Ideas for Low Cost Horse/Goat Fencing

[ultrarunner]

Looks like t posts and barbed wire is about the least expensive... I been told that I'm asking for trouble using Barbed Wire... is that true?

Looked at some 3 rail plastic fence with posts every 8'... I know a few horse people that like it and others say it is not strong enough...

Any thoughts on fencing a 1 acre hillside for an occasional horse or a couple of goats?

Would it make a difference if the plastic fence had one strand of electric fence wire on the inside to protect it?

 

[Timber]

I would stay away from the barbed wire. The vet bill will cost a lot more than a better fence. Electric fence is probably the cheapest route. They have them with a solar power source. As far as goats are concerned there is no such thing as a fence that will contain them. If it holds water it might keep in a goat. You could make up fence sections with rolled wire and strapping. You will still have to set fence post. You could cut your own post depending on what you have available. We made up rolled wire fence sections 2 at a time. make the frames & put them end to end and elevate 1 section at the far end. Roll your wire across both sections and staple the ends only. then drop the elevated section flat to tighten the wire and staple off the rest of the 2 sections. Now just cut the 2 sections apart. That will keep you goats in and your coyotes out. As far as the horses are concerned it will work as long as there is no grass right outside the fence.

 

[weldingisfun]

Goats and horses means two totally different fencing requirements. What will hold a horse will NOT hold a goat. What will hold a goat may end up injuring a horse, i.e., putting a foot through the fence and getting it caught.
There is a woven wire fence called "No Climb" and it will contain both animals, but it will not be low cost.
Your best bet is to resign yourself to one or the other, goat or horse, and forget about keeping both kinds of animals if "cost" is a primary consideration for fencing the property.
Good luck.

 

[WTA]

I put up 4 strands of high tension electric wire on T posts for the horses. It has never had an escape yet.

The goats just a couple days ago actually tore their way out of their pen which is fenced with 5 foot tall sheep and goat woven wire fence. There is a goat sized hole broken through the wire from the inside out. I have NO idea how they did that! The wire is almost as thick as the high tension stuff and not easy to bend even.
For the most part I just let the goats do what they want and go where they want but I have to keep them up at night due to predators and thieves. Neither of which wants to be caught in my back yard where the goats and horses get penned up in the middle of the night.

 

[Timber]

I love goats but they are imposable to contain

 

[Fiero guy]

The old story goes like this:
Johnny's teacher asked him-If you had 15 goats and 2 got out, how many would you have. Johnny replied "None".
Teacher repeated the same question to which Johnny replied "None". Teacher said "Johhny, you know our math lesson yesterday taught us how to subtract."

Johnny said, "Teacher- you may know math, but I know goats--2 get out, they all get out.--you have no goats".

Goats are hard as heck to contain, due to their strange dietary requirements. When they run out of woody stems and weeds in their enclosure, they will find a way out. I had one inside a chainlink fenced yard to help keep the grass down. Grass was 1 foot high, but the goat opted to jump thru a window screen to eat all the houseplants while we were gone one afternoon. We barbecued him and bought a new lawnmower.

 

[ultrarunner]

Great replies...

Since I don't have a goat or a horse at the moment... I'm just thinking ahead a little.

My niece would like to keep a horse at my place a few months in the summer and goats are fast becoming very popular here in California cities as a means to keep brush and poison oak in check.

We have wandering goat herds... or rent a herd... that set up for a few days with fence chargers, twisted re-bar posts and a 42" high fencing material... the herds have between 75 and 150 goats... oh, and one sheep dog.

Is cyclone fencing inappropriate for horses? I'm only looking to fence 1 acre at most.

 

[reb]

I raised a few goats for about 30 years. I built their pens with used 6' chain link. After I put a solid strand of wire along the bottom, I never had one get out. Maybe I was lucky. Chain link, even used, probably won't qualify as cheap for an acre, tho.

 

[ultrarunner]

Thanks Reb... lots of practical knowledge on TBN

 

[RichZ]

I own a goat dairy and have 3 horses. We use Red Brand Non-Climb Fence for all of our critters (we also have sheep and llamas as guard animals). It's 4 foot high woven wire fence, held up with 6 foot T-posts every 8 feet. Relatively low cost, and it contains them all. The trick to keeping goats fenced, is for them to like where they are. The pasture has to have plenty of forage for them, perferably plants and weeds besides grass, and they MUST have shelter. I have 3 goats (out of about 100) that spend most of their time hanging out by my house, waiting for my wife or me to bring them back into the pasture or barn. They just like the attention. But the other 97 are quite content in the pastures and barn.