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Fencing Repairs
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In an ideal world, I'd get 'a little man' in to do a whole lot of new
fencing - goodness knows we need it. BUT, it's not as easy as
that. Finding a little man who'll turn up when he says he will
AND do a tidy job is virtually impossible, and timing is everything on
our land. When it's dry, driving fence posts is virtually
impossible. When it's too wet, it's impossible to get on the
land. The previous owner didn't bother about little details like
cleaning up the old fencing - just put a new one in front of it!
And that's BEFORE working out what it will cost!
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So I'm getting quite good at fence repairs. The current project
is the back fence of the field we call 'the rock field' (because it
was even more covered with rocks when we arrived than the
others!) The rocks are now gone, and the pasture is gradually
improving - three sides have new fencing done two years ago. The
back fence is 'guarded' with electric fence.
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This picture illustrates the
problem. (Or part of it - the fence is about 300 yards long and while
it's not ALL as bad as this ....)
Under the blackberry, which was
sprayed a few weeks ago, is a fence - lying on the ground.
Immediately behind is a deep ditch. The field on the other side
of the ditch is not ours, is used for sheep grazing, and has fencing
in a similar state - therefore sheep-proof fencing is needed.
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This gives a closer look - after some of the bramble has been cleared
away (thornproof gloves, stout trousers and coat called for.)
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After a lot of back-breaking work
clearing the under (or over!) growth, a rope on what remains of the
fence post enables it to be pulled upright, using the old Landrover.
The fence is pulled a little in
front of the actual fence line and is left there to hold the fence up
while new posts are driven in.
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There's quite a bit still left to do - but it's all upright now.
Still need to replace about 30 rotten posts before the ground dries
up, run a grader blade along the fence line to ensure I've found and
filled all the rabbit holes, and then I'll add extended electric fence
insulators to the posts to hold polyrope six inches IN from the
fence. Because some of the posts are very close to the edge of
the ditch, I don't want horse TOO close, with the risk of eroding the
bank further. But the existing electric fence is 6-8 feet from
the fence (because of all the blackberry and rabbit holes that WERE
there so this exercise will 'reclaim' about 600 square yards of
grazing - as well as being much tidier and safer (and releasing a lot
of polyposts for use elsewhere.) Within the next few weeks, the
whole fence line will be resprayed to ensure no blackberries survive.
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[ Up ] [ Outdoor Manege ] [ Pasture Management ] [ Drainage ] [ Fencing ] [ Renovations ] [ Renovations-1 ] [ Renovations-2 ] [ Renovations-3 ] [ Renovations-4 ]
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HELP-MAIL: If you
can't find the answer and need help urgently, please e-mail:
help@saddle-up.org.uk
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