# Cattle Panels & T-Posts Quick Question



## Jill

For those of you who are using t-posts with cattle panels, can you tell me what you use to attach the cattle panels to the t-posts?

Thanks.


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## Tony

Galvanized wire.


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## Charlotte

We use the heavy wire clips that come with the cattle panels. When we need more than that we use glavanized wire like Tony said.

All of our dry lots and grass paddocks are that type of fencing.

Charlotte


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## Tobey

We also use this fencing--best there is! We use the clips also but when I'm in a quick fix and don't have any clips left we use baler twine and tie them together. Got lots of that laying around


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## Jill

Thanks!

I am pretty dumb. I throw those clips away. I didn't even really look at them but thought they weren't strong enough to hold the horses... however, duh, people are not using those t-posts to keep in flowers!

We're dividing a paddock and Harvey and are are at odds. He doesn't think that the t-posts can be strong enough and I keep saying they are, but we haven't been attaching the panels to the posts the right way.

What we have been doing is using those plastic saftey tie things. I was thinking we just needed to get a heavier duty version of those.

I plan to show Harvey this full thread this evening. It would be way, way faster to use these posts to do what we're aiming to do vs. using wood posts like he wants to do.


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## CyndiD

Jill..we have used them for a long while now, due to dogs running loose and coyotes.

We have found that if you use an extra T post on each panel...I think we have 3 or 4 posts per panel it makes it even stronger..and put the posts on the outside...that also keeps it stronger for all those itchy butts...





Ours have been up for about 5 yrs. now and are still "looking great".


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## Lauralee

Use the clips that came with the T posts. You can buy more if you don't have enough.

Also, to connect each panel to another panel, use "hog rings". Buy the large ones. You will need a hog ring applier also.

Hog rings can also be used to apply cattle panels OVER existing fencing. They work great and are really cheap.


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## lyn_j

[SIZE=14pt]We use these too. Barry puts T posts every 6 feet and we connect the sections with galvanized wire. That way the connections arent at the T post and cant get worn because of rubbing on the post. Also the extra posts make the fencing not as bendable when the horses rub against it.[/SIZE]

Lyn


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## Jill

What I'm thinking we should do now is put one t-post at each end of the 16' cattle panels, and one t-post in the center of each panel, and use the silly clips they gave for just that purpose, vs. throwing them out... We are making one paddock bigger (moving a cattle panel fence that we never did right in the first place) and splitting another paddock in two.

Previously, H and I reached a compromose to put wooden posts at either end of the panels and a t-post in the center, but if we can use all t-posts it would be SO MUCH faster.

Thanks for the input!!!


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## Lauralee

NO NO NO JILL!!!!

Don't do it with the posts at the end of the cattle panels.

It is MUCH better if you will put the posts in the body of the panels, and clip the panels to each other at the seams using hog rings(quick and easy), or wire.

We've put up tons of this fencing, take it from the voice of experience. Setting the posts at the end of the panels is a huge waste of excess effort.

You can overlap the panels at the seams by one square column. This will also add strength.


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## Laura

Lauralee said:


> NO NO NO JILL!!!!
> Don't do it with the posts at the end of the cattle panels.
> 
> It is MUCH better if you will put the posts in the body of the panels, and clip the panels to each other at the seams using hog rings(quick and easy), or wire.
> 
> We've put up tons of this fencing, take it from the voice of experience.  Setting the posts at the end of the panels is a huge waste of excess effort.
> 
> You can overlap the panels at the seams by one square column.  This will also add strength.
> 
> 475544[/snapback]
> ​


Amen to everything here! We are about to start fencing projects at the new farm...ugh!


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## Jill

Okay! Thanks









I think I've got it now.

That was one reason H and I had trouble the first fence line out of this stuff, we were putting the posts at the ends.

_(I told you I am dumb!!!)_


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## Lauralee

Also, Jill, have your bolt cutters ready for any variations in your terrain.

You can contour the bottom rows of the cattle panels to fit any humps and dips in the surface of the land.

It is not 100% necessary to overlap the panels, but if you are leaving them at the full height, you will need that extra strength.

