Perimeter Fencing - attractive and functional

[Phaxxton]

We are in the process of relocating from the Charlotte area to the Triangle area, and we are in contract to purchase a small farm. Our new farm is actually a fixer-upper, so I anticipate a lot of posts about it. :lol:

On our current (larger) farm, we installed Electrobraid fencing, and we could not be happier with it. We do not have any pastures right at the road, however. We need to install all of the fencing for our new farm, and one of the pastures is at the front of the property, bordering the road. It isn’t a busy road, but it’s still the road. I’m feeling really indecisive about what type of fencing to install in that front pasture. I want the fencing to be both functional and attractive, but considering we also gutting the barn and remodeling the house, my budget isn’t exactly unlimited.

I’ll likely be using Electrobraid for the rest of the paddocks, and I am still considering using it for the front pasture (5’ high and 4 strands). I’m a bit concerned about its visibility, though. I’m also considering Centaur fencing, as I love the look. We actually do have Centaur fencing in one of our paddocks on our current farm, and it has held up great. I can also put an Electrobraid strand inside the fence to keep the horses off it. I’ve also heard that Centaur makes a fence with a built in electric strand on the top. Does anyone have white Centaur fencing? I would love to do it in white Centaur, but I am worried that it will get really dingy and dirty over time. I’m also unsure how expensive the Centaur fencing will get.

I have also considered no-climb fencing because I like that it could also contain the dogs. The dogs aren’t running around the pastures regularly, but I like the idea of having a whole-farm perimeter fence that could contain dogs and horses. I’m not sure how much I like the look of most no-climb installations, though. (I’m open to seeing pictures to change my mind because I’ve seen some nice ones!) I also am unsure of the maintenance, etc. I’ve considered doing both 3 or 4 strands of Centaur + no climb on the inside, but that would get really expensive.

I’ve pretty much ruled out split rail, PVC, wire, and electric tape fencing.

Thoughts? Experiences? Pictures of your fencing?

[Foxtrot_s]

You wouldn’t consider rail fencing for the front of the property next to a road, or where looks would count the most, and then not such attractive fencing elsewhere?

[Simkie]

I did no climb + top rail of centaur + a run of electrobraid for my perimeter. It looks quite nice and the horses stay away from it. It keeps the dogs in and other critters out. I dig it

If I were to do it again, I’d paint/stain the posts black and use the Centaur hot rail. Wanted to do both of those things this go round, but ran out of time on the painting and the fence guy had all sorts of excuses why we couldn’t use the hot rail.

We have four strands of electrobraid for the interior cross fencing. There are some places where I want to replace it with wood (where horses congregate and where gates swing back against the fence) but overall the fencing works quite well all the way around.

Oh, pictures. I have one around here somewhere. Let’s see. Ah.

http://s155.photobucket.com/user/simkie/media/House/2014-09-18144534_zps0ba7dafe.jpg.html?sort=3&o=32

Black electrobraid went above the rail.

[Phaxxton]

[QUOTE=Foxtrot’s;7972619]
You wouldn’t consider rail fencing for the front of the property next to a road, or where looks would count the most, and then not such attractive fencing elsewhere?[/QUOTE]

I would consider board fencing, but I prefer Centaur over that because IME it is a lot less maintenance. That’s why I ruled it out… more maintenance than cost, especially if you want a white or black fence instead of a natural wood color… Though, at this point, board fencing is officially back on the table. :lol:

I would not consider split rail fencing, though.

I’m usually a very decisive person… yet here I am making this fencing decision much harder than necessary!

Is board fencing much more expensive than Centaur type fencing? I know it’s less of a hassle to install because you don’t have to brace at gates, etc… I’ve had both types of fencing, but it was existing fencing, not something I had installed.

[Phaxxton]

@Simkie;7972626

Oh, pictures. I have one around here somewhere. Let’s see. Ah.

http://s155.photobucket.com/user/simkie/media/House/2014-09-18144534_zps0ba7dafe.jpg.html?sort=3&o=32

I think this looks quite nice! How have you found it maintenance-wise?

