Ideal fencing

[ABC]

Hello

I am considering renting a field next door to my house and moving off the yard I'm currently at.
The field is approx. 3 acres, and is really good quality grass.
However, there is no fencing, and no shelter.
As I would only be renting the field I was wondering what fencing would be suitable, but also relatively cheap.
I am planning on keeping my TB and possibly loaning a golden oldie, either from a charity or a private owner. My other horses will go out on loan.
I was planning on building a field shelter with gates so I can lock the horses in, as well as two stables (using no base).

Does this sound okay?
What fencing would you use?

Thanks

 

[much-jittering]

Personally in that situation I think well maintained electric. You may well find as you'd only be renting that you aren't allowed to install serious permanent fencing (as in a load of good quality post and rail), or even if you are it's money down the pan if you move on.

Decent plastic stakes and good tape (green is a bit more subtle if it's in a 'pretty' area) that are well errected and kept taut will do the job fine IMHO, run off a car battery or similar. It's a great fencing provising you look after it. In the ideal world I'd sink some decent wooden posts at intervals, and especially at corners, to give it support.

What is the current boundary?

 

[StormyMoments]

i would use electric fencing as you can remove it when and if you leave with the plastic stakes that you can get in different sizes and and energiser with a car battery. Sorted

 

[ABC]

I dont think I could use electric. The field is currently used for people walking their dogs on the path ways, I'd keep the path ways clear, but would like to fence off the area my horse/s would be grazing in.

I was thinking post and wire, (not barbed) or post and netting? I would then use electric fencing to partition off separate areas of the field?

 

[Miss L Toe]

I tend to agree with first posted about electric fencing plus a few good posts, but I would also price up a light electric wire running along the fence if it is good enough, it may need mains wiring though and is a professional job, there you are looking at several hundreds of pounds, also it depends on the area, if it alongside a main road you need better fencing.
You could go for an larger area of hardcore [on highest ground], rolled level to feed horses on in winter to prevent mud rash, also consider a very large open shelter for the two to share and to use if they want to, so you are not tied to bringing them in and out if weather changes a lot.
Be careful of gates as horses can get feet/ legs caught in them, I think you need some sort of flooring to the stable/shelter area or it will become unlevel and muddy.
I have seen people using hard rubber thick matting, that works OK, depending on how much use it gets.
Three acres of good grass might be difficult if you have a laminitic or cob type, you may be able to get a farmer to bring some sheep or cattle on for a few months if the fencing is good, else get him to top with a mower once a year.
Sheep and cattle clean up the worm burden and they eat off grass horses avoid.

 

[Spottyappy]

I use tornado horse netting.you can buy dif sizes but I prefer it for safety. Also ifthe posts rot, it it is far easier to just bang in a new post or two than with post and rail where you also need to replace the rail and maybe saw to size. Have strand barb wire at top of netting and also strand of electric tape or the horses rub and push posts. Then strip graze with electric fence within the field itself. None of it is cheap tho as you need it put up well to keep horses in and although you can do post and netting by hand it is much quicker if you have the equipment to ensure posts far enough in ground and wire tight enough to be both safe and secure. Good luck with it. Oh, brouht my netting from mcveigh parker as much cheaper than local suppliers.

 

[much-jittering]

What's round it currently, as in what makes it be a 3 acre field and not huge - hedge, houses, what? I'm personally a fan of a hedge as a boundary, and if it's got one of them you'll be fine with eleccy for the perimeter too.

In the ideal world I'd have good post and rail fence put in round the perimeter with a strand of electric running inside it (plain wire on the mains as MrsD said) and then divvy the paddocks up with electric - but as I said first time that is going to depend on your landlord. Do you know what conditions are going to be attached re fencing (and also things like muck heaps etc from your poo picking - some landlords don't like you creating one and there are, believe it or not, DEFRA considerations regarding muckheaps which the landowner may have to consider if they're a farmer)? I've definitely read posts on here before by people who aren't even allowed to sink a decent post at the corner of a fence on their rented ground, and I've personally visited a yard that is set up to do livery but where the farmer doesn't like electric fencing and so everything that people use has to be green.

Don't quite get what you meant about the walker, do you want to divvy the field up into paddocks that will just give the walkers an avenue through, or are you talking about doing general fencing and they carry on as they are? Electric fencing and public footpaths isn't a problem providing it's clearly displayed that the fence is electric - using those yellow signs that hang on the wire are perfect.