By Tommy Brannon
As fall comes around it is time to start planning that fence project you have been putting off in this summer’s heat. The fall rains will help soften the ground for digging post holes and as the foliage goes dormant, it is easier to clear ground, particularly when running a fence through wooded areas. Planning ahead saves time and money!
If you need to remove an old fence, it is important to get it all out of the way. Many a horse has been injured on old barbed wire sticking out of the ground after a heavy rain, like a ghost’s hand in a horror movie. You have probably noticed that a horse’s ability to get injured is inversely proportional to its value.
One tool that is most helpful in clearing the fence line and installing new fencing is a small to medium sized tractor or a skid steer. A 3-point hitch boom can be used to pull old posts and dig out roots and rocks. A pasture cutter (bush hog) can be used to clear the brush, and a PTO-driven post hole digger makes digging the holes so much easier than digging them with a manual one! [My wife claims her Ph.D. does not stand for post hole digger!] However, in tight places or on steep terrain it might be necessary to dig the holes manually. An alternative to digging holes and using wood posts is to use steel T posts or pipe posts that are driven into the ground. Post drivers are available for both tractors and skid steers.
Wood posts should be cedar, cypress, or pressure treated pine. One can expect about 10-15 years of use for cedar post and 30 years or more for cypress. Pressure treated posts will usually come with a guarantee from the manufacturer. I once used seasoned locust posts, and they lasted a long time; but they were so ugly only their mother tree could love them. Do not use landscape timbers for fence posts! They are not treated enough for contact below ground. If the old posts break off at ground level, simply relocate the post hole. This will work better for wire field fence or coated stretch fence than for plastic or wood fence where the post’s location has to be precise.
Once the old fence is removed, stretch a line to locate where your fence is going to go. Hay string works great for this! Set your anchor, end, and brace posts, and then your other posts. It is a good idea to put a shovel full of washed gravel at the bottom of each post hole so that the rainwater will drain away from the wood posts. They won’t last as long if they are sitting in water. Whether you are using concrete or dirt, make sure you tamp each post well, and mound enough dirt around the post so that water will drain off. If you are building a wire fence, roll out your fence material and connect the rolls. Stretch out the fence, either with the tractor or a come-a-long, attach the fence to the anchor post, and then to the other posts.
Replacing or installing a fence is a challenge, but with a little planning and attention to detail, one can have a safe fence for your horses.
As fall comes around it is time to start planning that fence project you have been putting off in this summer’s heat. The fall rains will help soften the ground for digging post holes and as the foliage goes dormant, it is easier to clear ground, particularly when running a fence through wooded areas. Planning ahead saves time and money!
If you need to remove an old fence, it is important to get it all out of the way. Many a horse has been injured on old barbed wire sticking out of the ground after a heavy rain, like a ghost’s hand in a horror movie. You have probably noticed that a horse’s ability to get injured is inversely proportional to its value.
One tool that is most helpful in clearing the fence line and installing new fencing is a small to medium sized tractor or a skid steer. A 3-point hitch boom can be used to pull old posts and dig out roots and rocks. A pasture cutter (bush hog) can be used to clear the brush, and a PTO-driven post hole digger makes digging the holes so much easier than digging them with a manual one! [My wife claims her Ph.D. does not stand for post hole digger!] However, in tight places or on steep terrain it might be necessary to dig the holes manually. An alternative to digging holes and using wood posts is to use steel T posts or pipe posts that are driven into the ground. Post drivers are available for both tractors and skid steers.
Wood posts should be cedar, cypress, or pressure treated pine. One can expect about 10-15 years of use for cedar post and 30 years or more for cypress. Pressure treated posts will usually come with a guarantee from the manufacturer. I once used seasoned locust posts, and they lasted a long time; but they were so ugly only their mother tree could love them. Do not use landscape timbers for fence posts! They are not treated enough for contact below ground. If the old posts break off at ground level, simply relocate the post hole. This will work better for wire field fence or coated stretch fence than for plastic or wood fence where the post’s location has to be precise.
Once the old fence is removed, stretch a line to locate where your fence is going to go. Hay string works great for this! Set your anchor, end, and brace posts, and then your other posts. It is a good idea to put a shovel full of washed gravel at the bottom of each post hole so that the rainwater will drain away from the wood posts. They won’t last as long if they are sitting in water. Whether you are using concrete or dirt, make sure you tamp each post well, and mound enough dirt around the post so that water will drain off. If you are building a wire fence, roll out your fence material and connect the rolls. Stretch out the fence, either with the tractor or a come-a-long, attach the fence to the anchor post, and then to the other posts.
Replacing or installing a fence is a challenge, but with a little planning and attention to detail, one can have a safe fence for your horses.