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

[QUOTE=Phaxxton;7973752]

Is board fencing much more expensive than Centaur type fencing? I know it’s less of a hassle to install because you don’t have to brace at gates, etc… I’ve had both types of fencing, but it was existing fencing, not something I had installed.[/QUOTE]

When I did the math and added in all the brackets, bracing, cement, etc. board fencing was cheaper. Even running hot on it. One thing that will influence the cost is how far apart you go with the flex rail (you can go up to 12’–I ran the numbers at 10’ vs. a little less than 8’ for board). Also how long of a run/how many braces do you need? Mine was curved and not that long, so that made a big difference.

It’s more maintenance though and in the long run, if you are painting or staining, I think the costs wash.

I’m still leaning towards board along the driveway and 5 strands of coated wire along the hwy. Maybe with one top flex-board or the 1" pony rail. But I have three months to decide and will probably change my mind 10 more times.

[Simkie]

[QUOTE=Phaxxton;7973755]
I think this looks quite nice! How have you found it maintenance-wise?[/QUOTE]

It went in about 5 month ago. Nothing needed so far

[Phaxxton]

[QUOTE=TrotTrotPumpkn;7974773]
When I did the math and added in all the brackets, bracing, cement, etc. board fencing was cheaper. Even running hot on it. One thing that will influence the cost is how far apart you go with the flex rail (you can go up to 12’–I ran the numbers at 10’ vs. a little less than 8’ for board). Also how long of a run/how many braces do you need? Mine was curved and not that long, so that made a big difference.

It’s more maintenance though and in the long run, if you are painting or staining, I think the costs wash.

I’m still leaning towards board along the driveway and 5 strands of coated wire along the hwy. Maybe with one top flex-board or the 1" pony rail. But I have three months to decide and will probably change my mind 10 more times.[/QUOTE]

Thank you so much! This is really helpful. I’m wondering if we might just do Electrobraid in the front. We did it on our current farm (5’ tall fence, 4 strands, white vinyl t-post covers with wood brace posts), and it’s held up beautifully with virtually zero maintenance. It actually looks quite nice and the horses respect it. I’m considering maybe doing 5 strands of Electrobraid in the front with white posts or all wood posts. It seems like the price is comparable to White Lightning, which was the other option I was considering. However, that’s an unknown to me, and I’ve been happy with the Electrobraid.

I, too, will probably change my mind ten times… and I don’t have as much time as you to decide. :lol:

[netg]

Since you asked for pictures, I’m sharing. I suspect this is outside of your “attractive” guidelines, as it was created for functionality, not looks. v-mesh on welded steel fencing has required zero maintenance since put in. There are times I would prefer multi-strand hot wire because animals can dig under it, but at the same time we don’t have to worry about power outages.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8561/16388709642_ef70cf7a92_o.png

[bdj]

4’ 2x4 no climb with an oak sight rail here (though this picture doesn’t show the actual “perimeter” of the property).
https://flic.kr/p/e2YT5w
Everyone who’s seen it thinks it looks very nice, and I suspect that much of that has to do with the fact that it was well installed (tight and straight). Haven’t had any maintenance issues with it in 3 years or so, and I very much like that it is safe for both dogs and pony.
Friends of mine have Centaur or Flex rail or one of those products instead of the board sight rail and have been very happy with it. (They did paint their fence posts black to match the Centaur rail… looks nice, just a little more work at the outset.)

[Mosey_2003]

No matter what the fence, sloppy installation will make it look worse. We have a guy I drive by occasionally that put his own vinyl four-rail in and it’s not level or straight at all, looks like absolute crap.

