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Discussion on 'Strapping' fence .. any good?
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Member:
stek
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Posted on Wednesday, Feb 11, 2009 - 10:36 am:
I am planning for a new outdoor arena this spring and am trying to decide what fence material to use on it. I came across this strap type product:
https://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/prod1;ft1_fencing_containment;pgcc5330.html
Seems like it would be easy to install, affordable, and forgiving to horses. Has anyone used it, and if so what did you think?
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Member:
hollyw
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Posted on Wednesday, Feb 11, 2009 - 12:03 pm:
Couldn't get the link to open, Shannon, (the site said the store isn't working right now)but last year, with several HA'ers' help, we put up wide, white, tape from FarmTek (I think it was 2 and 3/4"). It took three rolls for the 125 x 175 foot arena. The "insulators" that come with the fence are just rectangles of white plastic that are screwed over the tape with stainless steel screws and stainless steel washers. Due to finances, I used landscape timbers as posts. I also used the lighter gauge pipe gates: 2 six foot long gates at each entrance.
The trick was getting it stretched tightly and getting it to come off the corners of the arena correctly (on the face of the posts; corner posts were telephone pole posts because it is a tensile fencing, and I couldn't get the correct size ratchets to stretch the web and FarmTek didn't sell them).
If you do put up this fence, it is very helpful to install the DT FENCE STABILIZERS . . . lol . . . our own Denny Taylor invented them by cutting the bottoms off of temporary fence posts that I had used for pastures for two years. They are GREAT . . . absolutely invaluable if you have strong winds at your place. They keep the fence from flapping and twisting.
Maybe Den will go ahead with his idea of "DT ARENA IN A BOX" as he was thinking it would be a good sideline.
Here are some pictures.
#1 - DT Fence Stabilizers
#2 - Denny teaching some 4-H'ers in arena
#3 - Denny in arena
#4 - First September Clinic
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Member:
stek
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Posted on Wednesday, Feb 11, 2009 - 12:52 pm:
Thanks Holly, that is exactly the stuff I was thinking of from Farmtek. I was thinking of going with the 4" wide tape, thinking the narrower stuff wouldn't look as nice but yours came out great! I love the fence stabilizer idea too!
I figured stretching the stuff would be the hardest part, we created a clamp system to use with a come-along when installing our perimeter (2x4 non climb woven wire) fence. I was thinking the same sort of system - clamp on to the tape and pull taught with the come along - would work for this stuff too.
How is it holding up for you? Has it started to sag enough to require re-tightening yet? My hot tape fencing seems like it requires annual adjustment to keep it taught.
The 'insulators' are made to be slide-through, right? Did you come up with a good way to affix the ends to the posts? What about where breaks occur along the runs .. it only comes in 150' sections. Or did you just do each run with it's own section?
Thanks for the photos, they are very helpful!!
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Member:
hollyw
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Posted on Wednesday, Feb 11, 2009 - 8:41 pm:
I have the DT stabilizers on the north and south ends of the arena because that's from where we get the strongest winds. The fence is holding up fine despite the very strong (up to 60 mph) winds we can get here. The "insulators", yes, are just to keep the web flat against the posts. The fencing can slide behind the little plastic rectangles. The tightening is done on the corner posts. Angie's husband, Brian, and Denny are the ones (I think) who came up with the "tightening" method. I will try to find a photo of the corner. I'm sure you will figure something out similar to what the guys did, but I'll check the photos and see if there is one that shows their ingenious method.
The fence hasn't stretched. There was really only one "break" that happened on one long side, and the guys wrapped the two raw ends around a plastic rectangle, and then added one or two more rectangles to make a "sandwich." Then they put 5 screws through the sandwich. It's not a problem.
The two gates are also hung on telephone pole posts, so the ends of the tape are fastened well onto them to allow for shorter lengths of web, and to allow for the tightening. I have one 12' gate opening at a short end, and one 12' gate opening on the far end of a long side.
Maybe Brian or Denny can weigh in on what they remember about putting it up. Except for the gates and the posts, the stainless steel screws and washers were the most expensive parts.
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Member:
hollyw
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Posted on Wednesday, Feb 11, 2009 - 8:51 pm:
Shannon,
Maybe you can figure out the method by looking at this photo of the back of one of the corner posts. I'll try to find some other photos, too.
