where to look for/buy used/cheap fencing?

[fleur de duc]

So its official!
as of today we are the proud new owners of our very own farm:D (well soon to again be farm anyway). There used to be a barn/pastures, but they have long since been removed. However, we will be bringing them back to life so to speak.

Our ultimate goal is to fence the entire property in the pretty vynil wrapped wood, however, with currently owning 2 houses (YIKESS:eek: thats scary to type out) and not sure when our old house will sell, its just not possible at the moment. We plan to slowly re-fence sections at a time once we get a feel for the new budget and see how/where we are.

In the meantime, the horses need something to keep them in! We are really interested in trying to find some used fencing (either post and rial or split rail, etc). Any ideas on where to come across some? Obviously I do not want any rotten fencing, but I figured maybe there was a place that people often advertised some used but still usable fencing.

I wont go the wire route. It nearly killed my mare, so I will never go there. I do not care how well marked it is, it is just a risk I am not going to take. And regular T-posts and tape will not keep my boys in, unfortunately. :no: pony likes the zaps (strange little bugger he is) and gigantor knows it is just too easy to clear without even a chance of a zap. So to avoid any problems there, I just want to go with wood (to which I will probably add a line of hot tape at the top once we get it).

so far I check craigslist and some local horse sites but have had no luck

any ideas? I am not trying to find it here mods .. just looking for help as to what direction to go in to find it.

[Evalee Hunter]

No ideas. Have NEVER seen an ad for used wood fence parts for sale.

From another thread, I think I might remember correctly that you are in this general area. If so, you need to find an Amish sawmill & try to get materials directly from them. From what I've heard, the prices will probably be as cheap as or cheaper than "used" elsewhere.

If you really want to try to buy used wood fencing, contact some of the big fencing guys (Umble, etc.) & ask. Again, I am working from memory that you are in this area.

I'm not sure what you mean by "wire" fencing. It might make tons of sense to buy rolls of no-climb at Tractor Supply (TSC) & install it using T-posts to keep it upright. (Put toppers on the t-posts, please.) Personally, I think no-climb/diamond mesh is a wonderful, safe fence, even though I would not want to have high-tensile wire fencing of any description, either coated or not.

Another thought would be electric "rope" fence (Electrobraid). My understanding is that it DOES NOT BREAK. However, to even possibly be safe, it MUST be installed per directions, which means under a very high tension. Personally, I wouldn't use Electrobraid, but that is me. Deltawave LOVES her Electrobraid.

IF you are in this area, go to a place like Bartville Harness or Aaron's Welding & they will have a big, thick FREE book called "Lancaster County Business Directory". That is where you find sawmills, fencing suppliers, farm stores, leather repair & all you need to know.

[chai]

I agree with Evalee. I have never seen used fencing for sale. It would be a rare case where someone would go to all the trouble to dig up fencing and sell it, although I did find some nice posts and rails at our dump one day. Naturally I loaded up the bed of the truck, much to the amusement of the dump guys.

If you are working on a tight budget, you might consider high visibility thick electric tape with plastic rods that you just stick in the ground. Don't use the fibreglass ones. They start to split and shed tiny shards of fibreglass within a year and if you handle them with bare hands, the fibreglass splinters are a nightmare to get out. Speaking from experience, here. ouch.

I lease a field from my neighbor which I fence every season with plastic posts and electric tape. I have tried chargers that work on battery which imho are not economical because you have to replace them so frequently, they add up to the price of a solar charger within a summer. I have used a solar charger and an electric charger and both work well.

Please avoid high tensile wire. That stuff cuts through a leg like a knife through butter, and it is hard for the horses to see.

Good luck with your new property!

[NoDQhere]

Everyone here is fenced in with Horse Guard Electric tape, even the stallions, even in the height of breeding season. Ponies too. If it is installed correctly, properly grounded, charged with a good fencer and of decent height, it should keep in an elephant. We have 4 strands for the stallions and three for everyone else. Our fences are just under 5' in height.

I think used fencing would be a nightmare to deal with. We have rolls and rolls of used barbwire that we took off this place. I keep giving it away to the cow guys!

