Fencing

[CLAUDIA]

I was wondering if everyone could take a look at this site and tell me what you think of this fence. I'm interested in keeping my horse at home, but I need to put up a fence first.
http://www.horseguardfence.com/index.htm
Any suggestions will be immensely helpful! Thanks! :)

[KB]

How many horses and how old are they? Are you going to be there most of the time? I don't think that I would trust electric fencing as a fence to keep horses in, all the time. To keep them out of areas or as temporary - ok. Unless you were going to be there most of the time to keep an eye out. I've seen horses go thru electric fences. If they get worked up enough or bullied enough... I used it to keep them out of the area my barn was being built on, but had wood fencing to keep them off the roads! A friend of mine boards her horse where they have a lot of electric fencing - it doesn't seem to be a problem - but they are home all day and keep the horses in at night. Hope this helps .

[Tikki]

Hi Claudia

I'm with KB on this one - I don't like the idea of electric fencing as a permanent fence unless you can be really sure that your horse respects it. Where could your horse go and how much trouble could it get into if it escaped from the fenced bit?

[CLAUDIA]

Well, the horses are 9 and 11, both geldings. Down over the hill we have railroad tracks, a river, and a small rural road. Behind my property is strictly woodlands. If they were to get free and travel a great distance up over the hill behind our house they would reach the coal mines. Someone will be home most of the time, but not always. We have wood posts already from cutting down locust trees on our property. I would just like a functional, safe fence of moderate cost for my horses. What do they see the best when they're frightened or when it has snowed? I have also heard that it's best to nail rails on the inside of the posts rather than the outside, however unattractive it may be. I'm more concerned with safety than beauty anyway. Someone even suggested that if I want utmost safety I would paint my fence with barber shop stripes! :)

[This message has been edited by CLAUDIA (edited 14 June 1999).]

[Sarah]

hello!

I have heard that horse see natural colours (such as green and brown) a lot better than colours like white which don't really occur in nature that much.

Hope that helped!

[Myrmex]

Horses don't see white? Um. No. Definitely they see white. In fact they see it so well it stands out like mad, which is why they tend to spook at white objects but not green, blue, red or brown ones. The problems I have riding my horse past white-painted buildings...

As for the fencing - electric is brilliant, until the battery or wire fails, which it will sooner or later. I'm a great fan of electric fencing to keep horses away from danger, eg. barbed wire, but I wouldn't rely on just an electric fence to keep horses in a field. Two examples - firstly, two nights ago, I put my filly in a small, electric fenced area of grass that we couldn't be bothered to get the lawnmower on. She was delighted, settled down and appeared to respect the fence (which she is absolutely familiar with). I was nearby, 'supervising'. Then, something spooked her and she charged straight through it and down the lane... luckily coming back when I called. Second example - when she was a month old, my filly was in a wire-fenced paddock with an internal electric fence (not ideal, but didn't have a choice). The battery had failed in the past day, but I hadn't noticed, so my filly was exploring the electric tape, and the wire beyond. She got stuck, panicked, tore through it - and needed five stitches in her knee. I was lucky not to lose her. She bears the scars even now, as a yearling.

So beware! Electric fencing is very, very useful as temporary or back-up fencing - but it's not perfect by any means! Snow is a problem too - tends to weigh the tape down and can short it out. Plus, your white electric tape then blends in with the white snow... you can't win. However, it is possible to buy orange fencing tape now, so a strand of each should cover the snow problem.

Myrmex

[KB]

Nailing the boards on the inside is a good idea - unless you have a cribber. Also using a ?facial? board - one that gets nailed over the rails of the fence on each post will save you a lot in the long run. It keeps the rails on much much longer.

I've seen fences made with rubber rails that are stretched between the posts that are supposed to be wonderful because if a horse does hit it -it will stretch slightly rather than break or splinter - less damage to the horse and fence. I don't remeber the cost or name brand though. Sorry.

When we fenced our property we ended up doing locust post with oak rails. It was the cheapest (though not cheap!) way that we could find that would last. Its been up for 3 years now and other than my husband coming too close mowing and pulling a facial board loose I've seen no wear or tear on it! We haven't painted it yet so its a grey color.(The oak was too green to paint when it was put up and we haven't gotten to it yet.) When we do paint, it will be black - it looks much better longer (I think) - with white it looks dingy so fast and I HATE painting!

[CLAUDIA]

Thanks all! :)
I thought I should mention the horses aren't technically mine just yet. They have been promised to me though. If that doesn't work out, I'll be looking for two similar horses.

KB: Have you considered a weatherproof wood stain for your fence? We've used it on most everything; storage barns, decks, balconies. It's moderately priced and long-lasting, a big plus over painting! :D

Well, I have to build a horse barn and put up fencing, then I'll be set. I want to design my own stable, but I'm not sure if I have the knowledge for that either. We have between 5&6 acres to use for the horses, so I was considering keeping them in part of the time and out grazing some too. I don't want them to use up the pasture too rapidly. We are working on purchasing part of the neighbors land, but that's certainly not a sure thing. :( Any more suggestions?

[This message has been edited by CLAUDIA (edited 16 June 1999).]

[This message has been edited by CLAUDIA (edited 16 June 1999).]

