Hey guys! I'm new here and have been lurking around all week. I searched, but couldn't find anything to answer my question.
What is the minimum distance you would put between fence boards/strands in your pastures? I am looking into getting a mini to join the herd, but I think some of our fencing would not be suitable. My dad thought he would be clever and switch from our original setup of 20", 34", 48" being the height of each fence strand to only having two strands with one at 24" and one at 48". He says it's easier for him to mow the grass underneath, but it has actually caused problems because my geldings now like to push up the lower strand to sneak grass from the riding ring. I am also thinking that a 2' gap might be enough room for a mini to jump through?
If it is too wide of a gap, I'm thinking that I might only switch the perimeter fencing back to three strands (to save money and work). The way my pastures are set up, we have two pastures (approximately 1 1/2 acres each) that wrap around a 300'x160' riding ring. If I only used three fence strands on the perimeters of the pasture, and the two foot gap is wide enough to jump through, the mini would have access to both pastures (which are connected and usually open to each other anyway) as well as the riding ring. Which brings me to another point: in general (I know horses are individuals, but I'm talking generally) how likely is a mini to mess with my jumps? I can't leave my geldings in there because they will eat the astroturf off of my rolltop and brush box, and steal decorative flowers if they are left out there. My mare on the other hand, couldn't care less. Would I be likely to have to worry about this with a mini? If push comes to shove, I could remove the rolltop and brush box from the ring and simply pick up the flowers every day, but I would rather leave the rolltop in there.
thanks for the help
What is the minimum distance you would put between fence boards/strands in your pastures? I am looking into getting a mini to join the herd, but I think some of our fencing would not be suitable. My dad thought he would be clever and switch from our original setup of 20", 34", 48" being the height of each fence strand to only having two strands with one at 24" and one at 48". He says it's easier for him to mow the grass underneath, but it has actually caused problems because my geldings now like to push up the lower strand to sneak grass from the riding ring. I am also thinking that a 2' gap might be enough room for a mini to jump through?
If it is too wide of a gap, I'm thinking that I might only switch the perimeter fencing back to three strands (to save money and work). The way my pastures are set up, we have two pastures (approximately 1 1/2 acres each) that wrap around a 300'x160' riding ring. If I only used three fence strands on the perimeters of the pasture, and the two foot gap is wide enough to jump through, the mini would have access to both pastures (which are connected and usually open to each other anyway) as well as the riding ring. Which brings me to another point: in general (I know horses are individuals, but I'm talking generally) how likely is a mini to mess with my jumps? I can't leave my geldings in there because they will eat the astroturf off of my rolltop and brush box, and steal decorative flowers if they are left out there. My mare on the other hand, couldn't care less. Would I be likely to have to worry about this with a mini? If push comes to shove, I could remove the rolltop and brush box from the ring and simply pick up the flowers every day, but I would rather leave the rolltop in there.
thanks for the help
