place where my horses are kept was used for cattle, and although it keeps them in, it isn't safe. I haven't liked it for a LOOONG time, and now I'm finally in a position to renovate everything. Right now all of the fencing is barbed wire and uncapped t-posts. Well maintained but christ almighty, I'm just lucky I haven't had any serious accidents!

I've got a 5 acre lot in the back that I'm going to leave as is, since I'm never going to have more than 3 horses at a time and I feel there is room enough back there that they won't plow through a fence, plus turn out on that pasture is limited to manage the grass.

I am replacing ALL of the fence on the 100 by 200 lot attatched to the barn. I was thinking rail road ties, 48 in wire fence with a top rail (maybe with a hotstrap inside. How should I set the posts? Anyone set them in limestone? How did that go?

Also the floor of the barn is hideous!! The barn is an L shaped run in, roughly 15x 20. It floods, and is down 15 (!) in in the back and down 3 inches in the front. I was thinking to put gravel down first and 3 in of limestone over that, OR should I just use all limestone?

Any tips would be appreciated.

 

[churumbeque]

You might consider pea gravel for the floor. Also I think railroad ties might not make the best post. Heavy and hard to install. Why not the kreosote treated round poles?

 

[CharliGirl]

I agree with churumbeque. The railroad ties will be heavy and difficult to install--why not use the ties for the gate posts? Then you can use cheaper and easier to install posts for the rest of the paddock. Heavy posts like railroad ties should probably be set in concrete because they are so heavy.

My boss uses long t-posts (not certain at the length, but they are about 5' tall when set in the ground) and covers them with pvc pipe for safety. The electric tape that they use has connectors that attach to the pvc. I believe they use the SafeFence system. What is nice about using t-posts is that you can move them around if you need to, without breaking the bank.

At my home, we use fiberglass posts to attach our ElectroBraid fence, as well as a section of board and rail with a hot wire on the top. I must say that the ElectroBraid is my favorite fence that I have worked with--it is simple to install, safe, and economical. And most importantly, the only maintenance I've had to do is to tighten it once a year or so. ElectroBraid fence has a 30 year warranty, I believe, which is a plus. Two years back, my family and I put up a 1 acre pasture in a weekend...the hardest part is setting the corner posts in concrete. The rest is a breeze.

If you decide to use wire mesh for a fence, make sure that a horse's foot or shoe cannot get caught in it. The diamond or 'V' meshes are usually a bit safer that the larger meshes. One of the farms I used to work at had a mesh fence, and the horses didn't respect it. It would get bent, kicked, and torn up all the time. They didn't keep a hot wire on top, so perhaps that was the problem.

 

[Kaioti]

Well around here so far I have only found 8 foot pressure treated round posts, and I'm never happy with how they hold up, I want 5 ft above ground (I have wet clay soil and will have to sink them about 4 ft) and the cost 20.00 ea. I'm not worried about how heavy the rr ties will be (my horse will be dragging them to the holes (not far though) ^_^) and I can get brand new ones for 8-12.00, or so I am told.

Has anyone set ties in limestone? I have used electric fencing (set high btw) once and had a horse run though it that day, took me 2 hours to catch him. I don't trust it.

If you guys don't talk me into electric fencing, the wire will be 2in wide, 4 in tall square non-climb about 6 in above the ground? Is that good?

Oh and the barn floods and I want something in there that will pack hard and drain. I thought of gravel, but I worry that since some of the barn is so deep it will shift too much and be impossible to clean after a while.

 

[jimcro55]

Most of the time, horses will respect a sturdy wire mesh fence. If you are able to train them to respect the boundary, it should'nt get kicked or bent. Be sure to use the right sized "openings" when building this fence though. Obviously, as previously stated here, if the holes in the fence are too big, a foot or something else may be caught in the fence. Good luck with the fencing and the new floor for the barn.

JC

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