[KB]

Really think about what you want for a barn before you start designing it. Some things to consider: how much the horses will be kept in, where the manure pile will be situated (for composting or not), what type of bedding you'll use (storage of it), where you'll keep your hay, how much tack and equipment you have now - double it and make that your tack room size!

I designed my barn with the help of the guy who built it for me. It is 36' x 40' with 4 10' x 12' stalls (the horses are out except for really bad weather), a 10 x 12' tack room (which seems to get smaller and smaller) a 12' isle running thru the middle and a 30' x 12 runin. It has a loft, which is plenty big - but you have to get the hay up there first! 3 stalls and the tack room are on one side of the isle and 1 stall and the runin make up the other side.

All has worked out great - except that I didn't take into account the manure pile and composting it - working that out now and storage for the bedding. I've always pasture boarded my horses - we have fairly moderate winters only a few bad storms generally. So actually using stalls is a new concept to me!

Anyway, I would recommend making a list (start now and keep adding as you think of things) of anything you want or may want in the future. If you plan for them now it will be easier to add on in the future. Good luck!

By the way, I believe that it would be a black weatherproof stain that we will be using - my neighbor did hers with it and it looks great. Thanks!

[CLAUDIA]

Thanks KB!

I think I'll start making a list now, hopefully by the time I can bring the horses home I'll be much more informed and well-prepared. Is it dangerous to keep more than two horses on a 5-6 acre pasture? What about a pony, too? A friend of mine asked me the other day if he could keep a pony for his son with my horses. I don't know what to say or take into consideration. Certainly the legal aspects of it. I can't have anyone suing me, so I'll make some sort of contract to be safe.

What do you think of keeping the horses in during the day and out at night during the summer; and out during the day, in at night, during the winter months?

[KB]

Depending on the condition of the pasture 5-6 acres should be plenty. They recommend a minimum of 2 acres per horse for grazing. If you have a good pasture that hasn't been grazed in a couple years (assuming this is the case since you haven't put up fence yet) you should be able to put more on it for a while. You may want to consider making a least two pastures out of it so you can rotate the horses on it. Put them in one for two months and then switch them to the other to let the grass come back good. I have about 8+ acres (we have an 11 acre lot) for the horses and hopefully next year I'll be able to split the pasture in two. I currently have 4 horses on it but last year and the year before (spring thru fall only) I had up to 7 or 8 horses and still had tons of grass. My feild hadn't been grazed since I can remember - only hayed. Also consider how much it will need to be mowed. The horses prefer shorter grass to longer and it will also keep weeds from taking the feild over.

So long as the horses and pony get along (most do...) you shouldn't have problem. If the kid is going to riding on your property... kids can not sign release forms and legally from what I've been told (in US, MD) parents signing for their kids isn't legally binding either. Its better than nothing, but... At least make sure that parental supervision at ALL times comes into play.

Depending on where you live, and what you are planning on doing with the horses you may find leaving them out thru the summer a good option. Either way they should still have a free access shelter available to them for shade and rain when they are out. Splitting the time in/out works well for a lot of people in my area. You may not need to though.

Also start looking into who you have available to get hay from . Its much cheaper to get get it while they are mowing and bailing it than in the middle of winter. If you have room to store it.

If I think of anything else I'll let you know.

[CLAUDIA]

Thanks KB!!! :D

I really appreciate all of your input! I love to hear advice on this because I don't want to do the wrong thing; I like to know all my options. I can't remember if this is true for equine nutrition or not, but is the second-cutting hay higher in quality than the first? I had an animal nutrition class this past spring, but all the information is kind of jumbled around in my head at the moment. :)

Thanks again! :D
Claudia

[KB]

I think, not positive though, the 1st cutting is supposed to be better, although it tends to have more stems. The 2nd cutting tends to be more leafy. If you are feeding grain it really shouldn't make much difference which you use. Some horses prefer one to the other. If you are competing or doing heavy work they recommend getting the hay analysed and then supplementing it. For the regular companion horse I wouldn't worry so much. So long as the hay was cured well and not moldy or dusty that is. The horse will let you know with weight and coat condition. I keep hay racks in the runin full all winter - they get as much as they can eat(remember they are out all day/night) and keep some out in the summer - mostly for them to nibble when they come in to get away from the flies or when it rains. Also - if you are feeding with the horses loose - like in the runin - be sure to always have at least 1 extra rack or pile of hay as the hay that someone else has is always better and there is a lot of shifting around. That way the lowest ranking horse has access to the hay. Also consider positioning the racks so that a horse can't get cornered trying to eat.

P.s - This y2k thing - if you are on a well you might want to get back up power unless they have access to a creek that doesn't freeze over - just in case. My power was out last winter for 4 days from an ice storm. Fortunately I do have a creek or I'd have been hauling A LOT of water!

[CLAUDIA]

I don't know much about Y2K, but we have a few natural springs during most of the year. We also have two small ponds, but one is unsuitable for drinking. I'm pretty sure we're going to have city water in the barn, but from what little I've heard about the "millennium bug" that doesn't count as a water source. Oh, is it all right to give horses city water?

[KB]

Yes. In the website I mentioned yesterday they have an article on water and nutrition. In that article they said that if you are on a well to make sure that the water test clean every couple of years, but that you didn't have to worry about it if you had city water.