Another fence question

[Utah]

I looked for an idea here on the boards but could not find a good answer. If you have the time, I'd appreciate any suggestions with my fence problem.

A guy that ran horses on my lot has taken a lot of the fence with him, So, I have to replace and mend several hudred feet of it.

I want to have a few yearlings on it at times and horses will also be kept there. The fence in some parts is only 3 1/2 feet with no barbed wire. Other sections have barbed wire along the top only. There is all types of jimmy-rigged fence around the whole lot.

What is a good solution to this problem - one that is safe for the horses and easy on my pocket book? Thanks for any reply! Utah...

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Set in steel brace posts/units beginning & end of fence. Install steel T-Posts every 10'. Stretch smooth 12.5 guage wire (like barb wire without the barbs) about every 9-12" apart. Put fence about 4 to 5' high. Shouldn't cost over $2.00 to $3.00 a foot, depending on labor costs.

 

[Utah]

Thanks for the reply. The feed store tells me to use the more expensive stuff - of course.

I guess barbed is not needed to keep the animals off of the fence?

 

[brokenmouth]

thats the trouble with running horses and cows together. slick wire wont turn cows and horses get cut to ribbons from just looking at barbs. then they get mad and kick mistreat calves. you might want to keep em on two seperate places

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

thats the trouble with running horses and cows together. slick wire wont turn cows and horses get cut to ribbons from just looking at barbs. then they get mad and kick mistreat calves. you might want to keep em on two seperate places

Agree. Always problem mixing cattle & horses. Especially if there is a Stallion or Bull in pasture and/or an otherwise dominant male/female.

Suggest 2 separate pastures. Definitely barb wire for cattle.

Cow hide much tougher than horse hide.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

The cheapest fencing is hi-tensile BUT you must have VERY good corner assembly. Smooth wire will not stop horses from leaning on it to reach ground of other side. Only HOT WIRE will stop them. You can keep horses & cattle enclosed with 3 strands of hi-tensile. Always keep the center one hot, and you can fix it so the top & bottom are hot when you want them to be. Horses are EXTEMELY sensitive to hotwire. They really respect it.

 

[Utah]

Yep, I think the hotwire will be what I get. Will the cows respect the wire? Or do they still need barbed?

And I will not have stallion or bulls. I really want to only have one pasture, so I think I will try it out and catch them later. Ha!

 

[SPRINGER FARMS MURRAY GRE]

Yep, I think the hotwire will be what I get. Will the cows respect the wire? Or do they still need barbed?

And I will not have stallion or bulls. I really want to only have one pasture, so I think I will try it out and catch them later. Ha!

The cows will definitely respect the hot wire, let them discover it on their own, after they are bit once or twice they won't challenge it. ;-) :cboy:

 

[Bez]

If you want to encourage your animals to test the fence - try this:

Suspend a few aluminum pie plates from the hot wire with some wire hooks.

Listen for the "snap" when they sniff the plates!



Works like a charm

Bez

 

[Campground Cattle]

If you want to encourage your animals to test the fence - try this:

Suspend a few aluminum pie plates from the hot wire with some wire hooks.

Listen for the "snap" when they sniff the plates!



Works like a charm

Bez

Bez you have to much time on your hands, that has got to be funny, be able to pen the whole herd with two pie plates after that education.

 

[Jake]

if you can get a 1-10 plug in fencer instead of a battery powered one. They seem to be a hotter fence and EVERYTHING respects them. I've seen a decent sized buck deer think twice about going over a 3 strand fence...

 

[frenchie]

If you want to encourage your animals to test the fence - try this:

Suspend a few aluminum pie plates from the hot wire with some wire hooks.

Listen for the "snap" when they sniff the plates!



Works like a charm

Bez

Let me guess you do the sardine trick as well :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[BuckemRanch]

The guy across the street has 5 strand H - Tensil. He electrifies every other strand. The fence has been there ten years. The only problem is one corner stretch set up is pulling out, because it's not completely inline with the others.

I am going to use this for my pasture, when I get to it. Too many things to do...

 

[Bez]

frenchie

You guessed right!



Bez

 

[eric]

Do any of you guys use poly wire? Does it work as well / better than smooth hi-tensile? I need to run about 8000 ft of hot wire to keep a neighbors bull out of my pasture.

 

[Campground Cattle]

Poly wire is not worth dung, if you have 8000 ft to run go get HT wire.

 

[dun]

Do any of you guys use poly wire? Does it work as well / better than smooth hi-tensile? I need to run about 8000 ft of hot wire to keep a neighbors bull out of my pasture.

We use miles of polywire. But only for internal temporary fencing. If you're going to go high tensile, 12 1/2 gauge smooth is pretty good buy. Just make sure you pay it out with a spinning jenny. Either borrow (the best), build (second best) or buy (absolute last choice) a jenny. They run 50-70 bucks and are worth the money if you have no other options. They save so much in frustration, splices, frustration, kinks, anger and frustration it's hard to believe.
One of the problems with the poly is that if it's left up very long and you have much wind, it will chafe where it goes through the supports/posts. That end up breaking the poly but the conductor wires will still hold it, if you get the good struff. We use the 9 conductor stuff, although I have used white cotton string with problems. But our cows are conditioned to the color and and hotwire.

dun

 

[buckaroo_bif]

We use a lot of high tensile fences with a good fence charger on them it is cheaper than barbed wire and IMO easier to maintain. The cows don't maul it down either when grass is short by reaching over to feed. Here's a good place to read up on it a bit iffen you like> http://www.kencove.com/ShopItemIG.php?item=Galfan+12%BD
bif

 

[Kelly]

Poly wire works nice if you need a temporary fence to move around. I would not use it for a perimeter fence - just to divide up pastures. Some of the poly wires & tapes fall apart from weathering easier than others. Use a good brand that has been proven. I use it also with my wire fence just for the visibility for the animals since I am always moving animlas around & they can see the fence lines better. But , white polywire or tape does not show with snow! It is very hard to see it because it blends with the snow.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

Where I work, the polywire is only used as temporary fence when sectioning off pastures. I have used it as well, but only as a temporary deal. It just doesn't hold up long-term. You're better off using the hi-tensile as a permanent fence.