[MVR]

You can sometimes find great deals on fencing & building materials on eBay & govdeals.com

Good luck!

[Sansena]

I've seen ads for used fencing on Craigslist & a publication called Bargain News. You might even put a wanted ad in your local paper's classified's section. In this economy, I'm sure you'll get some offers..

[fleur de duc]

Thanks for the suggestion. I am in the area and was planning on calling a mill my father knows in lancaster today to see if they can help. I have seen ads before for old fencing, so figured it was worth a shot.

I cannot justify using just Tposts and hot tape. I know it will not hold my boys in. I really feel better with a more solid fence. My pony plays with any electrical tape (i honestly think he enjoys the shock, he comes back for more, and more and more .. very strange). by wire I really meant any for of high tensile .. it nearly cost my mare her life and I have seen numerous horses ruin themselves in it. No thanks!

We are also looking into the pricing for no climb fencing. I think we will just go with whatever is cheapest for now, as we will eventually refence it all in with vynil.

[Evalee Hunter]

. . . . We are also looking into the pricing for no climb fencing. I think we will just go with whatever is cheapest for now, as we will eventually refence it all in with vynil.

One thing to consider, if you are going to replace fencing in a few years, is "woven wire" or "welded wire" fencing with T-posts, rather than no-climb/diamond mesh. You can buy big rolls of welded wire (with SMALL openings, not large enough for a hoof) & T-posts at Home Depot very inexpensively. I would not use this type of wire (which is made for dog fence or for garden fence) if I wanted a long-term fence, nor would I use this wire if I expected to run it between two pastures where the horses on each side were going to have a kicking match through the fence. However, for a few years use, I might think about it. It is not near as heavy duty as no-climb. (I am NOT talking about "cyclone" fence, correctly called "chain link", I think.)

[equusus]

The hardwood sawmills around here sell their "outs" pretty cheap. They are mostly oak 1 inch thick boards that don't make grade. They will be varying widths, but it is a cheap source for oak boards.

Good luck!
april

[Manes&Tails]

Craigs List:yes:

[5]

Not fences but if you want a used pipe stall what you would do is drive around looking for houses on horse property with no horses and older pipe corrals with weeds & grass in them. Knock on the door when the owners are home and ask if they aren't actively using them (They are not-weeds remember) You could use them and you will probably get them from free to very cheap.
Have a budget in mind beforehand.

You may have to straighten poles and treat for rust but it might be worth it.

[poltroon]

I agree that you will probably not find used fencing materials suitable for horses. You might find used pipe corrals, or you might find lumber that someone had bought but never used.

My first suggestion would be to take a second look at the Horseguard (not other brands of tape) and consider it with, say, 5 strands of fence and a kick-ass charger. If you are fencing a large enough area and if the horses have grass or food, that might be enough. Consider the bi-polar fencing tape, which doesn't require a good ground. Then T-posts with caps. It's relatively reusable, too, meaning you could use it later to divide pastures for rotation etc.

My second suggestion would be to build less fence. Put up a sacrifice paddock in your chosen final material, build it sturdy and to last forever, but don't do anything else. The horses won't have grass but it will give you time to rehab the rest of the place. Bonus: you'll find out if this is really the fencing material you want before you order 10 miles of it.

You might be able to merge the two solutions, which is to keep your Problem Pony in the sturdy sacrifice area and put the other horses in a larger area fenced with Horseguard. Maybe the pony can even go out in the Horseguard too, when you're home, for a few hours.

Fencing is such a PITA to install and it's so expensive that I don't think that building temporarily as you are contemplating is a good value. Better to put that work and money into something else - because there is no end of places to put it on your new farm.

That said, the vinyl covered board is absolutely the most expensive possible option, and it might be worth looking at some other permanent solutions. I quite like the flexible rail fence as sold by Centaur and Ramm, for example, and it might fit the budget better.

Congratulations on the new place.

[fleur de duc]

thanks for all the suggestions. I actually was able to acquire quite a bit of vinyl fencing from another COTHer on here and am going to pick it up for free tomorrow! It will not fence the entire property in but, it is a start. And I called the local woodmill where I get my shavings for free from and they have a few thousand feet of unusable wood at their warehouse. its more like jump poles than split rail, but they are agreeing to shave it down a bit for a small fee and let me take all i need. I feel so fortunate to know such wonderful people. All I really need are the post themselves and I should be able to fence the vast majority of the property in.

