Engarde! Fencing, sort of...

From Jim: Secure fences are an absolute necessity when you have horses. Their safety and your liability demand it. You want to keep them in and potential troubles out! Stray dogs and some wildlife can be a real problem. So can two-leggeds be up to no good or just do stupid stuff and cause grief. The issue is that to build a strong effective fence that is "horse friendly". That can be a real trick, since equines revel in destroying fences. Donna's big Appy is pretty sure rubbing your tail out on gates will be the next Olympic equine sport and he intends to be ready. Walking down field fencing, chewing on boards, pushing over posts, and, worst of all, getting injured and big vet bills, pain, and suffering and time out of service are all considerations and realities. We use combination fences of 48" field fence topped and centered with electric rope for perimeter fencing-double rowed wherever possible and three strands of electric rope for cross fencings, alley ways, and so forth. Gardens and people space also get field fence-usually no climb-which is another myth. I expect to repair fences all of the time. Daily, little repairs-Weekly, more serious work, and,every so often, a full day or two of putting the place back together. Fences wear out. Electric fencing has a service life of several years. Corrosion, UV degradation, Mechanical damage all take a toll. Field fencing gets brittle and bent and stretched. Wooded fences rot and fall apart. Barbed wire and high tension plain wire are absolute no-no's for horses. It cuts them to ribbons, causes terrible injuries, some permanent, and can cause fatalities. Just not worth it. So, We say "I'm fixing fences, I must own horses"! The best fencing is strong enough to keep the animals in and forgiving enough to not create awful injuries. Fences are just part of the deal!