Wire stock fencing for horses?

[sychnant]

Having a senior moment!

I need some fencing done, and need it to be stock fencing so next door's sheep can't get in. What's the stock fencing called that has smaller holes so horse's feet don't get stuck?

Thanks

 

[Hungey]

I think you mean chicken wire? It has small holes so horses can't injure themselves.

 

[sychnant]

No, it's heavier gauge than chicken wire - just stock fencing with smaller but still square holes

 

[FfionWinnie]

Rylock or "sheep netting" / "stock netting" and the holes get smaller as it gets lower. I have this everywhere and have never had a problem with legs getting stuck.

 

[Polos Mum]

There are lots of different makes if you google horse netting it finds it. I think it has different kinds of knots too which make it stronger and not slip to make the holes bigger

http://www.tornadowire.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6&Itemid=82

 

[Hungey]

Oh sorry I am not sure. Sorry for being no help.

 

[sychnant]

Thankyou guys!!!

 

[sychnant]

Hungey, thanks for replying, I had considered chicken wire actually but pretty sure the ASBO pony would chew through it!

 

[Highlands]

Tornado wire looks a great idea but is three times more expensive than pigwire. I have 18acres to fence . So it's pig wire but electric wire on top not barbed.

 

[Polos Mum]

Our evil rabbits chew through the chicken wire round our veggys so I wouldn't trust it to keep a pony in

 

[Alec Swan]

As Polos Mum has said, it's called horse netting, but brace-yerself, it's mind numbingly expensive, and it's not easy to erect, properly. I'd also point out that it's your neighbour's responsibility to contain their sheep, it isn't yours to prevent them from using your grass!

It's a pity that you're not closer than you are, I've quite a bit left over from when I sold my business as a fencing contractor!

Alec.

 

[lamlyn2012]

Personally I would never use pig wire. Horses can get their feet caught in it resulting in nasty injuries.

 

[YasandCrystal]

I used the sheep wire for our paddocks perimter - as Alec said the horse wire is extremely expensive and almost double the price. I know it poses a risk and I have a section running down the centre of my land that I am unhappy about as it only takes a kick at it I suppose the higher cost is justified by the lesser quantities sold.

 

[Honey08]

Yes horse wire is awfully expensive! They see us coming.

We have regular sheep wire all around our perimiter fences. The only problems we have had are with some of the bits that were low down ( think the fence had sunk a bit so it was bent and sitting on top of the earth, if you know what I mean). Hubby's horse used to walk up it and get it stuck under his shoes about once a month. Luckily he doesn't panic, just stands there for however long it takes until you cut him out. Generally speaking, if done properly, its a great fencing. Some of ours was done 30 years ago and is still perfect. The plain wire strands put up inside the perimiter by a modern contracter five years ago are already sagging.

 

[Patterdale]

I've lost 2 very good horses in the last 3 years due to injuries sustained on pig wire and plain wire.

I'd say the horse wire is well worth the cost. Alternately, good post and rail with 5 lats, bottom ones close together will keep sheep out.

 

[Alexart]

We have ordinary stock net round our fields with a strand of plain wire top and bottom, although for our main field where we had stallions we have 6ft fence which just has taller posts and 2 strands of wire on the top and a strand of electric, the specific horse wire is mind numbingly expensive!!! We have had a few injuries from feet stuck in fences but tbh the horses that did it would have done it regardless of fencing as are just numpties!! One mare actually tore off half her hoof after sticking it in a hole under the fence and pulling upwards - it did grow back out amazingly, as even the vet thought she was done for, it took 4 months but you could see the pedal bone and everything - eeew!!!! We had another who was scratching his foot on the top of the fence and got it stuck and just sliced off the corner of the top of his hoof - funnily enough he was son of hoof ripper!! - it healed quickly though!!!

 

[lamlyn2012]

As Alec says, it's your neighbours responsibility to take charge of his sheep and I would insist he does so. He will probably put up pig wire but then you could run some electric fencing round on your side to keep your horses safe. Please don't use pig wire.

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

If using normal stock or pig fencing it is a risk to your horse so really you need offset electric line on the top to try to keep them away from it.

The reason the tornado type horsemesh is so expensive is that it has many many times the amount of wire in it, and heavier duty. In addition the added weight means it is normally high tensile which means it will need to be installed by a proper fencing contractor.

I have one horse who is sensible in a field and I would poss risk him with stock fence with electric offset but one who does handstands in the field and who I would not risk. ALso if you have anything on a limited grazing regime I would not use standard stock fence as their greed to get at the greener grass will lead them into accidents with it.

I prefer to fence a smaller area and get it done properly with horsemesh, or else use post and rail. Your neighbour should be fencing their stock out.

 

[lamlyn2012]

Land marcus, can't see how one line of electric fence will help. Horses kick out when playing or excited and bang, foot through fence. Also , horse resting with back to fence, stretches back leg before moving off and foot through fence. Just too risky.

 

[Dry Rot]

I agree with lachlanandmarcus.

Use Rylock if you must to exclude sheep but either put up a single electric wire on offsets or erect a single wire electric fence inside the existing to keep horses away from it. How far? That depends how long the legs of the horses are so they don't get snagged!

Provided your strainers are good and solid, sagging wire can be re-tensioned using a special tool or adjustable spanner on the tensioners. Better still, borrow a proper wire tensioning tool (they are expensive!) and tighten the existing wires properly, then tighten up the tensioners. If there are broken or rotten posts, they should be replaced.

It is not necessarily the responsibility of the owner of the stock to contain his sheep, responsibility will depend on what it says in your title deeds. It is usual for landowners to put the responsibility for fencing onto a purchaser. The logic of this is that if a building plot is sold off, the purchaser will no doubt want a pretty garden. That will all change when a herd of cattle gets into said garden because the fence has been neglected. If responsibility for the fence has been passed onto the householder, the owner of the cattle cannot be held responsible for any damage. Indeed, if some of the cattle are poisoned by eating the householders valuable flowers, it is the house owner who will be liable!

