Wire fence panels

[vineyridge]

I’m getting too old to dig post hole manually and pull/stretch wire.

So I’ve been looking at wire fence panels. They come in 16’ lengths and many configurations. I know that 4x4 squares are dangerous. And 2x4 or 4x2 squares cost 3 times as much as the 4x4s.

I found a hybrid that was 4x2 for the two bottom rows, and 4x4 above that, but IMO that’s still not safe.

Do they make any other hybrids that are say 4x2 for the bottom 2 feet or so and then 4x4 above that? Seems to me that configuration would be safe for horses.

What say y’all?

[poltroon]

I think you’re better off hiring out installing the no-climb type wire than using these panels, or switching to a different type of fence like the flexrail or horseguard. They’re handy for small spaces, but not terribly cost effective for long stretches.

The 4x4 up high wouldn’t thrill me because a kicking horse can still send a foot through it.

[vineyridge]

What I’m looking for is something to fill a couple of gaps in an old wire fence. It wouldn’t be meant as permanent, because I’m looking at replacing that whole run with Horseguard. I was thinking that I could use three T-posts per panel and tie the panel to the post with wire clips. If that would get me through the winter, the HG fence would come in the spring.

I’m financially challenged, and all of your suggestions are too expensive for me for the whole pasture run. It would be easy to remove the panels and reuse them somewhere else once the HG goes in.

[ReSomething]

Well, we’ve got a chunk of cattle panel blocking off the tractorway that was meant to be a short term fix and it’s been there for three years now. Just like you say, a couple of t-posts etc.

We have pig panel, that’s the tight stuff, but they are only two or so feet tall and more trouble than they are worth.
It keeps the deer from short cutting through there and the horses don’t mess with it at all, but it’s like anything, for years you can have a pile of junk in the pasture and nothing happens, and then a horse injures itself horribly on some object that you can’t find.
I did use it, no horseshoes here, and no horses on the other side, so far so good, knock on wood.

[poltroon]

For a couple of gaps as a fix it, especially in a larger pasture or one with more mellow horses, it makes a lot more sense. An option to consider in terms of the cost is to double up two panels and stagger or line a panel with some other smaller mesh to get the spacing you want. I did the stagger thing to make cattle panels a little better for pesky sheep and sneaky chickens. It’s not ideal or the most cost effective but it worked with what I had on hand.

Pipe panels are more but are also worth considering as reusable and sturdy and nice to work with.

[mht]

I use cattle panels as temporary fixes. Two of them have been up for probably three years, without problems. Wired to T-posts.

[moving_to_dc]

[QUOTE=vineyridge;8342208]
…I was thinking that I could use three T-posts per panel and tie the panel to the post with wire clips…[/QUOTE]

Standard wire clips are somewhat of a PITA to use on cattle/hog/welded wire panels. The gauge of the panels is big enough that most wire clips do not want to reach around easily. You are better off buying a small roll (the little $20-ish rolls) of a very heavy gauge galvanized - aluminum - steel wire and using short pieces of it to wrap around the post & panel to secure them.

[Hermein]

I had 10 acres fenced with them, with hot wire top and bottom–we moved about four years ago and at that point they’d been up six years–no problems, what-so-ever. OTOH, where we live now has non-climb around all the perimeter (5 acres). It has rusted, has broken wires, sags, etc, and it was stretched when it was put in, also about 10 years ago.

Probably, it depends upon your horses.

You can, if you’re worried about hooves getting caught, run a fairly heavy gauge wire, zig-zagging from corner opening to corner opening* up as high as you think necessary. Or, you can buy pig panels and fasten them to the bottom of your combination panels.

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