Fencing and cattle

[morgansnmind]

We are moving and I have to fence in this pasture before I can move my horse and pony. Currently the whole thing is used for 6-7cows so all the neighbors that own the lots can get agricultural tax discounts . What kind of fencing do I need to keep cows separated from my horses? I will need to add electric for the board fencing and take off the barb wire. My big girl knows her size and pushes fences right over so either way electric is a must.

I have a whole roll of no climb fence but I’ve learned it’s a pain in the butt to keep weeds from growing on it though I like that it keeps out dogs.

This place is really downsizing for me (I currently have almost 10acres) . The horses will only have 1.5 acres ( we have a total of 5acres) but they are easy keepers and really shouldn’t be on much grass and I have a hard time keeping up with it. There are a lot of other upsides that outweigh the downsizing.

[trubandloki]

Confused (not that it really matters for the answer), you bought a place but are going to keep the existing cows in the pasture?

If you are going electric you might as well make your interior fencing just electric.

[morgansnmind]

Sorry I didn’t explain that well.
The cows are owned by one neighbor but they use all the other neighbors property to graze on. I have to fence them out . So the cows will be on the right side and my horses on the left.

So cows will respect electric? So I could use horseguard down the side?

[B-burg_Dressage]

Cows definitely respect electric. Our neighbor runs a big herd on 80+ acres across the road. One measly strand of electric wire. Only time they come out is when a deer takes it down.

[OnAMission]

Yep, electric will keep everyone on their respective sides.

[EssexFells]

It does depend on whether the grass is greener. If the cattle fields are overgrazed, they’ll get more and more bold about getting over to your side of the fence. But sounds like these cattle are just tax tokens and have plenty of grazing space, so probably not a big issue.

[clanter]

It does depend on whether the grass is greener.

we have one fence line that is shared with a neighbor who has kept cattle … we have barbed wire on the cattle side with field fencing. We have electric on our side where the horses are.

For a period we leased that pasture so ran an electric fence to keep the horses off the barb wire

[OzarksRider]

Yes, absolutely cattle will respect electric fence. We used to have all barbed wire, but the cows kept stretching it or breaking it and the calves kept crawling under it. The final straw was when my horse went hooning around the field so fast he couldn’t stop when he came to the fence, so he jumped. He snagged his hind legs over the cannon bones and shredded the skin to ribbons. Thankfully only cosmetic damage, but the barbed wire had to go.

We put up a new fence with 4 strands of electric coated high tensile wire (Kencove Hotcote, but other manufacturers make a similar product). It’s much safer for the horses and it keeps the cattle where they belong. We have cows, calves, and 2 very large bulls, and none of them challenge the fence. They zapped themselves one time and never touched it again.

[candyappy]

@morgansnmind

So cows will respect electric? So I could use horseguard down the side?

Many people contain their cows with a single strand of good, hot electric fencing. All you need to do is put a couple strands on the outside of your fence and keep it hot.

If the owner is in the habit of not keeping adequate feed out for his cows all year long they will come knocking. Keep it hot 24/7.

[moonlitoaksranch]

It depends on the type of electric fence. Electric tape is worthless with cattle. A single strand will work only if the cattle are used to it and it’s a large gauge wire with a good, strong, shock. We raise cattle and use a stronger electric for cattle than we would ever use for horses.

Some type of physical barrier will slow them down enough to respect electric, if you want to use horse type electric fencing. For a small acreage, I would go with a nice looking, horse safe fence and add a hot wire, if necessary. Also keep in mind that mama cows will lose their mind over calves that can duck under electric fencing. Fence the calves out and the horses in is probably the best strategy.