One tip I was given this week ..... not sure yet if it is doable but will share it with you.

REBAR that goes into concrete foundations can be bought in 8 X 20 foot sheets. You cut them down into 4 foot height and they are supposed to be MUCH CHEAPER than conventional cattle panels. However, they will eventually rust as the rebar is not galvanized.

Still, it is financially a much better option. Learned that AFTER we have already fenced and crossfenced our entire acreage with regular cattle panels to the tune of several thousand dollars.


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## minih

> Previously, H and I reached a compromose to put wooden posts at either end of the panels and a t-post in the center, but if we can use all t-posts it would be SO MUCH faster.


This is what we did, and it is working great! Our fencing has now been up for 7 years and we have had no problems or very much maintenance at all. In fact a tree fell on one of the cattle panels and all we had to do was rebend the top back into shape


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## mizbeth

I use baling wire. Double and tie it.





Beth


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## Margo_C-T

The galvanized fencing clips work well. Lauralee-did you mean "rebar"(the sort of "knobby" ungalvanized steel rods of different diameters that are placed into concrete to reinforce it; comes in 20' lengths)....OR, concrete reinforcing wire, an ungalvanized, welded 'mesh' of approx. 4-6" openings,also used for concrete reinforcement, that comes in rolls like fencing? The problem with such stuff is that it is inflexible(very little "spring" to it and likely to be brittle, along with the rusting-and is MUCH lighter in weight than cattle/hog/sheep panels(which are of 1/4" galv. steel rod.)I would be a bit leery of using it for fencing for animals of any weight, and that are likely to use it to rub on!

Posts for ANY fencing to hold in livestock should ALWAYS be on the outside, for strength. After all, the animals will be on the inside, "pushing" to get OUT, not vice versa! Closer spacing of the T posts will certainly strengthen the overall fencing.


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## Marty

_*What I'm thinking we should do now is put one t-post at each end of the 16' cattle panels, and one t-post in the center of each panel, *_

Jill I use cattle panels for my round pen. This is what we did to cause a radius: one at each end and one in the middle to get it to bend.

At the end, we use wooden posts to attach a gate to.

We use the metal clips also but ran out so we then used some galvanized wire that we use for our hot wire.

What are you all using for gates?

I just make my little picket gates and use them on everything.


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## Loess Hills

We also use the cattle or hog panels for some fencing, with the metal T-posts and galvanized wire to hold them. Just a little tip we got from an old horsewoman on the panels............She had a stallion get his hoof caught in one of the squares and he could not get it out. If she hadn't been there to remove the leg, this $40,000 stallion could have been seriously injured. So now when she fences, she flips the panels so that the small squares are at the top, and the larger squares are at the bottom. That way if they get a foot through the panel, they can remove it themselves. So now when we fence, we do the same thing. Just an "Itty Bitty Tippy"!


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## Margaret

I use horse fencing that comes from home depo. They come 100 ft to a roll, and in height of 4 foot and taller. (at a little over $100. a roll) I only need to attach it at the top and the bottom, "for my horses." ( Although some horses may need a middle attachment) It is nice because of its sturdiness and I can remove it at any time, and re-use it in other areas. At the top I hook the second section down of the fence into the top of the T-post,.. And at the bottom I will either use a piece of hay baling twine or some baling wire, and twist the sharp edges under.


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## susanne

I've used concrete reinforcement mesh panels for garden fencing, but for the reasons Margo said, I wouldn't use it for horse fencing (of course, for the garden I WANT the non-galvanized, pre-rusted stuff, and I REALLY would not use that anywhere the horses would make contact)

Going just a bit off topic...

Back when we were amongst "The Young and the Horseless," Keith and I put up a garden fence using a 50 foot roll of reinforcement mesh. This stuff wants to retain the curve of the roll, so we rolled it out onto the lawn to flatten it out. In a memorable brain fart, we rolled it out curl side up instead of down. Realizing our mistake, Keith reached for a brick to weigh it down, but let go of the roll (I was holding the end.

