best idea to keep dogs out of horse field?

[aAeforme]

I’m moving my horses onto my mother in law’s farm. It’s an old two stall barn with a big field the fence is wooden posts with electric wire. The field is right next to mother in laws house. She used to have old quarter horses, but hasn’t had horses there for 5 years or so.

Both of my horses are thoroughbreds, and both will kick dogs. The older mare puts up with nothing, and my 3 yrold is… well a 3 yrold.

Mother in law has an old, completely senile husky, a spoiled rotten pomeranian, and another spoiled papillion. My dogs know to keep away from the horses, but my dogs are also big enough that a kick won’t do much to them. Hers would be killed from one small cowkick.

Currently there is plenty of room for them to run under the fence. I could pretty easily run another electric wire along the bottom… but I’m not sure mother in law would appreciate he babies being shocked in their own yard.

I have pretty big string of chain link fencing. I could run it around the horse field on the outside maybe? Not sure I really want my horses getting hung up in chain link either.

Ideas? Cheap, safe for both little dogs and big horses?

[SugarCubes]

Friends of mine that have a mini had to get creative because he was small enough to fit under their three-rail fencing. They put up that orange construction mesh, it’s plastic so if a horse were to get hung up it would easily break (although I’m pretty sure the holes are way too small for a hoof to even fit through), but it will keep the small dogs out, and it’s very inexpensive. I feel like I’ve seen big rolls of it sold at Lowes…

I would be worried about a hoof getting caught in the chain link. You could also explain to MIL that the dogs learning to stay out of the field by getting shocked a couple of times sure beats them getting kicked in the head! Maybe you’ll get lucky and they’ll be scared of your horses!

[SuckerForHorses]

[QUOTE=aAefor![](e;8657906]
I’m moving my horses onto my mother in law’s farm. It’s an old two stall barn with a big field the fence is wooden posts with electric wire. The field is right next to mother in laws house. She used to have old quarter horses, but hasn’t had horses there for 5 years or so.

Both of my horses are thoroughbreds, and both will kick dogs. The older mare puts up with nothing, and my 3 yrold is… well a 3 yrold.

Mother in law has an old, completely senile husky, a spoiled rotten pomeranian, and another spoiled papillion. My dogs know to keep away from the horses, but my dogs are also big enough that a kick won’t do much to them. Hers would be killed from one small cowkick.

Currently there is plenty of room for them to run under the fence. I could pretty easily run another electric wire along the bottom… but I’m not sure mother in law would appreciate he babies being shocked in their own yard.

I have pretty big string of chain link fencing. I could run it around the horse field on the outside maybe? Not sure I really want my horses getting hung up in chain link either.

Ideas? Cheap, safe for both little dogs and big horses?[/QUOTE]

1. The size of your dog has nothing to do with how badly injured it can be from a kick. My cattle dog sustained an open skull fracture when he was kicked by my QH. He survived - barely - and I’m $5000 poorer as a result. He no longer is allowed off-leash anywhere near a horse.

[IMG]http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff2/agonyaw/RustyFracture5-4-2013/RustyInjury5-4-2013_zpsa3705de2.jpg)

[IMG]http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff2/agonyaw/RustyFracture5-4-2013/RustyAfterSurgery5-7-20132_zps3948c652.jpg)

2. Getting a little shock is better than getting killed. I would just point out that it’s for their own safety and is a better outcome than the other. If her dogs would respect a single wire electric down where they would be sneaking under that is the cheapest option, as well as pretty safe for the horses. I agree chain link is not the way to go.

SugarCubes suggestion about the snow fence is a good one as well. Cheap, won’t shock the dogs. Would they respect it?

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

My dogs won’t cross my horseguard bipolar. The each touched it once. That was 3 years ago.

My mini donkey won’t cross it either.

If the fence is hot and they all respect it, it only takes once. I would never use electric with a puppy and IDK if there is a safety issue in shocking a tiny dog, like a Pomeranian? That would be a concern for me.

If you do wire down low, I would put it on the outside. Don’t want a horse to get a leg over it.

What about running 2x4" welded wire along the outside, so the horses are still contained by electric, this is just for the dogs. Cheap and easy. You can even get it black coated and it basically disappears from your eye then.

Any determined dog could go under welded wire, snow fence, etc. with a few minutes.

[Parrs_Gold_Bar]

Electric. 100%. MIL will need to get over it. My horse will play dirty with dogs if a human isn’t present, we strung electric about 10" above the ground. This also gave us peace of mind in knowing coyotes, etc were less likely to get in.

I feel like a dog could push under a snow fence unless it’s fastened to the ground at ridiculously close intervals.

[horsepoor]

I also would go with a low electric wire, on the outside. The dogs will get shocked, yes, but just once in all likelihood. After that, they will respect it and stay out. Unless the one is so senile that he continually will get into it - then, I’m not sure what to suggest! I had some neighbor dogs that would come into the pasture when we first moved horses home, and a line down the outside was all it took to teach them to stay out.

[Foxtrot_s]

We put an electric wire (the thicker, white, rope-style) under the bottom rail of our board paddock, but to keep our Boxer puppy IN our property. Works like a charm.
Anything else she would have wriggled under or through. She’s bigger now and does not go near it. Keep the weeds off it, though. They learn very quickly indeed.

[csaper58]

Will grass grow tall enough to disable E-wire?

Make sure who ever weed wacks the fence is aware.

I saw that plastic fence at Lowes in green.

Or, put a Burro in the pasture for a week before you bring the horses home.

[susanne]

We installed hot wire top and bottom of our perimeter fence to keep our Great Pyrenees at home (the breed invariably thinks the surrounding 10,000 acres is their territory). We already had it inside our corrals, but we also added a line at the outside bottom to keep her away from the horses.

She touched the hotwire a couple of times, which resulted in heart-breaking shrieks, but now she is a true believer and never challenges any fence.

Let your mother-in-law know that this is for her dogs’ well-being. Hooves can be very dangerous. Norah loves her horses and is very serious about protecting them – from the other side of the fence.

[GoodTimes]

Yup a strand of electric. I wouldn’t have it too powerful since the dogs are small, if they don’t respect it then turn it up a little.
Snow fence is pretty unsightly and a determined dog would probably be able to get past it quite easily.

[crosscreeksh]

I’m all for electric, but with the really small dogs I’d worry about the jolt of the electric fence on small bodies in wet grass and the senile dog might not be clever enough to back up. JMO…I’d be more inclined to go with the vinyl fence or even welded wire mesh…you’d only need it to be about 18 to 24 inches high…just enough to stop them. I worry about dogs getting kicked or squashed…no matter how obnoxious they might be!!

[susanne]

If you or your MIL are opposed to the hotwire, I agree with crosscreeksh’s suggestion of welded wire, but I would make certain it is tight and clear to the ground – you could even bury the bottom so nobody could push through or under. I’m afraid the vinyl fencing would be too easy to get under.