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Judy G. Thompson
New Member
Username: Judyt
Post Number: 1
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, Jun 28, 2005 - 5:58 pm: |   |
I am just now clearing my land and need some advice on fencing. I want to stay away from wood fencing if at all possible. I am very interested in the pvc/vinyl fencing. Anyone have any experience with these fences. I know that they are pricey, but in the long run, they appear to be a better value. Help!! |
Ann
Member
Username: Lilly
Post Number: 16
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, Jun 28, 2005 - 8:36 pm: | |
Just out of curiousity, why don't you like wood? Vinyl fencing is very expensive compared to wood. |
Sara Wolff
Member
Username: Mrose
Post Number: 757
Registered: 1-2000
| | Posted on Tuesday, Jun 28, 2005 - 9:14 pm: | |
I don't know where you live, but out here in the high desert west vinyl fencing doesn't stand up in spite of what the sales reps say. The sun makes it brittle. All the vinyl fences I've seen around here are falling apart. At one place, the fence looked good until a horse hit it and it shattered and stabbed the horse. I'd think the vinyl coated wood fencing might hold up better.
We use non-climb horse fencing on cedar posts topped by 2" galvanized pipe to keep it taught and to keep horses from bending it down at the top and bottom by leaning on it. |
Fran C
Member
Username: Canter
Post Number: 251
Registered: 1-2000
| | Posted on Wednesday, Jun 29, 2005 - 8:07 am: | |
The barn my horse is at uses vinyl fencing. It looks lovely, but I've noticed that the horses are constantly popping out (usually without breaking) horizontal boards as they try to reach the "greener" grass on the other side. Also, at this time of year when they get itchy, the horses choose to scratch the itches on the post caps, thus having a tendancy to pop those off as well. Seems I'm forever picking them up and putting them back. The owner has tried to screw them in, but a very determined and itchy horse can still dislodge it and once that happens, it does usually result in breakage.
At my previous boarding barn, they used some sort of wire fencing, where the holes were small enough that a hoof couldn't be caught in it, edged at the top with a wooden board (sorry I can't get more detailed than that). It wasn't nearly as picturesque as the vinyl fencing, but it required a lot less work to keep up. |
Angie Judson
Member
Username: Ajudson1
Post Number: 222
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, Jun 29, 2005 - 9:23 am: | |
I wanted the vinyl fencing also when we started looking into redoing all our fences. After hearing about the problems like Fran mentions above, plus the cost, we decided to go with the Horse Guard fence. There are pros and cons with all types, but this looks nice, is easy to maintain, and so far has held up as claimed. Had it for 3 yrs now, and just added more this summer.
Depending on what you want the fence for, pasture, arenas, and size of area to be fenced in, plus number of horses you have, you might want to go with some different fence materials for different areas.
I have the Horse Guard fence for a riding arena, but I don't have it electric. And I do worry about a rider, (like me) landing a fence post (t-post) even with the cover on it. Plus if a horse really wanted to, they could run thru this stuff. So here I'd like wood, with bigger posts. Or maybe vinyl at one level, the Horse Guard other levels. Another thing we've considered is the plastic mesh on the bottem to keep cats and dogs out when riding in there. With that as the fence you can just put one small strand of electric on top. Of course you need wood to attach the mesh to, and paint the wood.
Don't be afraid to mix and match, as long as you keep the colors the same, it looks good IMO. |
Ann
Member
Username: Dres
Post Number: 549
Registered: 10-2000
| | Posted on Wednesday, Jun 29, 2005 - 9:57 am: | |
love the look of the white vinyl fences NEW... but like all the above posts, have noticed that they don't age / hold up like the sales rep tells you...
We use Horse guard as well, and LOVE IT... when bringing a new horse to the property , we can easily add another fence line // that matches.. to separate the new guy till all are introduced and happy with each other.. and then take it down just as quickly and STORE the material easily till I need to add or separate again...
we also have it around the riding arena, not hot.. have never thought about hitting a covered T post, it will most likely hurt just the same as hitting a larger post.. 
On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with SPOTS.. |
Lori
Member
Username: Johnsonl
Post Number: 25
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, Jun 29, 2005 - 10:26 am: | |
The barn where my horse is in central FL has white vinyl fencing. It's beautiful, been in place for 5 years with no cracking, but with the humidity, it gets some mold which must be pressure washed at least once a year to keep it looking great. The caps do pop off now and then from itchy horses, but they're easily popped back on, and we've had none that the horses have stepped on after dislodging. Wood rots, breaks easier from horses crashing around, and is not exactly cheap it you use something other than unattractive wire/mesh/whatever between posts. It seems to be safer than wood too in the event of a horse truly freaking out, because the clips on the slats will give from a horse charging through, rather than wood splintering and injuring the horse. We also had a colt decide to jump an amazing height from the pasture into the arena to be with his buddy, and as he sailed over, he only nicked the top rail popping out a clip on one side! He landed safely in the arena, whereas if it'd been a strong wood rail which didn't give at all, he could have fallen hard, resulting in serious injury. Bottom line is there are so many types of fencing to choose from - functional, attractive (and both) that it boils down to safety, maintenance, cost, personal preferences etc. Despite the occasional re-placement of clips and caps - I love the vinyl! A bonus is full grown adults like me can climb on/over them with no problem and no splinters! |
Beth Gordon
Member
Username: Bethyg2
Post Number: 118
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, Jun 29, 2005 - 10:35 am: | |
Dear Judy
Hi- just got my new issue of Western Horseman, and was intrigued by a small ad for vinyl covered wood fencing. It has the weight/ strength of wood and the easy care of vinyl. Looks just like pretty white vinyl fencing too. I could never have vinyl, my gelding knocks it over for fun. I certainly would not recommend vinyl for anything with curiosity.... Anyone else see the ad or know about this type of fencing? I had never heard of it. It sounds perfect.
