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  Discussion on Fencing btwn aggressive horses
Author Message
Member:
lucyc1

Posted on Saturday, Feb 22, 2014 - 11:05 am:

Hi Everyone:

I'm looking for advice and suggestions. We need to convert a few of our larger pasture/paddocks into single horse paddocks, and need to do it in a way that will keep rambunctious/playful and/or aggressive horses safe from each other. (We are starting to have horses come in for short term training. We need to assume that some of them may have problems with others of them.) We are using electric tape (Horseguard) fencing. We have double fenced (2 parallel fences about 3 feet apart) the line between a few of the paddocks. This works very well, BUT it is wasteful of pasture and requires mowing. As there will be quite of few of these fences, it would be really great if there were an alternative that was less wasteful of pasture - but still safe.

Any suggestions?

Thank you!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Feb 23, 2014 - 10:28 am:

Hello LucyC,
First let me say I am uncertain electrified tape fencing will keep two horses that really want to get into it together apart, not at least without some training. But if this is a product you trust, have you considered that instead of creating corridors that you make paddocks with just one fence separating them. Then put horses in every other paddock. Every few weeks when the grass has been eaten down a bit, switch to the unused paddock. It fixes the wastage and mowing problems and helps preserve the pasture. For more on this see HorseAdvice.com » Horse Care » Horse Pasture, Fencing, Barns » Managing Pastures
DrO
Member:
lucyc1

Posted on Sunday, Feb 23, 2014 - 11:22 am:

Hi Dr. O:

Thank you for responding!

Unfortunately in the area I am talking about, we don't have enough room to have horses in every other paddock. These areas are becoming "sacrifice" areas. We do have pasture for our long term boarders who are mostly turned out in pairs.

Another type of fence we are considering is the "non climb" wire fencing. (The company description of the fence - which we have used around the boarder of our property, is "smooth on both sides to prevent snags; Narrow vertical mesh keeps horses from stepping through or walking down; 12.5 gauge wire; Woven fence; Class 1 zinc coating; 2 in. vertical spacing).

In your experience, (and the experience of others on this board) would this type of fence - with an electrified tape at the top, be safe fencing between horses that don't know each other?

(Again - as background info - when a horse first comes to us they are "quarantined" behind double fencing to prevent nose touching. The paddock fence we are trying to choose now is for horses that don't know each other AFTER the quarantine period.)

Thanks again for your help,
lucy
Member:
vickiann

Posted on Sunday, Feb 23, 2014 - 5:29 pm:

I have some no climb fence in some areas of my pasture but not as a dividing barrier between horses.

My dividing fences are wood.

One of my horses is a mare who likes very much to kick at the others who are on the other side including engaging with the fence, which is a bit worrisome with any kind of dividing barrier.

I prefer having the boards close enough together so that a leg/foot cannot get caught.

Not sure about whether a good, hard kick might go through no-climb wire?

If I used that set up I would be inclined to run maybe 3 hot wires on extenders that bring the hot wire at least a few inches off of the dividing fencing to keep the horses off of it. And you would certainly want a board across the top as you said.
Member:
lucyc1

Posted on Monday, Feb 24, 2014 - 12:41 pm:

Dr. O:

I believe the previous post from Natalya M was intended for a different discussion. Can it be moved? I think it is a comment on "Desensitizing 9 y.o Quarter to Gunfire." Thanks.
Member:
lbrnm

Posted on Tuesday, Feb 25, 2014 - 10:22 am:

Good morning Lucy,

While I don't have specific advice on the type of fencing to use, for the lanes between the paddocks, to help with maintenance, could you occasionally put a horse in the lane to help "mow" the pasture? You'd of course have to do it when the other horse was away (or he/she can be put in a different lane), but it might help a little with maintenance.

Nicole
Member:
lucyc1

Posted on Tuesday, Feb 25, 2014 - 11:44 am:

Interesting idea Nicole!

We usually put 6 feet between fences when we do a double fenced area. If we tried your idea we could put 12 feet between the fences - like a stall. But I wonder how it would be for a horse. The lanes would be roughly 12 by 200, long and skinny. I wonder if it would worry a horse - maybe get them running...without much room to turn around.

If we were to use the no climb fence (wire fence with 2"spacing between the vertical wires) we could also put a goat in the lanes....But, we're leaning away from no climb fences because of the risk of horses catching a shoe on the wire. (We just had a horse catch a shoe on a slow feed hay bag (not a nibblenet) - which was hung fairly high, but she is tall, and was frustrated. No injuries, thank goodness.)

I think we're coming to the conclusion that of the affordable choices, a double fence using horseguard electric tape and about 6 feet between the two fence lines is the safest way to go. It's wasteful of pasture, but seems the safest.

We are still hesitating though. We'd love to find a better option.
Member:
lbrnm

Posted on Tuesday, Feb 25, 2014 - 1:28 pm:

Good point about the possibility of getting a shoe caught in the no climb fence.

For the idea of putting horses in the lanes, I was imagining more of a temporary situation where you put them in there for a couple of hours to eat the grass. Maybe after a training session when they're more hungry and less apt to want to run around? I don't know, just brainstorming, hehe.

I have come to the conclusion, that there's really no 100% sure-fire way to fence horses in (that I've found anyway). They'll always find a way to hurt themselves, lol. I think the goal is to know the horses, and then choose the fencing type that would be the best at mitigating the risks of injury. Every type of fence comes with their own set of pros and cons. For me and my horse (half draft), electric fencing wouldn't work. She knows to lay down and shimmy herself underneath them! It's quite comical to watch, really. So for her, I am using the six rail, 10 foot panels. (This summer I'll be putting up a permanent five rail pipe corral.) I have had horses in the past, though, where electric fencing worked perfectly!

Let me know if you come up with a good option!
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