Repairing rusty pipe corrals - ANYONE have experience with this? Please?

[Risk-Averse_Rider]

I have a pipe corral / mare motel that needs to be repaired. Among the things that need to be repaired are a number of posts that are rusted at and below ground level. Someone contacted me and sent this picture saying this is how he does his repairs.

My gut response was, “The horses are going to hurt themselves on that!”

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[Risk-Averse_Rider]

Shamelessly bumping this up - surely I can’t be the only person here who has ever had to have a rusty pipe corral repaired…

[Miss_Motivation]

Pipe fencing has a limited lifespan, just like everything else that comes into contact with horses!

Metal in contact with the ground, especially where urine, manure, or standing water get involved, will eventually rust out, even if the corrals are heavy galvanized material to start with.

It looks like the fencing in the photo is actually steel uprights with sucker rod or similar cross pieces welded to the uprights, with V mesh wire attached. That is very common livestock fencing in Texas, Oklahoma, etc. Not so common other places. It is tough and the materials sometimes are a deal because they are surplus from the oilfield business.

The concrete round footing in the photo doesn’t look like a bad option, depending on how large the pens are… and how big that chunk of concrete really is.

But if the upright posts are what is rotten, which it looks like may be the issue, then you just need to replace them. Which might mean having to un-weld all the cross rails too, then re-attach them. We found that sucker rod was actually a hassle because it took some special kind of welding for the welds to hold. The sucker rod (solid metal rod, not hollow, that goes down an oil well) was somehow brittle, and the welds would break after awhile if the horses bounced on it.

And be sure to use post caps on all fenceposts so they don’t get rainwater in them and rust from the inside-out! You can also drill a drain hole near the concrete level on fence posts to let water that is already inside out… otherwise it takes its time to eat its way out… which is what rots the post.

For those that may read and have other kinds of pipe fencing, I’ll share my experience with standard pipe corrals, which are common out west and pretty good fencing. These suggestions would also apply to livestock panels that pin together for corrals and round pens.

Some options:
-have a welder replace the bottom rails.
-take the corrals apart and flip the rusted section to the top, if it’s not too nasty for the horses to be around
-elevate the damaged part of the fencing by sliding it higher up the upright posts, if the panels are still sound but just ugly and getting rough.
-elevate still-useable panels on railroad tie or concrete footings
-replace the damaged panels

The last option is the most likely, if the panels are just worn out and damaged. You can probably get some money for them on Craigslist or FB Marketplace because someone with welding skills may want to repair/replace them.

[hosspuller]

Encasing the bottom in concrete is exactly how a damaged metal building column was repaired for me. Engineered drawings and all. The concrete footing is nothing but a rock in the pasture. If it makes you feel more confident, have them round the edges of the footing. That can be done after it’s poured, when the concrete is still soft yet holds its shape.

[Bluey]

You can round up the top of the concrete ball to a few inches from the post, so if a horse hits it, it won’t get a cut from it.

Posts are better with caps, but if they don’t have any, the water is supposed to be absorbed by the dirt at the bottom the pipe sits on.
Those pipes don’t stand in concrete, they are a few inches lower than the concrete ball that encloses them in the hole.
No water should stand inside them for long, not long enough to rust them.

Using heavy wall pipe for post, don’t use tubing, that is not suitable for posts.
Heavy wall pipe, generally 2 7/8" to 4 1/2" is what we use for pipe posts.
We have some that is close to 100 years old that is still just fine.
Wood doesn’t last here, termites and dry rot makes all but heavily treated or cedar posts not last but some years.
That is why most here use metal posts for fences.
Those that don’t do when they have to replace posts.
Wish I could find a picture of our old sheet metal windbreak on railroad ties.
Some ties were still holding it up.
Some between them were still attached but a good foot off the ground, termites ate that high, funny looking.

