Half round post & rail fencing

[glamourpuss]

We have got A LOT of land to fence. After an eye watering quote from an equestrian fencing company of £12 per metre for 3 rail post & rail including fitting :-O we are most definitely having to go down the DIY route

Obviously half round posts & rails work out cheaper & we could erect it ourselves....but OH is concerned that it doesn't look sturdy enough.
I think it will be fine
Has anyone else used this as a form of fencing? Did you erect it yourself? How did you do it? How do you find it...do the horses just match through it
I would also be most grateful for any pics

 

[hobgoblin]

Half round posts are REALLY hard to knock in straight . We are replacing our fence in £300 pound stages ! Using 4" round posts and split round rails ( using bigger posts for corners and gates) I've only used 2 rails a d it seems fine - I've got 3 big horses and an escapee pony and keeps them all in its worked out at roughly £8 per metre, but is really hard work and time consuming might be worth paying the extra if you're short of time because we've been 'doing' fence for every weekend for as long as I remember!

 

[OFG]

Yep, this is the fencing around my horses fields. Have the half posts and half rails.

Personally I don't like it (looks wise) and want to re-fence a much needed section in rails but it will come down to cost

It's sturdy enough but when I looked at a section of fencing Dad and I did last summer it is rather wonkey donkey where the neds have used it as a scratching post (this section is with full round stakes and half round rails). This could of course come down to poor workmanship

Sorry if this doesn't help much

 

[Gluttonforpunishment]

Sorry but your OH is quite correct, it is fairly flimsy stuff - I've known a few people who have used it to save money and ended up spending twice as much in the long run because they are forever having to repair sections of it.

I does not stand up to horses leaning against it or having a good scratch on it. (to be fair, all owners in question had 15.2 hh plus animals so it may be fine for ponies).

We did proper post and rail fencing ourselves - you just need 3 or 4 stongish chaps and good weather (we had 2 x 2 acre fields to do, not a massive amount but wouldn't have wanted to have to do anymore , 4 rails rather than 3 as we also have sheep).

Our soil is clay so had to be done whilst the soil was wettish otherwise it's like trying to sink posts in concrete

 

[Tinsel Trouble]

I put our fence line up to divide a 1acre paddock into 1/3 and 2/3.

Excuse the position- the previous jump had been a bit of a surprise for us all so I decided down and tucked in was the best bet to sit the next leap of death... needless to say he behaved for that one.

The posts are full round 6' posts driven 2' into the ground (with a p'dunker!) and the rails are 12' long half rounds.. The posts are 6' apart. It looks a bit higgledy piggledy but it works. It cost me £340 + wood stain and slip rail brackets. It is 12 rails wide+ a 12' gate way!

Also I am not of the travelling pursuasion, the field shelter has been removed since and the perimeter fence replaces and creosoted!!

 

[Keimanp]

I would out of the two choose to do post a rail. I would however recommend a minidigger with an auger (sp?) attachment. you can get the drill bit in different widths, I got 6 inch (for the main runs) and 9 inch (for the corners) to drill the holes. You then drop the post in, surround with concrete. It took two of us 2 days to do all the posts for a long 1.3acre field.

The hire costs of the mini digger and auger were £80 for the weekend with £30 delivery well worth the money!!

 

[Tinsel Trouble]

We have got A LOT of land to fence. After an eye watering quote from an equestrian fencing company of £12 per metre for 3 rail post & rail including fitting :-O we are most definitely having to go down the DIY route

How much land do you have to fence, can you get a grant (i.e. is your land in ELS or HLS?).

Also thinking about the above post and the auger... if you use a low loader and remove the spikes from the frame, this can be used to push the posts into the ground. I have helped fence a 2acre paddock in a day using one of those!!

 

[Suechoccy]

OH and I did a 2 acre paddock with post-and-rail (4" round posts and 12' half-rails) with a handheld post-thumper.

We both got beautifully defined biceps.

There's a knack to it for getting the rails lined up if you want to do them like rows of bricks rather than like in the photos above. Makes the fence stronger if they're in rows like bricks too.

11 years later and some of it needs tlc due to being used for arse-scratching purposes but overall, it's held up well.

 

[ester]

we have 4.5 ish acres with ermm 4" maybe! full round posts and two half round rails. Been in nearly 8 years now and not been treated in that time. We have had to replace 3 or 4 of the posts, but one was after our neighbour drove into one and flattened the fence (much to the terror of the horses who thankfully ran the opposite way!

It was a full diy job we had a local smallholder who had a tractor with a poster on the back (big concrete weight down a shoot to bang the posts in) and several of us putting rails up, have also seen the bottom of a tractor bucket being used to bang posts in.

we also have a top line of eleccy wire to stop them eating it

eta our rails are also like row of bricks so the joins alternate.

 

[LynH]

We inherited post and rail fencing on our property so can't help you with cost.
The posts are concreted in and rails nailed to the posts apart from some handy sections in each field where 3 posts in a row are not concreted in and the rails are screwed on. This is to enable us to very easily take enough fencing down to pull the mobile field shelter from field to field. I would never have thought to do that but it is such a sensible idea and makes moving the shelter less of an ordeal.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

I have a half round (2 rail) post & rail up in my summer paddocks, stretching across 2 paddocks.
Also has a strained line of thick plain wire between them
Mum & I put it up in the 1980's.
Its till up, tho for the past 10 yrs plus its had a strand of electric tape each side to stop bigger bottoms from scrubbing on it.
Have had to replace 2 or 3 rails as they rotted under the tree bit at one end, but its still standing, posts very secure in the ground (which is sandy soil in the main).
Its been creosoted every 3 yrs too.

 

[cambrica]

Spending all this weekend fencing with half posts and half rails to extend and create a new paddock. Had fencing delivered but erecting ourselves - Joy !
Worked out at £1 per foot so £3.30 per metre. Not the cheaper tapering rails though. This is for two rails not three but have found it worked fine previously with leccy tape around the top. Depends on your horses as to how destructive they are.

 

[Topaz Tiger]

We have got A LOT of land to fence. After an eye watering quote from an equestrian fencing company of £12 per metre for 3 rail post & rail including fitting :-O we are most definitely having to go down the DIY route

Obviously half round posts & rails work out cheaper & we could erect it ourselves....but OH is concerned that it doesn't look sturdy enough.
I think it will be fine
Has anyone else used this as a form of fencing? Did you erect it yourself? How did you do it? How do you find it...do the horses just match through it
I would also be most grateful for any pics

Hi I have just had to fence a 4 acre field and split it into 2 and got quotes from 2 companies advertising in the horse and hound for £9.50 a metre for 3 rail, sawn post and rail fencing. So would think 2 rail, half rounds would be even cheaper.

 

[Cuppatea]

 

[PennyJ]

I think you might be better using full round posts with the half round rails. That would make the posts stronger and less likely to give if scratched upon. Also a post every 4 foot instead of 6 foot makes for a stronger fence too. Definitely do the rails using a pattern like laid bricks which also makes it stronger.

 

[glamourpuss]

Thank you again everyone! Especially the person who PM'd me...I can't reply directly, sorry.
Some great ideas & cupoftea I think your fencing looks very smart & definitely sturdy.
I just want to get at least 2 acres fenced so I can move my horses....I'm sick of paying for livery when I've got my own fields!

 

[Cocorules]

It depends too on the tools you have to put them in. A post knocker is fine with full round posts and quicker than an auger on the back of a tractor. A post knocker is no good with half round posts. Also check the gaps between rails a horse that can put its head through the rails to eat from the other side will kill the fence quicker. I love nail guns too well worth every penny!