This morning ended up being a short trip so I was back at the Small-Hold in time to get some more work done. This weather has been perfect for brush and junk clearing and fence project preparations. It's Winters like this one that make me happy about those December through March months coming around each year.
Today's step was clearing out two brush piles and turning them into one that can be burned next time we have a nice calm day. One brush pile consisted of old limbs from a little tree that had fallen over and I cut up two years ago and the other was another little tree that had fallen over last Spring.
When I say little I mean little. There was only about a wheel barrow load of burnable wood off this tree. If ya want to know what killed these trees well they have four hoofs, stand around in the pasture and do nothing all day but eat and kill trees while destroying fences and aren't worth a dime. So guess!!
Now except for an old water tank that I only vaguely have a clue about how I am going to move, the new sheep area is mostly cleared. The next step is to come out a couple of feet from the old rotten fence and put in a line of new electric fence as a temporary barrier to the horses. Personally I would like to just free range em and hope they never come back but I am sure my insurance premiums would go sky high. Once the temporary electric fence is up with the solar charger I will begin tearing the old rotting fence apart.
Two good things about this project...
1. The horses respect the electric fence. I have never seen them challenge the electric line unlike the sheep so the light fence line should hold em easily.
2. I won't have to worry about any grass growing up into the new fence now until at least April which should give me more than enough time to get this job finished.
As a side benefit I will also be able to re-use practically all the posts as they are in good shape and a few of the ethnic rigged cattle panels that had been stuck on the old fence rather than doing the job right.
The real reason the fence needs replacing is of course because someone didn't want to use barbed wire as the top strand to keep the %$$**@# horses off it. So of course the horses came up and just laid on the top strand of smooth wire and busted the entire fence up. Well that someone can whine all she wants I ain't playing these games with my money or fences I am thinking about welding some caltrops on top and placing a few fence mines too. At the very least it's getting a mean looking strand of barbed wire across the top to keep the old nags from laying on it.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!
Maybe you could glue some crushed glass to that top strand/ LOL
ReplyDeleteRuss - That's a thought with some razor blades embedded in the glass :)
DeletePlug the electric directly into 220 for a few minutes. Must have been a freak lightning strike. I have to put my horse fence up high to keep deer from tearing it down. I use barbed wire, the horse doesn't like it and stays away from it.
ReplyDeleteSf - Deer might be an issue down there. Maybe. I haven't had any break the one right behind the house yet though but that could well be a run there they use to cross over to the corn fields. hmmmm I hadn't really thought about it but with luck it shouldn't be up for more than a month or so.
DeleteGood luck my friend. can you put the old nag out with the rest??...evil grin
ReplyDeleteRob - Hmmm. No. I wish she would give up this horse love though and let some reality sink in. Of course the truth is she really only has two choices keep em here to bother me or off em when ya get right down to it.
DeleteThe guys (ahole) that owns the adjacent property never fixes the fence right. His cows are constantly finding ways to get into our yard. He usually just leans a cattle panel where they've broken through & if some barbed wire breaks it just gets rolled up & left. Make clearing the fence line pretty hazadous(sp?) with any type of gas powered implement.
ReplyDeleteDFW - The fences around here are just rotten. Horses and cattle are hard on fences especially when there are too many of them or the pastures don't deliver enough good forage. In many places here the horses are only kept in by the fact that so much wild rose, grape or blackberry has grown up along the old fence line that even the horses can't push through it. The fence i am working on now though has little grown into it but for fence line clearing of Cedars and other trees I use my battery chainsaw now. It works great for places like that.
DeleteI have heard of a lot of horses ripping themselves apart on barb wire, its horrible stuff really but a necessary evil sometimes.
ReplyDeleteKev - Ya if they get caught up in it. I only plan on using one strand at the top to keep em from leaning on the damned fence though.
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