[DiamondJubilee]

We have used the electric braid and oak fencing. We also live on a busy road and decided to do the 2 paddocks that are close to the road in 3 board oak. We added the small electric rope on the inside of each board to keep the ponies off. We also sprayed the fencing black. It looks great, but it is an upkeep. The paint only really looks good for 2 years (starts to fade off of the posts, does not look horrible but my husband is a neat freak and a perfectionest lol!). We use a paint sprayer as we have TONS of fencing.
We did a combo on our back 4 acre paddock. The front and one of the sides of it is done in 3 board oak (this is where you would see the fencing - the front as you drive into the farm and the one side is visable from the road coming towards the farm) and we did the back and other side (against the tree lines) in 4 strand braded electric. It has worked really well for us and looks nice, but there is upkeep with the oak of course. We also spaced the posts on 8ft increments so we can always do oak later on if we want to (we did 8ft spacing for the oak - using 16ft boards - staggered, and did the electric on 24ft spans with tightners on each corner). I have tons of pictures but I’m sure you know what 3 board oak fencing and electric looks like
We did all the fencing ourselves so we saved money, but it took a lot of time. We used an auger and post pounder. We bought the paint in a large volume (205L barrel) and bought it on sale (under $500) which did all of our fencing and then some. We will have to respray it all this summer though…

[normandy_shores]

Our whole property is perimeter fenced with no climb. The paddocks are done in round rails. When we moved in, it was only 2 board, but we 3-boarded it. There are still 2 round rails along the perimeter when the horse fields are, just plain no climb everywhere else. I’ve added a strand of hot polywire to keep the horses off my wood fence… buggers.

[crosscreeksh]

I prefer No Climb on any road frontage. Electric…in most states…is considered “temporary fencing” for liability purposes.

[aabradley82]

I am the farm manager for an Equestrian team with 60 horses and we have Centaur Fencing every where, some new, (6 years old) some old (19 years old). The new stuff still looks good, haven’t had any problems with it. The older stuff contracts when it’s cold, sags when it’s hot, it’s faded and looks awful. Replacing broken fence posts are a nightmare! Splicing it together is awful and looks terrible. It is really expensive as well. I am not a fan. I personally wouldn’t install Centaur on my property simply due to what a pain it is to maintain once it has problems. Just my two cents. :no:

[davisne5]

Just joined the Forums and this is so helpful! We’re closing on our property in March and would like to have the construction trucks revving up at the gate when we sign. New indoor footing, new outdoor footing, new stall doors (possibly fronts), some renovation (tack room, lounge) and lots and lots of fencing. Interesting to hear that on this thread, Electrobraid is a yes and Centaur has one big no. Has anyone looked into this: http://www.derbyfence.com/horsefenceproducts.html. That’s the HDPE that looks like vinyl but is supposed to be much better and safer. Thanks to those who’ve posted photos.

[ejm]

One more vote for no-climb perimeter fences. We installed ours 17 or 18 years ago and it has held up really well. We used oak top boards and they are showing some wear and tear, mostly where the deer cross and knock them loose, but overall they have lasted extremely well.

The key to any wire fence is pulling it tight and bracing it properly. We live on a busy road and have had enough power outages over the years to make me very glad my horses have a “real” fence between them and the highway.

It also keeps stray dogs out as well as keeping your animals in.

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

[QUOTE=davisne5;8003499]
Just joined the Forums and this is so helpful! We’re closing on our property in March and would like to have the construction trucks revving up at the gate when we sign. New indoor footing, new outdoor footing, new stall doors (possibly fronts), some renovation (tack room, lounge) and lots and lots of fencing. Interesting to hear that on this thread, Electrobraid is a yes and Centaur has one big no. Has anyone looked into this: http://www.derbyfence.com/horsefenceproducts.html. That’s the HDPE that looks like vinyl but is supposed to be much better and safer. Thanks to those who’ve posted photos.[/QUOTE]

I am a no on electrobraid, fwiw. There are a lot of other posts about the individual products if you do a search. Anyway, what is the cost per foot of the Derby fence? It looks lovely, but I’m assuming it is going to be the most expensive?

FYI, I contacted them. Over $10 a foot for 3 board. Kind of what I had guessed. Very pretty!

[SouthernYankee]

http://instagram.com/p/mVrCuJi0uF/?modal=true

This is ours, 4 rail black Centaur 5’ tall. Absolutely love it and would put it up again. Works great without being hot for the horses, not so much the cows so we added 3 strands of coated hot wire in between the 5" rails.

[stb]

SouthernYankee, that’s a very pretty fence.