fencing for Horses and goats???

[clovergamecock]

I was at tractor Supply yesterday looking at fencing. the prices and choices make a big difference. What can I use and can I not use. I saw that the general purpose livestock fence has verry big squares and a hoof could get stuck in them. however the horse climbing fence has the smaller squares but is also $280 for just 200'!!!!! the Goat and sheep fencing is around $200 for 330' and the welded wire is about $150 for 330' What are you guys using??? barbed wire is not an option. the wife will not agree with it and horses.

thanks
Wade

 

[BigKansas]

Wade- I like to run a four strand smooth wire fence with a strand of hotwire on the top. You could also run a stand of hotwire a little lower for the goats. I like the square wire, but have seen too many horses get hurt on it and it works like a trellis for the weeds to grow into. It is almost impossible to horse proof a fence, just try to make one where they could hurt themselves the least if they get tangled in it.

 

[cmlands]

I don't have horses, but raise meat goats, and they will not get within a foot of my five wire smooth wire electric, llamas also will not go near it. 5000 + volts will also keep the predators away. As for price, cheapest by far, posts can be a long ways apart, as long as you check the tension every now and then.

 

[capi75rs]

Here is a link to the fience I used, I've ran both my horses and cattle and have not had any problems except one. A tree fell on a section about a year after I'd installed it, man was I hot It will not hold up to a tree very well but as for the cattle and horses I've had no problems or vet bills due to the fience. I also ran 1 strand of heavy galvanized barb on the top side about 3" above the fience.

Red Brand Fence - Large Animal Control & Confinement - Multi-Use Woven Field Fence

mine is the 1047-9-10.

 

[dangerdoc]

I was at tractor Supply yesterday looking at fencing. the prices and choices make a big difference. What can I use and can I not use. I saw that the general purpose livestock fence has verry big squares and a hoof could get stuck in them. however the horse climbing fence has the smaller squares but is also $280 for just 200'!!!!! the Goat and sheep fencing is around $200 for 330' and the welded wire is about $150 for 330' What are you guys using??? barbed wire is not an option. the wife will not agree with it and horses.

thanks
Wade

A horse will get into trouble with welded wire fence.

 

[Renze]

I used wire mesh fence for my goats, which i got for free from a neighbor when he sold his sheep.
Goats are a little harder to keep than goats because goats climb the fences to reach out for tree branches, as well as stick their heads through it to reach into the nearby garden. That untill a wire breaks and they go through the hole, fix the hole and the stubbard goat will try again in the same spot untill the hole is big enough again.

Best is electric fencing, i had nylon/steel woven wires at 6 inches from the ground, every 6 inches untill 2 foot height. Then i had two wires at 10 inch above each other.

For the horses we use 1.5 inch wide, woven ribbon because horses will run through it if it isnt clearly visible. So combined, you can replace two wires of the goat fence, the one at 2 foot and the one at 4 foot, with the wide horse ribbon.

You need well maintained, sturdy wire mesh if you want to keep goats behind it without electricity. Wire mesh isnt very suitable to put electic to, because its such a pain to cut the grass around it to avoid power leakage into the ground.

 

[Uncle Doug]

We raised Boer goats for 10 years. The first fence we built was with the wire mesh with the large squares. We had always called it goat wire and came in the 330 foot roles. The biggest issues were that the goats did climb up on the wire ans someone earlier noted and being that they were horned goats they were forever getting their heads stuck in the fence. After about a year of pulling the same goats out of the fence we replaced it with 7 strands of barbed wire. The goats have been gone for a few years now but the fence is still in great shape.

If barbed wire is an issue then I would go with the smooth wire along with a hot wire.

We built all of our pens out of the 4 inch square 60 inch tall cattle panels. Those also held up so well we considered building the entire fence out of the panel.

 

[riptides]

Hmm,

No goats yet, but the threat has already been made!

So for the horses we run t-Posts and two strands of nylon hot-mesh.
For the cows we have field fence and barbed wire.
For the dogs we have chain link, field fence, more chain link, and are considering welded runs now.... don't ask.

All stay separate, and is there a chance you too can keep yours apart?

 

[clovergamecock]

Hmmm this makes a big difference in my thinking then. So I should look at running either 4 or 5 lines of the smooth wire electrify the Top wire and also run the nylon mesh for sight???? Renze, could you post a pic of your setup?

Where is the best place to purchase the wire rolls, mesh rolls and what electric box would you recommed?

Thanks
Wade

 

[clovergamecock]

Hmm,

No goats yet, but the threat has already been made!

So for the horses we run t-Posts and two strands of nylon hot-mesh.
For the cows we have field fence and barbed wire.
For the dogs we have chain link, field fence, more chain link, and are considering welded runs now.... don't ask.

All stay separate, and is there a chance you too can keep yours apart?

This is a new pasture. I have the t posts around 3 sides and then wood rail fence around 2 sides near the house. We have a horse that is at a freinds so We have not had him hear yet. The goats are future plans but I am trying to plan for them. I had always heard that goats were good companions to horses so we "weren't" planning on seperating them. Should I? Do you have a pic of your horse fence setup?

Thanks for the info.
Wade