[clanter]

Using heavy wall pipe for post, don’t use tubing, that is not suitable for posts.
Heavy wall pipe, generally 2 7/8" to 4 1/2" is what we use for pipe posts.
We have some that is close to 100 years old that is still just fine.

coated with red oxide paint the drill stem posts will be here for a very long time

When setting the posts in concrete, if the post is lifted allowing concrete to get under the post to fully encase it the fence line should be ground by attaching a ground cable that is connected to a ground rod. The work we did for the government required grounding the fences every 500 feet or if there was a turn in the fence line.

I have seen lightening strike a steel fence such as OP’s and a horse that was in a corral standing next to the fence at least 700 feet from the strike fell to the ground

as for the V Mesh fencing… there is a lot of it around here that was installed in the 1950s and still shows no sign of deterioration

[SCF01]

@clanter

coated with red oxide paint the drill stem posts will be here for a very long time

When setting the posts in concrete, if the post is lifted allowing concrete to get under the post to fully encase it the fence line should be ground by attaching a ground cable that is connected to a ground rod. The work we did for the government required grounding the fences every 500 feet or if there was a turn in the fence line.

I have seen lightening strike a steel fence such as OP’s and a horse that was in a corral standing next to the fence at least 700 feet from the strike fell to the ground

as for the V Mesh fencing… there is a lot of it around here that was installed in the 1950s and still shows no sign of deterioration

This is interesting. Ive never considered having to ground the pipe fence. Makes sense though.

[Bluey]

@SCF01

This is interesting. Ive never considered having to ground the pipe fence. Makes sense though.

It will be grounded if the bottom of metal posts are in the ground, which they should be, as most fence builders put the post in first, level it with a little dirt around it so it stands, or hammer them down a bit and then pour the concrete.
When we pull any such posts, they always have some pipe sticking out the bottom end of the concrete chunk they were set with.

Now, in specialty fences, some pour the concrete footing and as they do insert the posts in the concrete, as for residential and chain link enclosures.
That is a different kind of fence than standard rural pipe fences.

[SCF01]

@Bluey

It will be grounded if the bottom of metal posts are in the ground, which they should be, as most fence builders put the post in first, level it with a little dirt around it so it stands, or hammer them down a bit and then pour the concrete.
When we pull any such posts, they always have some pipe sticking out the bottom end of the concrete chunk they were set with.

Now, in specialty fences, some pour the concrete footing and as they do insert the posts in the concrete, as for residential and chain link enclosures.
That is a different kind of fence than standard rural pipe fences.

Thanks

[Risk-Averse_Rider]

Thanks for all the replies - the photo I shared is something a fence repair person sent to me; it’s not my fencing.

This is not terribly great photo of my fencing, but it is gasp RAINING here today in AZ, so I’m not brave enough to venture out more than ;necessary.

I will try to get better photos tomorrow if there is a break in the weather. (Seriously, every time I open the door to see if it has actually stopped raining, that triggers another deluge.)

You can kind of see on the left that the bottoms of the post have rusted. In some cases (not in this photo), the post has rusted enough that it’s no longer buried in the dirt. That section in front of the Arab has a gate at the bottom, and the gate is no longer latchable because the end of the fence has sunk into the ground. (It’s currently secured with a dog collar…)

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[Bluey]

Not familiar with square tubing for fence posts.
Those come in different gauges.
We use that to frame, like making stalls and generally use 12 or no less than 14 g.
Any less is too light to stand up to much horse play.
If it is light metal, well, that is why it rusted, used there.

You could possibly pound a steel T-post on the outside, next to the posts that are rusted out, to hold that fence up a bit longer?
Or make a more permanent repair with a good pipe post between posts, then wire it to the existing fence.

[Simkie]

FWIW, I boarded and worked at a barn with pipe fencing, and it had concrete footers in the runs and pens like what you show in your first post. I assumed they were original? Not one horse ever got hurt on those, and it was a large operation.

The sky is beautiful in the pic of your fencing!

[Risk-Averse_Rider]

@Bluey

Not familiar with square tubing for fence posts.

The square posts are holding up the roof of the mare motel. All the regular fence posts are round.