Keeping sheep with horses - what sort of fence?

[Peace]

I've been thinking I'd like to try a few sheep with my horses, once they come home from the boarding stable.

Most of the sheep fence I see has those little wire squares in it, though. I don't want wire fence of any kind, having treated *two* leg lacerations from wire in the past year. I've seen poly-netting, but I wonder if the little squares still might be a hazard for horse feet.

I'd planned on doing electric rope, like ELectrobraid or EnduraSoft or something similar, at one foot intervals to 48". But I've never had sheep and I don't know if they wouldn't be able to push out through one foot openings.

Can I string the electric rope at 6" intervals - or will that present a hazard for the horses also?

I know some of y'all keep sheep and horses together - I'd be grateful for advice on what kind of fence to use.

 

[happy highlande]

Sheep make horses look like amateurs at escaping!!!
Everything depends on the age and breed of sheep you are going to keep. Some breeds are manic (in the UK don't go for Shetland, Hebridean or Soay!), and some are calm lumps - (most 'down' breeds).

Our lambs are kept in by three electric wires about a foot apart - but this is checked at least twice a day, they get tangled in it despite this, and if they escape it doesn't matter cos there are 250 acres of farmland around them. They used to have the electric polywire nets (liitle squares you describe) but htey were even better for them to get tangled in!

I would fence with the wire sheep nets(suare of wire) - then put an electric tape far enough inside to keep the horses away from the wire. This would keep the horses safe, keep the sheep in and your fence would last longer as the horses won't lean over it. It is expensive, but unless you can check your sheep fencing frequently, it is the safest option.

And go for a calm breed!!!

 

[lisae]

Fencing with a line every six inches sounds expensive - can you design something with three strands of electric rope for the horses, strung on the 6" - 8" yellow insulators that fit on a post but have them protrude into the pasture. Then, have the poly mesh fence for the sheep at the lower level, but tacked to the fence posts themselves. That would keep the horses away from the actual fence line and perhaps avoid them getting into the mesh. I need a little diagram to show you what I mean!

 

[lisae]

My mom raised Suffolk black faced sheep for a while - she loved their personalities although one lambed into the pond which was upsetting.

My niece had a Jacobs something something sheep, a rare breed, but they seemed pretty calm,

 

[jowyles]

Our sheep get thru electric fence no matter how close together, also barbed wire because their wool insulates it! we have sheep netting cus its the only stuff to keep ours in!

 

[Peace]

Our lambs are kept in by three electric wires about a foot apart - but this is checked at least twice a day, they get tangled in it despite this, and if they escape it doesn't matter cos there are 250 acres of farmland around them. They used to have the electric polywire nets (liitle squares you describe) but htey were even better for them to get tangled in!

And go for a calm breed!!!

I could check the fence twice daily - it's only enclosing about five acres right outside my yard. Is the foot separation between wires generally sufficient to keep the sheep inside the fence?

I hesitate to double-fence because of the expense involved. I've gotten OH to agree to an experimental three or four sheep to start with and see how they do. No one anywhere around us has sheep - which to me says "chance to be innovative and market a new product," but to OH says "maybe there's a good reason no one around here has sheep." So we're compromising but I think he'd pitch a fit over the expense of double-fencing.

Definitely will go for a calm breed - and one that tolerates heat! There are breeds developed for St. Croix and other islands though, so I'd think they could handle an SC summer.

lisae - I think those are just called Jacob's sheep. The ones with the spots, like in the Bible story, right? How did your mother get along with her sheep?

 

[Peace]

Our sheep get thru electric fence no matter how close together, also barbed wire because their wool insulates it! we have sheep netting cus its the only stuff to keep ours in!

jowyles - cross-posted with you. I've read that wool is an insulator. I thought maybe I'd try wetting them down or even shearing them before putting them in the fence and hope the first shock l'arns 'em!

So is the sheep netting safe for the horses? Or do you double fence as well?

 

[lisae]

Those were the ones!

My mom had a max of five Suffolks but her favorite was Mona, who would follow her around the pasture. After a few years she sold them to her accountant.

One note, the fencing is also to keep dogs out, the said accountant had an incident with a pack of dogs and one of the sheep was lost before he could get out there and beat them off. He lived in a suburb and these were pet dogs, not anything wild. But your horses might serve to protect them too.

 

[chev]

Round here most sheep fencing is netting - and most horses manage fine with it. Our big field is fenced with netting all teh way down one side and we've never had any problem - if the squares are small enough they can't get their feet stuck at all. I'd go with that to be honest.

Sheep are basically bent on escape, or failing that, death. There is a rhyme dedicated to sheep mentality...

There is no other creature on all of God's Earth
So determined to die from the moment of birth...

 

[happy highlande]

A friend's horse pulled off both front shoes putting his feet through sheep netting ((argh)). Luckily he was OK, but I have heard of folk who weren't so lucky.

Do look carefully into the whole sheep management thing - they need clipped (very few professional clippers will turn out for 3-4 sheep - they expect the same price as for doing 300 around here!)(and it is difficult to do - harder than a horse - I've tried both!!), they need wormed, sheep can't eat horse food and vice versa (something to do with copper), if they get too fat they die, if they get too thin they die.... Get the idea I'm not into sheep!!!!

As chev said - their aim in life is to die - you have been warned.......

 

[Peace]

chev - LOL at the couplet. Maybe this is why there are no sheep in my neighborhood at present.

happy highlande - yes, I'm afraid that if there's a way to get into something and have an accident, my Quanah will find it. So I'm reluctant to do sheep netting.

I thought I'd try the shearing myself - must take video, I'm sure it'll be hilarious.

 

[happy highlande]

Shearing/clipping - remeber you will need a differnte set of shears from horse clippers - they have much wider combs (I'm sure a google search will show you the difference) - horse clippers would take for ever and blunt the blades.

Remeber you should take the fleece off in one piece. You have to wait until the sheep have enough 'rise' to do this.

Forgot to add feet trimming into the maintainence of sheep list - my job at shearing time is to upend every sheep and check their feet and trim as necessary - the maggotty ones are gross!!!!!

(not to mention fly strike if you clip too late - the maggots eat away the sheep's flesh under the fleece - yeugh)

 

[jowyles]

I think the best idea would be a strip of leccy fence inside sheep netting to keep the horses off it. To get the sheep scared of the fence we wet a patch of ground and then put their feet in the wet patch and nose on the fence but it only worked for a few weeks!
Sheep are a pain but we have some nice black baby lambs just been born and they are sooooooooooooo cute!!

 

[galadriel]

In my experience and from what I've read, it seems that the absolute best fencing for horses is actually wire fencing with wood posts. It has to be *woven* wire, and the holes have to be small enough that horse hooves can't go through them. Woven wire & small holes both make the wire more expensive, but it has several things going for it.

* When a horse runs into woven wire, he bounces Running into a board fence he might break the fence. Running into horizontal wires (high tension, barbed, electric) he may break them or he may get tangled in them. In the case of the latter there's a very real chance of the horse sawing his leg almost off trying to get loose.

* It's visible to the equine eye. Hotwire is too small, as is barbed wire. The white fence tape is very visible, but doesn't break easily and again horses can get caught in it. Board fencing is also very visible, of course.

* In stormy weather with winds, anything that breaks can become a projectile hazard. Board fencing may break. Wire fencing will rebound or just bend.

* Good wire isn't very susceptible to moisture/rust. Board fencing can rot right out in a humid or damp climate.

Of course, never never never use a T-post around horses. Horses can push them over too easily--and horses can impale themselves on a T-post. It's not pretty.