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Post by horselover4life on Mar 21, 2014 23:21:43 GMT
Howdy...
You saw the pictures of the barn project.
Now we start the fencing project after we saved hopefully enough money.
We are planning on doing 4 board/plank fencing. I have seen various ways of putting it up.
*We can do 6 1/2' posts or 8' posts....I am thinking 8' would be smarter {envisioning that itchy butt scratching against the post}
*There is the post with the board on the inside the paddock so if the horse "leans" they can't pop the board off.
*Then there is boards on the outside and another board runs same way as the post covering all ends {especially if you didn't rotate end cuts}
*We are thinking to do 5' high fence. Others tell me not necessary to go this high?
*Then we see the planks/boards level with the top of the post, but are told it will look nicer if we leave a few inches visible of post?
I am hoping to not need to do wire to keep my dogs away from the horses feet if they decide to chase them...they love to play with my neighbors horses and those horses play with my dogs...
So... if we do 5' high..planks are 1"x6"x16' long x 4 planks = 24". So, 5' high post - 2' of planks = 3' of space to have openings... so 9" between planks and ground.
Or if we go with a lower fence we will redo the #'s and have smaller openings, lower top rail height and closer to the ground bottom rail...
What would you guys do?
I am so undecided as to which way to do this.... are you as confused and information slammed as me now?
To many choices...I'm about to throw it all in the garbage, buy posts, some wire and be done!! Oh, then I need to figure where to place the walk through gate, the gate to allow the farrier/hay truck or big tractor through, and where to put the gate for connecting the field with the paddock and then the riding ring...all we plan on connecting together.
HELP!!!
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mingiz
Junior Member
Los Lunas, NM
Posts: 3,320 
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Post by mingiz on Mar 22, 2014 0:14:05 GMT
All the wooden fence I have ever put in were 2x6x8 treated on the inside of post. Post spaced at 8ft. And the spacing between boards was 18in. Fence was 5ft high.Top rail was 5ft. I also only used 3 rails. Never got the chance to cut off the top of the post. But I really didn't care...If you are using 1x4x16 that will work. But don't use rough cut lumber unless it has been stacked and dried good or you will end up with boards bowing. I used field wire on most of it. It was cheaper.I had planned on putting a 2x6 on the top of the wire to keep horses from leaning over it. But things changed and I never got it done. This was the original fence I had close to the barn .  |
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Post by horselady on Mar 22, 2014 1:46:24 GMT
You do not need 4 rows of boards. only go with 3. and 2 x 6 is enough. the posts at 8 feet intervals,
as for the gates. and pas thru show us a diagram of where the barn is and what the property is like. and let us try to help
remember the more gates you have the better in case you want to divide the pasture for rotation. of horses grazing. better to put that gate in than to pass thru one field to get to another , you need a gate there also.
if the dogs chase the horses you can always put up v page wire to keep them out. and up to the first row of boards.
you need to walk the property from where you think there will be a gate and to the barn. trust me what ever you decide NOW is not going to be what you should have done. it always seems to be different in the months and years to come.
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Post by horselover4life on Mar 22, 2014 14:00:24 GMT
I forgot to add we are "suggested" to do posts at 5 1/2' apart not 8' with the board of 1"x6"x16'....this would eliminate the need for the heavier 2"x6" boards. Everyone down here uses this dimension of lumber whether it is for horse fencing, or top-rail only over wire...I don't see anyplace 2"x6" anywhere.
All the wood is pressure treated. Fence posts are going to be round not square.
Down here termites are a serious issue so not doing pt wood would be a very costly mistake.
My barn is professionally termite treatment protected already (within 3 days of completion}...humid, moist, heat and wood = termites and many varieties of them. And my barn is made of pt wood too.
I originally wanted to do post & rail fence, but it is prohibitively expensive and when I look back at how difficult it was to replace or put back a down/broken board...
We want it to look nice as this line of fence will be facing the back of our home...so in our backyard that I look out on through my "wall of windows" in my kitchen eating area.
I'll gave a picture of the back of the house. The barn is about 200' + behind our home...then fence will go completely across the yard, then will open into the field next to my home. The perimeter of the property is currently all fenced with livestock wire. Pass through gates are also the question of where to place....
