My horses are easy on fences, partly because I use electric wire top and bottom. No one stands on a gate if they get shocked when they do it. Its a pain to do up every time you turn out, but worth it.
I’m leaning toward the mesh for looks, but I’ll see what the price difference is.
Thanks for all your replies.
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I have the combo gates from Behlen, with mesh on the bottom. Keeps the burritos in, keeps dogs out (safer for them since one of my horses hates dogs…).
The mesh gates are more expensive at TSC. I use the tube gates and they’ve lasted pretty good for 17 years.
This is why I now fence with electric tape and a top board. No more heads and hooves going through fencing or gates, or gates being destroyed. All my gates are set up so that I can run a strand of tape across the front to deter any horse who seems to want to touch it. I have metal tube gates in most places, with a few mesh gates in the small livestock areas.
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We have some of these gates and they are wonderful and very safe.
We saw some of those at a livestock trade show display this year. They are definitely WAY better quality and much sturdier than anything at TSC!
I prefer the tube gates, and add my own 2x4" wire mesh if needed. I have seen the welding pop loose multiple times on the TSC mesh gates; my neighbor has them and almost every gate is held back together with zip ties on the mesh. Her horses are not abusive to the gates, either-- just swinging loose in the wind, the gate bangs against a fence post and the flex of the metal pipe can weaken the cheap welds holding the mesh on. As the mesh loses its welds, the frame of the gate becomes less stable (not having the traditional 5 bars for support).
I have an extra roll of 2x4" wire mesh fence. I unroll a section the size of the regular pipe gate, cut to fit, and use zip ties to fasten it securely to each bar. Very useful for perimeter gates to keep loose dogs out, and for horses who paw and stick their feet through regular bars or “cattle-sized” mesh gates.
I like the metal mesh (sturdy, not bendable mesh). they don’t paw it and bend it. And if you have one that turns tail and bucks (like a baby horse for example) you can get behind it for safety.
@ejm thank you for the Frey’s recommendation. They are pretty close to me and fit the bill for several items if been looking for.
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I have 2" pipe gates that have held up well. Even if a horse paws they can easily pull their foot/leg back out without getting hung up. If I have any issues with horses messing with gates (or looking like they will go over them) then the hot wire gets strung up. I’ve had hot wire on a couple of gates over different periods of time. None at this point now.
I like pipe with mesh…as others mentioned, it keeps our tiny dog out of the corrals as well as keeping horses in. With any gate (and fence), we always use hotwire. I have one large mini who wedges his hooves into 2x4 mesh and who once got his head stuck in a pipe gate, another mini gelding who can work his way out of most gates, a mini colt who can find the weak point in any fence, and a Shetland mare who panics if her boyfriends get out. Thus, good electric fencing is a necessity.
Mesh gates from TSC are crappy and bend/break easily. I prefer the heavy duty tube gates.