FYI- Beth G |
D.
Member
Username: Dyduroc
Post Number: 153
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, Jun 29, 2005 - 10:50 am: | |
Judy, vinyl fencing is popular around my area (New England). After this past winter, however, I noticed that a lot of these fences have fallen/missing rails. My guess is that the uprights are moving due to freeze/thaw cycles we go through toward the end of winter (same thing that causes frost heaves on our roads). It may seem like a low maintenance fence at the outset, but re-setting fence posts at the end of the winter sounds like a lot of work to me (several of the local barns are in the process of doing this).
Sara--I didn't realize how brittle vinyl fences can get when exposed to high temperatures/lots of sun! That's a little frightening!
dyd |
Lilo
Member
Username: Lilo
Post Number: 166
Registered: 4-2000
| | Posted on Thursday, Jun 30, 2005 - 10:50 am: | |
Judy,
I have a neighbor who put the white vinyl fencing up around her corral. She had some trouble initially with the horses popping out the rails, as described above. She had to add a strand of electric fencing along the top rail to solve that problem.
A question to the Horse Guard users: how does it stand up to strong winds and to deer? I would like to add a strand of the brown Horse Guard to my wire fence as a top rail, mainly for visibility, but have been worrying that with our windy conditions and the many deer (the does duck under the wire, however, the buck jump the fences when their antlers are fully grown), the fence might not hold up well.
Thanks,
Lilo |
Ann
Member
Username: Dres
Post Number: 552
Registered: 10-2000
| | Posted on Thursday, Jun 30, 2005 - 1:10 pm: | |
I have the brown horse guard fencing.. I love the look better then the white.... as far as it holding up... I have had young horses run thru it... yes it does stretch , but is easy to fix/tighten back up.. and not one foal has ever been hurt cus of it... the wind , have gotten some pretty good gusts of winds here , brought down old Oak trees.... the tape flaps... will sometimes loosen.. but again all you do is tighten it back up....
i just love the fact that I can add/ subtract pasture fence in nothing flat... and it looks great and does the job...
we don't have deer so I can't comment on that....
On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with SPOTS.. |
Angie Judson
Member
Username: Ajudson1
Post Number: 224
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, Jun 30, 2005 - 9:32 pm: | |
I have the brown horse guard fencing also, and the U.P. of MI has zillions of deer. They go under it, or over it, and the one time one tried to go thru, it musta got zapped and struggled. Just had to tighten the fence back up, and pick the hair off the fence.
I will give a few bits of advice with the HG fence: A) if ya have to put all the t-posts in first, it's work. B) I would suggest cementing the corner posts in, no matter what type you use. After tightening the fence a few times, the corners start pulling in....A pain for us right now, but we arn't done yet, so it can still be done with the cement.
My husband drilled and tapped holes on the corner posts because he thought the cover would turn when we put the corner tensioners on. That was a royal PAIN. But, I've put more up, and didn't do that....so it depends on what you feel is necessary.
As for wind, we have our posts 14' apart, and it's not a problem.
And another thing, we didn't use the pre drilled holes in the post covers, again that was just our preference as far as how far apart we wanted the 3 strands. (My hubby likes to do things his way, can ya tell)
A friend of ours doesn't like the fact you can't tighten the whole fence because you usually end up having to loosen each insulator. I don't mind that as you don't have to do that often, and you just check the whole fence out then.
I use some temp step in posts from our local feed store to make temp pastures in a matter of minutes. That part I really like!! I even cheat and tie the fence to the permanent one, and it's electric. Even if it's not, the horses can see it and they think it is. I only use one strand to do that. |
Lilo
Member
Username: Lilo
Post Number: 167
Registered: 4-2000
| | Posted on Friday, Jul 1, 2005 - 1:53 pm: | |
Thanks for your feedback, Ann and Angie. It sounds as if the Horse Guard will work for me as a visibility fence (and maybe as a temporary fence also).
Thanks,
Lilo |
Judy G. Thompson
New Member
Username: Judyt
Post Number: 2
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, Jul 7, 2005 - 9:36 am: | |
Thanks guys for all the info. I am looking for the best fence for longevity. I just want some type of fence that won't have alot of maintenance. I have to take care of the horses by myself. I thought the PVC would be better. Sounds like that it has its drawbacks as well. I thought if I decide to go with that I would add an electric line to the top rail. I will look into the horseguard fencing. I will still have to have someone install it.
Thanks!! |
Lisa Germann
Member
Username: Lisamg
Post Number: 83
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, Jul 12, 2005 - 4:28 pm: | |
I use electric tape fencing as well, which is very similar to the horse guard fence. I would also suggest using cement on all 4 x 4 corners as they do eventually give in to the pressure (as slight as it is) of the tape and lean. I have had my fence for 7 years now, adding a pasture a year. The oldest fencing is still up and still in great shape. We have deer here and wind and sometimes the fence will get stretched but it won't break unless under real strain (like a trashing horse). I have also had one horse go through it twice and she never got hurt. She also does not challenge the fence anymore. We use a single strand with step in posts for our remaining pasture (until we get that last pasture done with permanent tape fencing) with no problems. You can repair this fence in minutes with nothing more than a couple of paper clips if necessary. Love this fence!
Very minimal upkeep too.
One other thing .... I would suggest glueing the caps for the T post sleeves. They tend to fall off and get lost otherwise.
Lisa |