The law relating to fences in England is muddled and confused. I'd be cautious about assuming it is the stock owner who is responsible for maintaining the fence. He might not be!

 

[lamlyn2012]

Yes dry rot. This is exactly what I hsve been saying. Perhaps I've not explained myself very well . Otherwise I must just be being ignored which is a shame when I'm trying to help.

 

[Highlands]

http://www.mcveighparker.com/content/horse-x™-fence®-standard-xht10-90-75


£183 for 100m of hrse fence
£79.99 for 100 m of stock fence.....


Wow

 

[Goldenstar]

Chicken wire is lethal as it ages don't use it OP.

 

[sychnant]

Wow, went to work and came back to 3 pages of replies!

I know really it's the farmer's responsibility to keep his sheep in - however, dividing our fields is a really steep drop down to a stream, and the actual fence is on his side of it. So really I need something decent on my side to keep the horses off the steep bit. Electric tape works, but the sheep run under it and leave it strewn round the field, so something more solid is needed. I don't mind the sheep, I'm sure they are good for the grazing, and the farmer is happy to come and get them when I ring, but it's no use when my electric tape is broken

We considered post and rail, but ASBO pony either leans until it breaks, or eats it. Yep, like a beaver would. And rather than have to smear stuff all over it, I would rather use something that once done, is good for a few years. Putting electric tape on top of post and rail is an option, but then I still have to faff with batteries and energisers, and I'd rather not if I don't have to

I already have stock fence round most of the property, and have done for 10 years, it was sheep grazing before we moved in. I know it's not ideal, but I can't afford to replace all of it - and the bit I am talking about now is the most important bit. Hopefully one day it will all be done properly!

Alec, my partner is over your way next month, so if you do have some you would like to sell, feel free to drop me a pm!

Thanks everyone for the input, most appreciated

 

[Polos Mum]

http://www.mcveighparker.com/content/horse-x™-fence®-standard-xht10-90-75


£183 for 100m of hrse fence
£79.99 for 100 m of stock fence.....


Wow

True but that is because it's completely different stuff, different wire, knotted differently and with different width holes.

A sunday call out for the vet to cut horses foot free, clean up a wire wound, give antibiotics etc would easily cover the difference. You'd hope a wire fence would be there for 10+ years and that's a long time to have fingers crossed that your horse doesn't have a silly five mins.

There was a thread only a few days ago with a photo of a post and rail fence that it looked a lot like it had been slid into when pony couldn't quite stop in time -smashed up. If that was stock wire I'd have through easy to get a foot trapped.

 

[pennyturner]

I've had 11 sensible barefoot hairies in stock wire for 15 years. Never had a problem.

I did have one smart arse welsh deliberately using his foot to pull down the wire so that he could get his head under the single strand of barbed above it to eat next door's grass. That was more of a problem for the fence than the horse \

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

I have high tensile stock fencing right down 2 sides of my boundary fencing, its 5 ft high with tiny holes at the bottom & they get wider as it gets taller & is topped in 1 field with a half round rail running 6inches over the top & the rest has a wide green electric fence tape along the top.
Am saving to do the other 2 boundaries too as is keeping the deer out & also much of the rabbit population too

My mini cannot even get her feet through it & correspondingly the bigger ones cannot, even the higher parts of it.
Obviously nothing is going to stop those accidental moments, but this does as good a job as I can hope for

 

[scarymare]

You mustn't use stock wire for horses unless you use Stand off insulating tape/rope at the top to stop horses pawing at the fence.

Both my vet and instructor use this and although I argue with them that the accident is 'if not when', both have had multiple horses this way for many years. The problem is that stock wire tightens if a horse gets trapped and there have been incidents of severing whole feet (urgh).

I got rid of all mine and it took ages, disposal was hard too. You can get special horse rylock but even then not great for unshod littlies or foals.

 

[Highlands]

True but that is because it's completely different stuff, different wire, knotted differently and with different width holes.

A sunday call out for the vet to cut horses foot free, clean up a wire wound, give antibiotics etc would easily cover the difference. You'd hope a wire fence would be there for 10+ years and that's a long time to have fingers crossed that your horse doesn't have a silly five mins.

There was a thread only a few days ago with a photo of a post and rail fence that it looked a lot like it had been slid into when pony couldn't quite stop in time -smashed up. If that was stock wire I'd have through easy to get a foot trapped.

With 18acres to fence with 5 natives it trebles the cost, wire is wire . All will cut. Yes I have had ponies with wire cuts and one who cut themselves on post and rail. ..... I agree a Sunday call is expensive but nearly £3000 verses 1200 is alot! That's face it poly wire electrified is lethal too! Post and rail if I win the lottery....

 

[Dry Rot]

Yes dry rot. This is exactly what I hsve been saying. Perhaps I've not explained myself very well . Otherwise I must just be being ignored which is a shame when I'm trying to help.

You are not being ignored, people just have their own ideas!

I've been using 2.5mm high tensile galvanised steel fencing wire here for nearly 30 years and the only problems have been with the remaining barbed wire. I once worked out that I'd put up 3 miles of fencing by myself, all off a mains energiser. It is the most cost efficient set up out there and works fine.

The one problem with a plain wire fence is visibility as the posts (on level ground) can be 10 -- 20 metres apart. That is easily solved by cable tying some white tape on the top strand. Most of my fences are four or five strand electric as I sometimes have sheep. The electricity is not even on half the time as the shock is so nasty they don't test it to see if it's on. It is also easy to attach a temporary fence of white tape to section off part of a field.