OK...the picture is the back of our home during construction but you can see the large, long row of windows...that is my kitchen eating area, the other picture is my driveway that shows some of our current perimeter fencing and the field leading into my fenced yard. Still not completely fenced but I have field fence to do the entire piece with...this is road frontage so it will also get hotwire along the entire thing...no loose horses please.
I am concerned with aesthetics for what I will see out my window and functionally safe for the front grazing field...yes, I don't want ugly in my backyard..
I can get a aerial view of the barn on my property but it did not have the barn on it so hubby is drawing in barn roof and proposed lines of fencing we think we want to do.Our goal is a 110'x 75' area enclosing the barn area, a connected 110'x120'(?) riding ring, with the grazing field beyond that....
click on any of the pictures and they expand in size so easier to see....
Later I will post what it now looks like from the barn view to the house and house to the barn, minus our fencing project so you can get a better idea of why I am being picky...need to take those pictures first though.....
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redzip
Junior Member
Posts: 1,701
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Post by redzip on Mar 22, 2014 15:58:44 GMT
Looks really nice HL4L cool
As for fencing, I just went with salt treat posts, 8 feet tall, buried/concreted bottom 3 feet, 3 or 4 strands electric rope.
Has held up great for 10 years now.
It would have been too cost prohibitive during our construction, to fence in with all board fence.
I'm perfectly happy with my choice.
Zippy got out 1x when the fence was off (first few weeks he was here AND in middle of the night!!!!!),
but was caught immediately and new, STRONGER charger was installed next day!!!
Red (Mr. PERFECT) never got out, because he was so well behaved.
No problems since.
Good luck, and keep us posted!
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Post by horselover4life on Mar 23, 2014 13:41:31 GMT
OK...hopefully I did this right...I am not good at this picture posting stuff... This is the view from my back deck and then from the barn toward the house and the field we hope to do grazing in...field needs bush-hogging {mowing} of the scrub trees and to be fenced but why spend the $$ till it is needing using... Sorry, they are not in correct order or all on one post...but they finally are all here...   |
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Post by horselover4life on Mar 23, 2014 13:45:59 GMT
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Post by horselover4life on Mar 23, 2014 13:48:53 GMT
OK...bear with me...I am NOT good at this photo thing... 1 more to get here so you can finish seeing what I am trying to do with fencing and why...  Think I got it. We went yesterday afternoon and purchased a trailer load of fence posts...put 1 in the ground at the 5' height where the fence line will be keeping the horses in their part of the yard... hence the strange looking single post sticking up. That of course is my husbands truck and my trailer under the barn. So, now you have some better idea from better photos of what we are trying to do... HELP!!! |
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Post by horselady on Mar 24, 2014 0:26:40 GMT
I always say the more gates the better , only because i have so many horses and they crowd the one gate. last time we did the fence i had hubby put a second gate in and what a difference. horses coming into one barn know the gate and horses going into the other barn are waiting at that gate. and sometimes if one horse gets confused all i say is his/her name and the word go and point them in the direction they are supposed to go to. that said you need a 10 foot gate or larger going into the barn area for trucks and other deliveries and need plenty of room for them to turn around. another gate into the arena. and another gate into the pasture area. i would also add a second gate into the pasture in case you want to divide into rotation type fields. would you want a gate from the barn area to your yard. ?? i would, not just a 4 foot but big enough to get horse from the barn area to your yard in case you want to just hand walk, graze or wash off. how are you going to keep boards on a round post.? i would think square would be easier to attach unless you are using cups  ? OH and please think about going deeper with the posts, with time the dirt will settle with the horses weight (and it settles alot from constant hoof prints in the ground along a fence row) and 1 foot does not seem deep enough. perhaps 1 1/2 to 2 feet to better keep those posts in the ground. jmo |
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Post by horselover4life on Mar 24, 2014 0:54:31 GMT
Oh....did I mislead, sorry...we bought 8' long posts and are planning on sinking 3' and packing as we fill the hole every few inches, not just at the bottom. So fence will be 5' above ground...top-rail will be down 6" then 4 boards, each 6" high = 8 inches between planks and the ground.
OK...we sat and figured some more.
We are going to put two 6' gates = a 12' opening in line with the barn for delivery and a way to get in & turn around if we need. A 4' people walk through gate.
