From: Christy
Dear Jessica, what can you tell me about pasture fence corners? I'm getting set to fence in the pastures at my new home. I have four acres of grass and I want to make two pastures out of it. The way the land is a kind of rectangle, I can make two two-acre pastures that are almost exactly square. I want to be able to rotate the pastures as long as I just have my three horses that all get along really well, then later if I have more horses (my sister is already talking about boarding her horse with me, and so is my best friend and her husband) I might need to use both pastures all the time. I plan to pick the manure and mow the pastures regularly and take the horses off the pasture when it's too wet and they would tear it up (this is all per your HORSE-SENSE advice).
I've given a lot of thought to where I want my pasture gates to be, and where I plan to put up a three-sided shed in each pasture. But what's hanging me up right now is the shape of the corners in the pasture. I've heard two totally different things about corners, from two of the guys who have been helping us build the barn, and they both sound like they make sense. I just need to know which one makes more sense! LOL! One guy says that it's important to keep corners rounded because horses can't get trapped in the corners, which sounds sensible until you think about a 90-degree angle which is what a corner is. How is a horse going to get trapped in that? The other guy says that it doesn't matter if you round the corners or not, you just need a really solid fence and the corner posts have to be big and solid, so the horses can see them and won't run into them. Neither one of them has horses, they just picked up this information from other horse places they've worked at. Maybe I shouldn't pay attention to either one, but then what? I still have to decide what kind of corners to make, because I have to buy the right kinds of posts and braces for SOME kind of corners. Which is better? My horses are middle-aged (15, 15, and 17) and quiet if that makes any difference, and they have been together for three years and they are buddies. If my sister's horse and my friends' horses come out, it'll be different because those horses are a lot younger - my sister's horse isn't even two years old yet. Don't worry, she isn't going to ride him for another year at least. But he's kind of a pistol, and my friends' horses are three and four and they're a lot more active than mine are, they like to chase each other a lot. What kind of corners would be best for them?
Thanks, I hope you answer this! Christy
Putting in new pasture fences is exciting, too - and expensive, so you'll want to be sure that you get just what you want. Your pastures sound nice, and square IS a very useful and practical shape. You're sensible to want two of them, and you may find that you'll want to get even MORE involved in pasture rotation, by using temporary fencing to divide each pasture in half so that you'll have FOUR places to put your herd of three, a week or two at a time, until they've grazed down each section. Obviously this won't work when you bring in more horses. ;-)
Rounded corners are a real advantage if you're dealing with young horses, very active horses, or any group of horses confined in a very small area. You probably already know that the smaller the enclosure, the taller, stronger, and more visible the fence needs to be. Horses really CAN get trapped in the angle of a conventional corner, because a horse that's getting picked on by others can end up deep in that corner with his escape routes blocked. Making rounded corners avoids that problem - but adds quite a few heavy, costly posts to each corner, and that's something you'll need to think about.
Your horses are buddies, so it's unlikely that they would get into fights, or that two of them would chase and attack the third. But all that might change if you put another horse in with them - or if you put several other horses in with them. And if you put your sister's young horse and your friends' horses into your second pasture, you really can't be sure what any of them will do. With two acres of grass, they'll probably spend most of their time eating! But there will almost certainly be some chasing at first, and even if you introduce them all gradually and carefully, and there's no real fighting, there will probably be a lot of playing - that's what young horses DO. If they do it in fun, without any serious aggression, and if you do your part by keeping all the feed tubs and the water tank well away from the corners of the pasture, you should be able to have ordinary, square corners AND keep everyone safe.
Your choice should depend on your current horses, the horses that may be joining your horses soon - and the horses that may be joining or replacing your horses later. Think about what kind of horses you're likely to have in those pastures five and ten and fifteen years from now. Look ahead! If you have mares, do you anticipate breeding them? Foals play hard and move fast, and rounded corners are a good safety precaution. If you enjoy starting young horses, is it likely that you'll be bringing home some two-year-olds or three-year-olds and turning them out in the pasture to play - or bringing home some nice yearlings and turning them out in the pasture to grow up? In fifteen years, your horses will be thirty-something - so even if they're still with you, they'll probably be retired, and that means you'll have other horses in your pastures instead of, or with, your current horses. You'll want the fences to be safe for them, too.
The faster the horses in your pastures are likely to be going, and the more running and rearing and kicking and chasing each other they're likely to do, the more space they will need, and the more likely it is that you would be glad to have rounded corners. In other words, the younger and more bouncy the horses are - and the more aggressive they are - the more useful rounded corners might be. I don't think it's likely to be a big problem with your pastures, though, because although two acres isn't an adequate source of nutrition for three horses (even a lush, well-kept two acre pasture is unlikely to be able to provide sufficient nutrition for more than one horse), it's enough space to allow three or even four horses to run and play and enjoy themselves without crashing into each other or the fence. A two-acre square will let them do a fair amount of running, and there's even enough room for a timid horse to escape from more aggressive horses and graze at a distance, on its own.
It sounds to me as if you've done good planning and will have nice pastures no matter what kind of corners you decide to install. Either way, your biggest problem is likely to be saying "No, sorry" to all the people who will be asking if they can bring their horses to live with you. ;-)
Jessica
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