As soon as he let go, the entire rolling came springing back toward me. Now, a savvy do-it-yourselfer would have jumped out of the way, but no -- I just held out my hands to stop it, not realizing the strength in that roll of wire. My hands did not stop it, and it hit me full force in the face. Luckily, I only got a nasty gash on my nose, but it was quite a shock, and even more so to Keith, who thought I was seriously hurt.

Ah, well, lesson learned!


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## CharmedMinis

I use the hog panels, same as the cattle panels but they are only 36" tall I believe.

I have mine hung up on the T-posts so that they are off the ground by about a foot. I'll have to get a picture.

I use bailing wire on every second horizontal crossbar of the panel and attach to the t-post. I check the wires once a week and replace the ones that need to be replaced, which isn't often.

My hog panels are 16 feet long and I have a t-post at each end, and then one t-post every 6 panel squares.........does that make sense




I'll get a picture for you hopefully tomorrow, it's raining right now.

We decided to put our panels up off the ground because I have a bunch of horses who like to paw at the fences at feed time, and with a fence on the ground, feet can and will get stuck.


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## nootka

I am enjoying this thread as I have a lot of fencing to do, and was considering going the panel route for at least part of what I have to do. I like that it keeps larger unwanted animals out and the little ones IN!

We've had some panels around here that have stood up to a lot of abuse, including a few sections that have been run over by a drunk driver (same one times two!) and another person that ran off the road and drove through it, tree limbs falling on it and it does have a few bent areas, but still usable.






Liz M.


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## minihorse1

* hi,*

*
I use hose clamps. You can use fence clips but sometimes they arehard to tighten down. The hose clamps open up and then you use the screwdriver to tighten. Linda*


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## Lauralee

Margo

I may have used the wrong terminology......rebar is not the right word....

Again, this tip was just give to me this week and have not found out yet if it is valid.

It is concrete reinforcement mesh, supposed to be in SHEETS that are 8 x 20 feet? But has the same exact square spacing as a cattle panel and is non-galvanized.


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## alphahorses

I use cattle panels and T posts and I love them. I can put a fence up by myself in a day (I'm SORE the next day from pounding posts, but I CAN do it! LOL)

I've never been able to get the clips that come with the T posts on though. They just don't seem to fit ... they seem to be designed more for flexible wire than for cattle panels. I use nylon baling twine.

And I learned the hard way not to put the posts at the end! The hose clamps are a great idea - I think I'll use it next time.

I've never had a horse get a foot through the panel (though I can see how it could happen) but I did have a miniature foal get it's head stuck through a square. I have no idea how long she was there, but she was in bad shape when I found her. She was fine after a few visits from a chiropractor, but it was a scare!


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## Baptism

We also use cattle panels and t posts. We try to put a post in the middle and at each end, allowing for an overlap of fence panels. However...we have so darn many rocks in our area we are just happy to get t posts in wherever we can. We pound a rod into the ground first, then take it out, to see if we will be able to get a post in or if there is a boulder in the way.

To fasten panels to posts and each other we use baling twine (it will rot so watch it) and galvanized wire, and nylon zip ties.

I had a friend lose a foal in a cattle panel fence. It stuck its head through and choked. I don't think any fence if perfect but this keeps our minis safe from coyotes, wolves, dogs, etc. It doesn't work so well for moose though.


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## [email protected]

Great advice on the use of T-posts to panels. We've always done the posts on the end, but what everyone has said makes much more sense!

Now to figure out what a hog ring is . . . ?


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## Jill

Thanks everyone for the tips. You all made this a very informative thread. I said we used safety ties before, but I think reading here they are correctly called Zip Ties. I still think the heavier duty version of those would work well, but since they come with clips, that's an obvious thing to use (even though I was dumb enough to pitch them before).


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## Jill

You know another thing, if you were to move, the cattle panels or hog panels should be pretty easy to take with you!


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## Lauralee

Michelle,

Next time you go to Tractor Supply Company or other farm supply store, ask them to show you the hog rings.

They are in a little box and cost about $2 for about a hundred of them.

They are little copper/brass C-shaped clamps that would be used to pierce a hog's nose!!!!! Very barbaric if you ask me!!!!