If the fence does stretch, the screws can be removed, the web can be folded a bit more, and the insulators can be screwed back over and through the web.
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Thursday, Feb 12, 2009 - 8:09 am:
Brian said they just stretched it really tight by hand, wrapped it around the posts, and attached it with the 6" pieces of plastic you show in the picture. I remember we went to some store looking for some type of ratchets so Holly could tighten it as needed after we all left, but we could not find anything that would work.
Heck, it looks nicer than my Horse Guard arena right now! I need to tighten that, fix broken insulators..ugh! Deer & winter weather damage.
(looking good Holly!)
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Member:
stek
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Posted on Thursday, Feb 12, 2009 - 10:29 am:
I see how you attached it, that makes perfect sense to me. I really like the idea that it can be 'tweaked' fairly easily if needed at a later date. I will definitely be using the 'DT Stabilizers' as we get some high winds too.
The only concern I have left is that in our damp climate green oogy stuff likes to grow on our hot tape, I expect the same thing will happen with this. Worst case though I imagine I could take it all down and dunk it in a muck bucket of bleach water to clean it if I had to, or heck just replace it .. it's affordable enough.
Thanks again for your advice and photos!!
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Member:
hollyw
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Posted on Thursday, Feb 12, 2009 - 10:38 am:
Yikes . . . I'm too lazy to take it all down . . . and, thankfully, (although Denny's crew may not believe this as they got hammered by rain and wind and flooded out of their campsite when here last June) we don't have as much rain and humidity here as compared to what is experienced in many other parts of the country.
How 'bout a spray bottle of diluted bleach? and then you can hose down the web and water down the arena at the same time?
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Member:
goodie
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Posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 - 3:02 am:
I love this fencing look and the "stabilizers" are a great idea and way to recycle broken plastic stakes. I made the mistake of trying to pull plastic stakes out of the frozen ground to move a trailer. Snapped them right at the base. This is a great idea! By the way, do they slip or flip around?
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Member:
hollyw
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Posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 - 7:59 am:
(Thanks, Angie, for the "heads-up" or I might have not read this.
Taara, no, the stabilizers don't slip or flip around. The CAN move on the fence if you hit them when riding or mowing, but they actually "gather" the 2 and 3/4" fencing just a bit, so it takes a push to make them move on the web. I only needed to really use them on the north and south ends of the arena because those directions are the most common strong wind directions.
One item of interest for Shannon, especially. Shannon, the web DID get worn in some places, and when we had a late ice storm this past March or April, the weight of the ice PLUS the 60 mph winds snapped some of the web where it was worn. I think the wearing could have been prevented:
#1 -- if I had not used landscape timbers which have edges that rub against the tape, and
#2 -- if we didn't have so much darned wind to blow the tape against the posts.
I think that this can be prevented if I had:
#1 -- used round posts
#2 -- and/or had put something smooth under the web and on the posts to protect it from the constant friction and wear against the fence.
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Member:
stek
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Posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 - 10:11 am:
Thanks for posting that Holly, I was actually thinking of using square posts but with your advice I think I'll stick with the round ones we've used everywhere else. Even with the wear you describe the cost of this fencing is so low compared to anything else I think it's still a great idea.
Did you come up with a good method of putting the snapped web back together? If there is a good way I think I'll be sure to leave a little extra 'slack' at the end of the runs to be taken up later if needed...
We are running a little behind on the arena, had a bunch of stumps to be pulled and just got them all out of the ground and burned in the last few days. Can't wait to get the dozer in for finish grading now!!
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 - 3:04 pm:
Hi all I was actually considering the strapping fence too. The thoughts of the cows going through it turned me off it.
Also hubby uses something similar for the cows in the winter except it's hot! He had the same thing happen as did Holly. When we had ice/freeing rain it would really sag and stretch. Also it tore from rubbing the post in the 500 mph winds we have in the winter. It does seem to have a flutter effect too....Have you found that to happen Holly? Or do the "stabilizers" prevent that?
I think it is a very Good idea, and looks quite nice. I decided I just wanted something a little sturdier. If it is going to be used for quiet horses( I believed in the wrong frame of mind Hank would try go right through it!) and you have NO cows around it!
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