Just cusious for those of you that use for 4' high field fence.

How far do you space your T-Posts, and do you use any other type of post in-between? What is your terrain like?

I trying to keep neighborhood dogs out & mine in. Also, one side will border my horse field, but I'm running an electric wire on the inside. Fortunately the horses respect it.

TIA,

Rudy

-- Rudy (rbakker@wcrtc.net), February 09, 2002

Answers

rudy, I raise dairygoats and soon Boers, I like 4 foot spacing but goats rub on a fence and mine need more support. I would do every 3 feet but my son who is the expert fencer(lucky me!) refuses. LOL!

-- Karen Mauk (kansashobbit@yahoo.com), February 09, 2002.

If you have a heavy soil such as clay, 8 to 10' would be fine. You do need toppers for the "t" posts to prevent a horse from getting impaled. Even with the electric strand you can still have a horse hurt themselves badly.

-- Darren (df1@infi.net), February 09, 2002.

Spacing? Ten feet btw posts in heavy or clay-like soils, five to six feet in sandy or loam-type soils. We run an electrified top wire connected to solar power.

-- al (yr2012@hotmail.com), February 09, 2002.

Depends on soil & exact type of fence you are installing. For a big pasture, 30 - 50 foot spacing on high-tensile can work. In a livestock yard by the barn a person might want 6x6 posts on 8' spacing.

Sounds like you have woven wire fence? 12-16' works for my cattle, 8-10' is a lot better by the yard where the fence gets more abuse. I always have electric on the top. Heavy clay soils - sand would need more posts, it's lss support.

--->Paul

-- paul (ramblerplm@hotmail.com), February 09, 2002.

I have mine at 10 ft. with a single strand of barbed wire for my horses. I am fortunate that they are not fence challengers. Closer to home they are still as far maybe 8 ft and I have an other strand of barbed, also have a single electric along the top.

Susan

-- Susan in Minnesota (nanaboo@paulbunyan.net), February 09, 2002.

on my place in far northern california i fenced in about 4,000 feet using heavy duty "t" posts spaced every 10 feet. at every 10th post i used extra "t" .posts at a 45 degree angle using those nifty aluminum brackets made by the wedge company, that just snap into place. this holds the side bracing posts very tight allowing you to tension the line extremley tight. i used four strands of barbedwire and was pleased with the results. bob m.

-- bob mccaffrey (bobmccaffrey1@netscape.net), February 09, 2002.

Built a fence around a 40 acre cattle pasture a couple of years ago and we placed the fence post aproximately 9-10'. We would take three big steps and drop a post, 3 steps drop, 3 steps drop, etc. Placed 5 strands of bard wire with the lowest strand at 12" and the top strand at 5'. Equally spaced the remaining 3 strands between.

We didn't place the barb strands in that order. We worked from top down. Suppose to make a tighter fence that way, although not sure since I have never built one from bottom up.

-- r.h. in okla. (rhays@sstelco.com), February 09, 2002.

Re spacing steel T posts: Some years ago I built fencing for cattle with heavy locust corner posts and brace posts between at every 660'. The steel T posts are at 20' intervals with two twisted steel fence stays between each post. This followed a US Dept of Ag bulletin of the time and has worked well all these years. Since that first fence I have never varied that design.

Cattle will push against the fence to reach grass in the ditches, but the stays do not permit them to spread the wire and get thru, while the spacing provides some "spring" in the fence. Where bulls are prone to fight across the fence I run hot wires; never found a bull that would fight a hot wire. Mac

-- Jimmy S (Macrocarpus@gbronline.com), February 10, 2002.