# Sheep & horse fence & barn...



## secuono (Apr 17, 2011)

So, getting a paint mare, two babydoll ewes and a ram. Might be getting a mini horse to keep the mare company. On 4 acres, one side of the fence is barbed wire, 4-5 strands, 4ft height or so.
Rest is field fencing. Barn is an old feeding barn for cows. 
Anything about that I need to worry over?


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## patandchickens (Apr 17, 2011)

Barb wire + horses = vet bills or knacker's truck.  Strongly suggest either entirely removing barbwire and replacing with something safer (even if just field fencing with one or two hotwires added on standoff insulators); or putting a very well-constructed and VISIBLE electric fence about 6-10' inside of the barbwire fence.

Field fencing will be vastly more horse- and stockproof if you add one or two lines of hotwire to that too. Install electric fence properly and test regularly.

If some of the posts are T-posts, it is a very worthwhile investment to get those plastic mushroom-shaped t-post caps for them. Again, to avoid exciting vet bills.

Not sure about putting a ram in with horse(s). I suppose it depends on the particular ram, and on the particular horse(s), and on the time of year. I see a considerable potential for injured horses someday, and/or ram injured in retaliation; but, who knows. The couple times my ram escaped into my horse paddock, the horses chased him around pretty good (elderly TB, elderly half-Lipp, middle-aged TB). OTOH that was not breeding season and he did not have 'girls' to protect against all comers.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat


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## secuono (Apr 17, 2011)

The one side of fencing is a huge horse farm/boarding. I cannot take it down or mess with it.


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## patandchickens (Apr 17, 2011)

Is that the barbwire side? Then you may wish to put some posts at least 6' or so inside that fenceline, and run five or six lines of electric tape or rope on them. (Fewer if it were just horses, but b/c of your sheep you'll need more)

Pat


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## secuono (Apr 17, 2011)

Yes, the barbed wire side. I'll check it over again to post if it's just one top line of barbs or what.


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## secuono (Apr 18, 2011)

6 lines of all barbed wire.


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## carolinagirl (Apr 22, 2011)

you should plan on running a new fence inside the barbed wire one.  Horses can get cut up bad on barb wired and sheep won't stay in it....their wool protects them from the barbs and they will just push right through it.


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## secuono (Apr 22, 2011)

I've always read that sheep do not challenge fences like goats, one of two reasons I went with sheep and not goats. I've also read that sheep eat grasses while goats will eat trees, bushes, everything.


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## patandchickens (Apr 23, 2011)

secuono said:
			
		

> I've always read that sheep do not challenge fences like goats, one of two reasons I went with sheep and not goats. I've also read that sheep eat grasses while goats will eat trees, bushes, everything.


My sheep have not read those books. (I think this is true of many sheep, in fact).

My sheep will browse when available -- in particular they are h*ll on any kind of shrubs. Also they like broadleaf weeds at least as much as grass. They are not the fondest of goldenrod however, for some reason, maybe it tastes weird).

And if my sheep decide that the grass is greener on the other side, although they don't climb/jump fences the way goats do, they will just lower their heads and bulldoze on through til they pop out the other side from underneath or between strands of electric.

(That has actually been the hardest thing for me to learn since getting sheep, in fact -- that their fencing requirements are SO different than horses. Sheep will repeatedly headbutt a wire mesh or chainlink fence til there is enough slack at the bottom that they can get their nosie under just a little bit, and then they push and just keep pushing and are out. A very very low rail, and/or very low hotwire (but that's a nuisance to maintain, and a little bit of a hazard in the horse pastures), seem to be the solution.)

I would urge you to take what you read in books with a big grain of salt, for ANY kind of livestock 

Good luck, have fun,

Pat


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## secuono (Apr 25, 2011)

Well, we don't have any hedges, just all sorts of pretty grass and weeds along with a few mature trees. As long as they don't eat my Willow trees I'll be adding, it's fine. 
Most of the field is field fencing and most of the 6 strand wire is either on our 'yard' section or behind a second fence where and easement is. I'm trying to remember what the 2nd fence is made of, I want to say it's field fencing, but I can't be sure. Either way, I'll be putting up no climb fencing where it's missing in the 2nd fence line and the missing back 'yard' line. So in the end, they should never end up near the barbed fence. 

Pics below of the yard. Mainly showing the enclosed left side of barn, the right side opens to the open field. 

1st, from the house. Barn and silos. Red is where I need to add/fix field fencing. Yellow is where a gate needs to be put up. Blue is the 2nd fence line. Part of the blue is missing and needs to be fixed. Left of the blue you can see a small pine tree, that is where the barbed fence is. 







2nd, Far back inside the small paddock that the barn's left opens to. Red is where fencing is needed or needs to be fixed. Blue is where it is, the 2nd inner fence. You can see a gate that opens to the big area, needs fixing, but won't actually be used. You can also see on the far left the barbed fence. 





3rd, inside the paddock facing the barn. Yellow is a gate, it's open right now. Sorry, I used purple this time to show where the field fencing is/needs fixing. 





Last is a drawing aerial view.


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## secuono (Nov 15, 2014)

Wow, have things changed in such a short period of time!
Everything is GREEN now that I own it, never as dead and dirt-filled, even in the dead of winter! 
That last pic with the yellow gate is weird, since the posts are actually in front of that big tree and go straight down to where I'm holding the camera in the center of the picture. Not sure what kind of fun games my camera was playing with me. Sure would be nice if the fence was up by the trees instead...


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