Saturday, June 2, 2012

Fences And Your Horses

By Heather Toms


When setting up a fence, give first concern to visibility. You want your fence to telegram its presence very clearly to your horses if you want to keep them free from possible injuries. That is the reason why wooden or PVC fences would be a far superior choice as compared to wire fences. You can improve the visibility by painting the fence in bright colors at regular intervals. You can also stick or tie colorful tape or ribbons.

Item number two on your prioritization list should be the fence's height. The fence should be high enough to prevent horses from jumping over, yet low enough to keep them from wriggling thru. A good way of deciding the fence height is to set it at the very height of your horse's nose. If you've more than one horse, go for the tallest one.

While you've a selection of various fence building material, the most preferred ones are PVC, wood and electric.

If you're on a tight budget, electric fences will end up being most cost effective. Galvanized, or plastic-coated wire, or electrical polytape are the electrical fence material most in demand. It is far better to make your fence extremely visible to your horses by tying fabric of bright colors at gaps of 3 feet or thereabouts on each strand. Obviously, you'll also need to buy posts, insulators and other hardware as well as a charger. A small electrical fence around a corral shouldn't cost you more than $200.

If you have a healthier budget, you could go in for a wooden fence. You can choose between slipboard, rustic rail or board. Lumber costs are subject to frequent fluctuations, and also vary according to area , but for all they are more costly than electric. A wood fence is way more pleasing to the eye than an electric fence. Although it will cost in terms of upkeep, it will definitely boost the value of your farm. If wood that isn't treated with pressure is used for the fencing, it must be painted or varnished/stained regularly. Chipped and broken sections need to be replaced as soon as they are seen. Sections should be nailed on the inside of posts and not on the outside, so that horses leaning on them do not pop them out. The posts should be very stable, and nail heads should be tapped in flush. If your situation is such that you need to keep your horses permanently fenced in (like when your pasture abuts a busy highway or when you need to keep your stallions separate from your mares) you might think about stringing up some electric wire at the very top.

At the other end of the market (if you have no difficulty with your budget) and want fencing that needs virtually no upkeep. Then this kind of fencing is usually made from PVC, which is clean and aesthetic. It resembles wood from some distance off, but does not ever need painting. It doesn't rot or chip, nor does it rust. I am aware of the fact that a lot of manufacturers assert it's much more robust than wood.

Whatever fence you do finally put up, you must check it awfully frequently for reasons of safety. There should be no downed wires, no sections that have gotten loose, no nails that are sticking out. There should be no gaps horses can slip thru. There shouldn't be any rot, rust or splintering. Fix any damage immediately. Check whether your posts are still solidly embedded by giving each one a good tug. You're going to need to do this frequently if you live in areas where ground temperatures are liable to frequent variances.




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