We are going to start the fencing by going from one-side to the other side of the property. Once we have that done we will start a cross-fence. There we are also planning on a drive-through gate {12'} divided into 2 gates so 6' each gate, one side with a steel pin into a concrete pillar...then chained together to keep closed.
We will need to cut our perimeter fence and put in another gate to the pasture area but don't know where that will be exactly.
I may have a 60' round pen headed my way for free...not needed or wanted by the current owner so I will gladly take it. That will allow me to put the horse{s} out in the field safely before it is fully enclosed and move to not overgraze the space...it can also give me a cross-fence option for a smaller riding area if we need for our son...
This was supposed to be so simple...and now the decisions, decisions, decisions...  smileys-home-474322
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Post by horselady on Mar 24, 2014 1:53:18 GMT
perhaps it is my mistake about the heights of the posts. that what you are doing is good.
as for the two 6 foot gates. trust me, get one long one or you will have two gates to open and clothes all the time and it will always sag in the middle no matter what is done to keep them up.
my gate coming into the property is 14 feet with short telephone pole diameter holding it up.
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Lipizzan
Junior Member
Europe, Croatia
Posts: 2,572
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Post by Lipizzan on Mar 24, 2014 6:19:42 GMT
I am so jealous, you all have such beautiful properties, and lots of space. Hope one day I will have that too.
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redzip
Junior Member
Posts: 1,701
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Post by redzip on Mar 24, 2014 7:19:44 GMT
I agree with HL about longer gates.
All of my gate openings are 12 feet wide for ease of access, and most of my gates
are the 12 foot long gates.
I did purchase four- 6 foot gates that I had initially bought to be used inside the barn,
and later hung them outside, in rarely/never used areas, but 1 long is so much better than 2 shorts.
As for bottom bracing in the middle of your gates, or at the opening/swinging end, hang on to and use,
any other salt treat post pieces, that you've cut, and attach them to the base of your posts as support.
If that doesn't make sense, I'll take a picture of mine to show you.
One of my smarter 'moves' as to design with my fences.
Don't throw away all those little end, post pieces of salt treat,
they definitely come in handy as bottom support of gates.
JMO, but have worked great for me as supports.
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redzip
Junior Member
Posts: 1,701
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Post by redzip on Mar 24, 2014 13:47:23 GMT
This pic shows how I used the smaller 4x4 post pieces as support for my gates. Altho, not very clear, its just a small piece attached to the gate post base, and it supports the base and weight of the swinging end of the gate. I recommend doing something like this, otherwise they do sag. My neighbors place is only about 4 years old, she didn't do anything to support her gates, and they sag terribly. Glad my fence guy suggested it. Has worked great for 10 years!  |
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Post by horselover4life on Mar 24, 2014 15:31:59 GMT
Thanks...that is much more $ friendly than spending near $30 a piece for gate latches with a "pin" piece the gate hangs off of...
Our thought behind the 2 gates 6' long was it would not take up as much space when needing to be opened and we could more safely walk a horse through it if need be than swinging a 12' open and having not everyone take a walk with us...we will re-think the idea...and we will also probably forego the expensive latch and use a block of wood to support the gate weight...
Any more thoughts....
You guys are GREAT!!!
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Post by Me, redzip on Mar 24, 2014 17:10:15 GMT
Thanks...that is much more $ friendly than spending near $30 a piece for gate latches with a "pin" piece the gate hangs off of...
Our thought behind the 2 gates 6' long was it would not take up as much space when needing to be opened and we could more safely walk a horse through it if need be than swinging a 12' open and having not everyone take a walk with us...we will re-think the idea...and we will also probably forego the expensive latch and use a block of wood to support the gate weight...
Any more thoughts....
You guys are GREAT!!!
When Red was alive, and I had to separate he and Zippy, bc Zippy was a PITA to him, Zippy thought for 1 second that he would bang on the gate to show me his irritation  To show him my irritation, I created a small holding area, that kept Zippy away from the gate, so he couldn't beat on it and dent it,.., Grrrr, that Dang Zippy!
I just took that corner and ran 1 strand of electric fence/rope with plastic handle, from one fence to the other,
using 'rope splicers' as stoppers and supported with about 3 step in posts.
It gives me a small area, free of horses, between them and the gate, for more control.
I like it for when I'm running the spreader, etc. as I can control comings and goings
before they/ he reaches the gate.
Works great! |
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