No-climb in 4' with a flexrail top or 5' with coated hot top?

[TheJenners]

I have time and options to figure this out, but am torn on what I want for aesthetics and purpose against cost.

Right now the horses are at a facility with 4’ non-climb and a top rail of 5’’ flexrail (Centaur or Ramm).

I have three paddocks I need to fence. Wooden posts are in. Two paddocks share a fenceline, which I plan on separating with four strands of coated hot wire. Neither of my current horses are leaners, but with an eye to the future, I realize someone may be and so I want something on the top to keep the no-climb from being bent. I also want to keep them secure and keep critters out, especially the paddock for the mini-donkeys. Centaur does have a hot rail option, but Ramm is much more budget friendly.

So I’m considering the 5’ fence with a strand of coated hot wire along the top, or a 4’ fence with a “board” of flexrail on the top. Yes I understand these are different in that one option will be potentially hot and the other cannot be unless I go with Centaur. I am going to need to fence about 1800’ of fenceline, not including the shared fenceline. Other than basic numbers with a calculator, which does COTH like and why?

[goodhors]

You will never be sorry you fence is “too high” in keeping others out of your fields. Yes it cost more, but being better secured gives you peace of mind about your livestock safety.

[Simkie]

We did 4’ with flex rail and a line of hot. LOVED that fence. ​I really wanted a sight board for my idiot horses. Horses stayed OFF of it and had no trouble seeing it. It also kept deer and other wildlife out (no doubt they could have come in over it, but it was easier for them to just go around our place.)

[poltroon]

I think as long as the final fence is 5’ it won’t need to be hot. The height is very helpful in keeping the horses from leaning on it.

They do like to scratch their butts on the wire, and so you might end up wanting to add a strand of electric mid-height so they don’t do that. That can be done easily with inexpensive tape after the fact.

[fordtraktor]

Also have you gotten a specific quote from Centsur and Ramm? When I did my fence it actually turned out to only be a couple hundred different for my $8500 materials order. I went with Centaur because I liked the product feel a bit better and I knew it held up well on my family’s place. Make sure you get a full quote (fence and all attachment things) before deciding.

in your situation I would likely do the 4’ with either white lightning or hot rail on top. Unless you have stallions or adamant fence jumpers.

[fordtraktor]

Forgot to mention, shipping costs play a huge role. You can get many Centaur products through Home Depot, shipped to store for free. That can be an enormous cost savings.

[TheJenners]

I’ve heard the HD Centaur is lower-quality?

I looked and got prices online, I didn’t call.

[neversaynever]

We have paddocks with 4 foot no climb and went with 2" electric tape on top. We had the flex rail at first but they started to reach over and bend the wire. We also put the tape on top of the coated wire around the pastures for a sight line.

[fordtraktor]

@TheJenners

I’ve heard the HD Centaur is lower-quality?

I looked and got prices online, I didn’t call.

the fittings are exactly the same. The 5 inch flex fence they sell appears to be the same one I got. I didn’t buy from there but I have bought extra fittings and there is no difference in quality between the ones I ordered from Centaur and the ones from Home Depot. Price was accurate and I got the supplies much faster.

the reason why you want to have them quote it out is so they can help you with exactly the end brackets/tensioners/etc so you prices are as “total cost” as possible. My dealer did a phenomenal job and was spot on…I needed a few more end brackets because I decided to add a little “rehab” paddock with my extra from the last roll.

[TheJenners]

Ahhhhh. Did you also price out Ramm? What sort of fence did you do?

[fordtraktor]

@TheJenners

Ahhhhh. Did you also price out Ramm? What sort of fence did you do?

Yes, the estimates were about the same. The ramm was around $500 less expensive total, but I liked the feel of the Centaur better and I had experience with it so I went with it. It might be wildly different for you – my farm has a lot of gates so the actual fittings/termination brackets played a huge role in my overall pricing.

If you haven’t gotten samples yet, the companies will send them to you so you can put hands on the product.

I really like the idea of the Hotrail but decided against it because if there was an issue, I’d have so much invested in the 3 rails themselves. I ended up doing 3 rails of plain 5 inch Centaur HTP, with two lines of White Lightning coated wire (on top and between the top and middle rails). I am extremely happy with it. I did price out 3 lines of the Hotrail only as well, and the cost was about the same as my 3 HTP and 2 white lightning. I was surprised by that but still ended up going with the other because I just couldn’t find people with experience using the hotrail and it was a BIG investment!

I think the Hotrail would be great in your installation – as a sight rail and then also to have the electric component. but I haven’t used it myself.

[SkipHiLad4me]

I haven’t purchased yet but I’m in the same boat as you! Will have about 2000’ of fence line not including the pasture dividers. My current plan is to go with 4’ of mesh topped with either a Ramm flex rail or the Centaur Hot Rail on top. If I go with the Ramm rail, I’m planning to put a single strand of electric about mid-way of the fence to help keep them off. I haven’t been able to find much info on how people like the Centaur Hot Rail so I’m a bit undecided on which way to go. Plus I could see my minis using the mesh as a scratching post so I might want to have the hotwire down low to keep them off

[WantOut]

I’m thankful that my mini donks love to roll, so they stay off my fence!

I don’t have a lot of gates, the the donks paddock will be broken by two gates and the barn itself, but the horse paddocks have one gate each. Thanks for the replies!

[TheJenners]

Thankfully the burritos love to roll and roll about 56 times a day, so they leave the fence alone

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

I have 4’ no-climb. I raised it up off the ground on purpose. It’s not high enough for a dog, but high enough for me to mow the vines down under. I figured if a coyote or something really wanted to get under the fence, it was going to get under the fence either way. YMMV. I did add hot tape to prevent butt rubbing on the fence. I’m happy with how I did it.

[clanter]

we went with 5 foot on the perimeter fencing, some V-mesh some is no climb (twisted 2by4)… we included a steel cable in the fence lines at butt height to keep them from distorting the fences

Had to go 5 ft as a few of the horses could easily clear four foot, one was jumping the paddock fence to get in with another horse he decided was his favorite.

[Fairview_Horse_Cente]

4’ no climb with an oak board on top. Almost no maintenance needed for 30-40 years.