Fence Questions

[BHF Minis]

[SIZE=14pt]This spring I am going to be replacing my electric fence with either 2" x 4" non-climb or diamond mesh horse fence. The diamond mesh is $1.93 per foot while the non climb is $1.23 per foot. Is the diamond mesh worth the extra money? I am thinking about splitting 2 acres into 4 with a center aisle so that I can rotate. Does a 1/2 acre seem like enough area for 3 minis and 3 goats? I have a full acre fenced off now but they all stay at the top and chew the grass down to nothing. The bottom half of the pasture is always full of grass. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.[/SIZE]

Thanks,

Jennifer

 

[Keri]

Well, make sure you get it tall enough. I have a 37" mini here that just smashes the top of it down to eat on the other side of the fence. Its relatively tall, but he managed to ruin my whole fence in a matter of months. Before he came here, my other A minis never touched the fence. Someone did get their foot caught in it and twisted the wire a little.

I had he no climb fence at my other house and still use it as temporary panels here. I love it a lot better, but the overall look of it on a long fence line gets a bit wavy after a while being put up.

But that's just my two cents worth having both.

 

[Magic]

We just had our place fenced last year, and though I wanted to get the diamond mesh, with extra expense (we fenced in 13 acres) we went with the no-climb instead. It's great stuff, and I'm happy with it. I agree with Keri, make sure it's tall enough, we went with five feet high.

I think that half an acre is big enough for 3 minis and 3 goats, especially since you will be rotating pastures.

 

[mad for mini's]

I have no climb here and it works very well but I have to warn you that if you have small mini's like I do , they occasionaly get their feet through the fence !

My horses have tried to give me heart attacks quite a few times now , either by rolling or napping next to the fence and sticking a leg through or by playing too close and sticking a front leg through while rearing up. Either case , they have never actually gotten "caught" just "hung up " for a few seconds. I have considered stringing electric along the inside to keep them away but I like having the horses come right up to the fence for kisses and scratchies.

And most likely no matter what I do they will find a way to make it unsafe.

 

[BHF Minis]

I was thinking about putting up a 48" fence and then electric tape above it. I was also thinking of adding a tape on the inside so that they won't rub against the fence. I have a pen for the goats (since they can't seem to stay in just electric for more than 5 minutes!!) with 4x4 goat fence and added a tape at the top since they were constantly climbing the fence and escaping. For some reason they respect that but not the tape in the pasture. Minis are so much easier than goats.

 

[Windhaven]

I think either fence is fine, but I still highly recommend at least one strand (if not two) of electric to keep them from rubbing on the fence. When they do that it puts a lot of strain on the fence and it will eventually start to sag, bow, or break the post. And it makes it less likely that any of them will get hung up in it.

 

[Bunnylady]

I have 2 minis and 4 goats, and I have both welded wire and electric (I had the goats long before I got the minis.) IMO, you can't keep goats in for long without both types of fencing. The welded wire keeps them in, and the hot wire keeps them off of the welded wire. If my hot wire goes down for some reason, the goats always seem to find out about it before I do and start leaning and rubbing on the other wire. I have tried to temporarily fence off parts of the pasture using just the hot wire, and seen the goats go blasting through it when they felt inspired enough. I call them my "pointy headed problem children."

One of my minis was a real Houdini before she came here. The pasture was surrounded with chain-link fence, and she loved to scratch her butt on it. She leaned so hard, she kept popping the tie-wires off of the posts, and she could then scootch under the loose fabric of the fence. The hot wire keeps her itchy butt where it belongs, too!

 

[susanne]

We have 48" no-climb with a top hotwire around one drylot, and 48" welded wire with top and knee-high hotwires around the other...plus a short section behind the barn with diamond mesh. We also added a "penie wire" between the two enclosures.

As long as you have the hotwire, all of these workl fine. Without the hotwire, I would go with diamond mesh, no question. Before we put up the hotwire, Mingus (38 inches tall) could hop right over the 48 " fence from a standstill. He also learned to climb the no-climb, wedging his front hooves into the lover spaces and pulling, then mashing, the fence down. It not only messed up the fence, he also cut grooves into his hooves, which then chipped off.

Needless to say, we love our hotwire!

 

[Marty]

Dan just re-fenced for me right before winter hit.

Once again I used field fence. I looked at the no-climb but as said, perfect size to get mini feet stuck in so I passed and went back to my old reliable field fence. I use hot wire knee-high also and at the top so my QH won't reach over and grab a mini.

I also didn't want an isle in between because it is loosing too much ground for me and it's a waste.

I always have two fields empty for rotation and lawn mowing reasons.

As long as you rotate and keep your manure picked up, de-worm dilligently, you can make that area work for you if it's well managed.

 

[Feather]

The county Extension covers this topic in a short course. The number one problem with horses & fencing is getting "Feet Stuck". They highly recommend a rail fence but also say it can be impractical for safety from unwanted animals, higher maintainance, etc. But it still is the BEST fence in respect to horse injuries.

I have used "V-Wire = horse fence" but they said it was not recommended either because of feet injury.

I have raised several of our minis from birth on cattle panels & recently lost one at 3 years old due to a broken neck in the BOTTOM squares of them(Our 1st fence problem). NO fence is 100% safe I am told, but it doesn't make it any easier when a mini is hurt.

By nature horses rare up at the fence, roll into the fence, slide into the fence, etc.

It is very hard choice to choose a fence considering budgets & other purposes for using fence. NO FENCE is perfect; it just comes down to the BEST FIT for your requirements!

 

[JourneysEnd]

I was thinking about putting up a 48" fence and then electric tape above it. I was also thinking of adding a tape on the inside so that they won't rub against the fence. I have a pen for the goats (since they can't seem to stay in just electric for more than 5 minutes!!) with 4x4 goat fence and added a tape at the top since they were constantly climbing the fence and escaping. For some reason they respect that but not the tape in the pasture. Minis are so much easier than goats.

Good idea.

A good piece of electrobraid or 1 1/2" white tape will really save your fence from all the hiney rubbing. And yes, minis are a lot easier to keep in than goats. My goats don't even seem to notice the hot fence.

 

[BHF Minis]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I know that there is no perfect fence, but hopefully this will keep everyone in and somewhat safe.

Jennifer