We bought 10 boxes of hog rings at TSC for fencing and the guy helping us said "Gee lady, you must have alot of hogs!" LOL


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## Margo_C-T

Lauralee-

Sheets of concrete reinforcement mesh are something I've never seen-maybe a newer form of the rolls? The stuff we have(my late husband made tomato plant supports and, with a lightweight chicken wire tied onto the outside, protective "covers"-against the rabbits!-for our row of Ponderosa pines when they were tiny, and I still use them to put over where I have a gopher trap placed, to keep the dogs away from it!)out of this stuff. It came in a roll, probably 4' high, with openings of a uniform 6" square. It definitely DOES "want" to maintain the roll shape, as Susanne noted(Susanne, you are lucky that stuff didn't seriously injure you-it can be WICKED to handle!!) Maybe that's why it (also?now?)comes in sheets...?? I do think that cutting it down might be a bigger, harder job than one might think...and as I said, in my experience, it is made of a somewhat brittle steel, which I fear wouldn't last well in a fencing situation(as, when something puts pressure on it, it will bend and stay bent, instead of "giving", then springing back.) It would likely also have the same major drawback that cattle panel(and to a slightly lesser degree, hog/sheep panel) has-that a miniature foal "can" get its head caught in the openings. If using cattle/hog panels in relatively small areas,and where foals are likely to be, I might try placing them upside down, AND mounting them 8-10" or so off the ground(harder to do, as the panels are HEAVY, and will sag without the support of resting on the ground, unless you use closely spaced support posts,and frequent, snug ties of panels to posts.)

Tip: Get the little specialized "pliers" made for closing hog rings! It surely makes the use of them easier! I still have some hog rings out in the barn, from some fencing project in the distant past. They do come in different sizes, and the "pliers" are surely helpful; it can be very difficult to "hold" the rings to close them with ordinary pliers. Hog rings are too small to use to fasten fencing to T posts, though-they work well to fasten wire to wire. If you're using T posts, get the heavier weight ones, at least for where panels will overlap(you could then use lighter weight ones for the "in-betweens".) Be sure to ask for the clips that are the right size for the T posts you get. We used the clips with no problem when we built some fencing out of cattle panels, but if you can't get them to work, use a medium weight galvanized wire-I wouldn't recommend using twine of any kind, as exposure to weather will do it in, and, you cannot snug it up as it should be! The nylon ties would work, but will also be subject to deterioration due to exposure to weather.

Also-IF you want to be able to move fencing, it is best to use some sort of panel-type fencing. Though it generally costs a bit more, unless you are very knowledgable about fence building(which is an art in itself!), you will likely do better/be happier with cattle panels or other type panel fencing(which still needs to be put up 'properly', as noted in other posts on this thread!) to hold up well. Field fence,V, or diamond, mesh, 'non-climb'(the 2"X 4", tied, 'horse'fencing'), and other kinds of wire fencing-barbless wire, etc.-even lightweight galv. wire for electric fencing- all need to be STRETCHED when put up. IF you just "stand it up/unroll it", and staple it(to wood), or wireclip it(to T posts),it will sag as soon as the first horse rubs on it, and soon be neither safe nor very attractive! Properly constructed(for your local soil conditions!)stretch panels are needed on all corners, and on the straight, if there are LONG straight stretches. Steel wire contracts in the cold, stretches in the heat, BTW-which is a factor in how much it should be stretched.

It is VERY true that no fencing material is completely safe; however, over time, wire fencing that is good and snug has proven to be safer than that which isn't....even with panels, those that are upright, well-supported and well-fastened to their supports are proveably safer for your horses than those which sag and droop, with minimal supporting uprights.

(You CAN get welded rod(what cattle/hog/sheep panels are)panels, with 1" x 2" openings. VERY heavy, and horrendously expensive--but, it would probably be the BEST for fencing for miniature horses!)


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## appypintolady

Can someone post a picture of what the cattle panels with the t-posts looks like?

The only thing I could find out about cattle panels on the net looked like the pipe fencing like a round pen.Is this what you are talking about?


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## CharmedMinis

I will get pictures of my fencing tomorrow morning. I intended to today, but my batteries were dead





They are in the charger now, so i'll post pics in the morning


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