If I have to go with a hot tape (not any high tensile, just regular tape) than I will only use it to divide the land up, but I need them to be fenced in with a sturdy fence. There is plenty of grazing at the new place, and they always have free choice hay in the winter as well, so food is not the issue. its the fact that the pony just ALWAYS wants to be where he is not suppose to be. and once the pony goes, I have no doubt in my mind my other one will follow:rolleyes:

so glad I started this .. thanks COTH ;]
I will keep you updated on the building process.

[TappyShoes]

Fleur ~ Not sure if you have a local Habitat for Humanity but the one around here has something called a ReStore. They take in used materials and resell them to raise funds. You never know what you're going to find there. If you know of one, you could leave your name and number and see if they could call you if they get anything in you could use. Sometimes people just use the vinyl fencing for their yards - you never know - a new owner could have it in their yard - not like it and bring it in. A long shot but if you have one of these near you wouldn't hurt to check with them.

[BasqueMom]

FYI, a friend who works at the Colorado Horse Park where they have some of the vinyl coated wood installed told me they have been very unhappy with it. Moisture gets into the wood, causing it to swell and splitting the vinyl. Saw quite a bit of it with split
vinyl there, both on the posts and the rails.

[Evalee Hunter]

. . . . My first suggestion would be to take a second look at the Horseguard (not other brands of tape) and consider it with, say, 5 strands of fence and a kick-ass charger. If you are fencing a large enough area and if the horses have grass or food, that might be enough. Consider the bi-polar fencing tape, which doesn't require a good ground. Then T-posts with caps. It's relatively reusable, too, meaning you could use it later to divide pastures for rotation etc.

My second suggestion would be to build less fence. Put up a sacrifice paddock in your chosen final material, build it sturdy and to last forever, but don't do anything else. The horses won't have grass but it will give you time to rehab the rest of the place. Bonus: you'll find out if this is really the fencing material you want before you order 10 miles of it.

You might be able to merge the two solutions, which is to keep your Problem Pony in the sturdy sacrifice area and put the other horses in a larger area fenced with Horseguard. Maybe the pony can even go out in the Horseguard too, when you're home, for a few hours.

Fencing is such a PITA to install and it's so expensive that I don't think that building temporarily as you are contemplating is a good value. Better to put that work and money into something else - because there is no end of places to put it on your new farm.

That said, the vinyl covered board is absolutely the most expensive possible option, and it might be worth looking at some other permanent solutions. I quite like the flexible rail fence as sold by Centaur and Ramm, for example, and it might fit the budget better. . . .

FYI, a friend who works at the Colorado Horse Park where they have some of the vinyl coated wood installed told me they have been very unhappy with it. Moisture gets into the wood, causing it to swell and splitting the vinyl. Saw quite a bit of it with split vinyl there, both on the posts and the rails.

While I'm glad to hear you've found cheap/free fencing, I think you should heed the above two pieces of advice. Don't do twice what you can do "once and done". The work on a farm is too time consuming & too physically hard to do over & over unecessarily. If you follow poltroon's suggestions to build a small sacrifice area of your chosen material, you will find out if what BasqueMom said is true of this area. If it is true that the wood gets moisture in it & splits the vinyl (& I bet that wood is rotting inside the vinyl), then you won't want to have it everywhere on your farm. Once you know the answer, based on a small area, you can decide what you REALLY want for fencing.

It is very useful on a farm to try out solutions (fencing, stall mats, whatever) in a limited way & see what you like & what works for you before you put in too much time & money on a solution that you end up hating.

[ASB Stars]

Here ya go!!

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/grd/1004950548.html

[bludejavu]

If you're anywhere near Georgia, there is a bi-monthly mailout done by the State Ag Department called the Farmers Market Bulletin. There are many ads for used fencing in it, but...they almost always will say that you need to remove the fencing yourself. That means not just picking it up, but taking it down as well. There are actually give-aways on various types of fencing if you're not afraid of the hard work incurred in taking it down.