# Barbed wire ?



## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

No.

Guess I need 6 letters to qualify for a reply.

No. No.


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## Delfina (Feb 12, 2010)

Nope!

One of the reasons my horse is at my friend's place instead of mine is that my property was used to run cattle before I bought it and it has field fencing topped with a strand of barbed wire. I wouldn't even consider bringing my horse home until the barbed wire was removed and replaced with either electric or wood boards and 45 acres is fenced..... going to cost me a fortune, not to mention the hassle.


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## gigem88 (May 10, 2011)

My perimeter fence is barbed wire, because of the cows. The cross fence is barbed wire; however, I'm in the process of changing that to an electric tape. I don't like the barbed wire, but it's the only thing that will keep my cows in my pasture and visit the next door neighbor's bull!


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

I would never put barb wire up for horses. But, if an existing fence is there with barb wire you can put hot wire on it to keep horses off. Use the 6" insulators to help limit accidental contact.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

We moved our 20yo+ herd in 1999 from a place that had thin electric fence wire on top of wood fencing. It's probably the only thing worse than barbed wire bc the owner was eratic about the power to it, and one time I came out to find my 30yo horse with fencing wire wrapped around his back pastern!!!=0
We had 4/5 acres in old, properly put up cattle fencing with 2 strands of barbed wire on top. My old herd never got hurt on it. I imagine very young horses might have hurt themselves on it, so I do NOT recommend putting up brand new cattle fencing to enclose your pastures. Now that I've had the new fencing for a few years I STILL find pieces of rusty barbed wire. **sigh**
Where I used to keep my horses was the location of the family dump at one time. I spent all 14 years picking up garbage, putting in my pockets and throwing away in the garbage can I kept out there. I developed an eye for little pieces of glass and pottery. Fortunately there hasn't been much on my new place, which was a farmily farm some 100 years ago.
Personally, IMHO, I really like wood on the top of any fencing. =D


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## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

Lacey's pasture has a strand of barbed wire around the top of the perimeter fence (wooden fence with sheep fencing). 
For any other horse or if Lacey lived with other horses, I'm strictly against barbed wire. However, since she stays away from the fence and she's not very active on her own, I'm ok with it for now. 
Also, the stuff in Lacey's pasture seems like pretty dull wire since I got myself tangled in it once and I didn't get scratched at all...
In your case though, I wouldn't risk it if at all possible.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## xxBarry Godden (Jul 17, 2009)

Barbed wire belongs in WW 1 trenches.

It rips a horse's legs to pieces and causes scars which last for a lifetime.

Never Nope, not never.

Mind you, wire of any sort is dangerous to horses. Use proper wooden fencing - or electric tape.


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## Beauseant (Oct 22, 2010)

NO! I would never use it or board my horse anywhere that did....because things like THIS:










OR WORSE can and do happen!

Our then 5 yr. old OTTB ripped this lovely gash in his neck on a fence that was wood, topped with barbed wire.

SOME horses MAY do ok with barbed wire, but I wouldn't reccomend it for young OTTBs!:-(


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## caseymyhorserocks (Apr 5, 2010)

Nope. 

Search barbed wire horse injuries on google images. NASTY stuff, some stripped to bone!


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## AQHA13 (Apr 19, 2017)

Never! 

My aunts mare nearly ripped her leg in half playing over the fence with the neighbors horse. This was several years ago, but she payed enormous vet bills and spent much time changing bandaging. With only one huge scar, she was very lucky to have a sound horse in the end.


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Nope!

At my old barn, 2 horses got tangled up in it and my horse got a nasty puncture during the same week (not sure from what) but it has me spooked to stay away. I rather have hotwire fencing or wood


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## twh (Feb 1, 2010)

I know you see people using barbed wire to contain their horses. But that does not mean it's a safe or good idea.

A horse can hurt himself big time on barbed wire. Heck, horses have been put down over injuries sustained from barbed wire.


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## xxBarry Godden (Jul 17, 2009)

There is a system of licensing in the UK for professional stables. The proprietor has to get a licence to operate a DIY or professional equine yard.

Experience tells me that as yet not all counties operate a uniform policy in enforcing minimal standards of health and safety and of minimal care of the horses.

The use of barbed wire in fencing should be one of the cause of failure of inspection. Indeed any wire, barbed or otherwise, should be of a pattern licensed for use with horses. It the proprietor cannot afford to install safe fencing - then the proprietor should not be licensed to graze horses.

The use of barbed wire and several patterns of stock wire lead to the euthanasia of horses. It is only a matter of time before an accident occurs.


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## DuffyDuck (Sep 27, 2011)

No way. Never, ever, ever.

Even if a horse is considered to stay away from the fence line and not run around, no. They are still horses, they can be unpredictable... No.


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

We have some barbed wire on the property but we have a hot line set up well away from it to keep the horses off!!

Why?

A friend's mother has a stallion that not long after they bought him, nearly ripped a front leg off completely... because he was sleeping next to their boundary fence, which is barbed wire because the neighbour has cattle, and lightning struck the transformer across the road. He freaked out and BAM instant severe injury.


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## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

I guess I'm the only one that would use it. It's not my preference but if needed I would.

To those that say no because the horse can get hurt: I've seen a horse get cut from plastic fencing. High tensile wire can also do severe damage if it snaps. A horse can get caught up in any fencing, even wood. I've seen a horse get cast under the same plastic fencing that another got cut up running through. Heck, I've had a horse get cast in a winter blanket. I guess we shouldn't use those, huh? How about leantos that are sided with sheet metal? Sheet metal has sharp edges, so I guess those are out. Plastic siding gets brittle in the cold and can become like a dagger when it breaks, just like the plastic fencing. How about wood? Ever heard of slivers? How would you know if your horse had one until it gets infected and festers? I've had a horse get cut from a hay feeder. I guess I'm a bad owner for using one of those. Another horse got a cut next to his eye from a tree branch. Oops, forgot to take the trees out of the pasture.

So, we end up with a horse in a pasture with no fencing, and no shelter? But that doesn't work. Horses are accident prone no matter what we do. We could bubble wrap them but they could chew it off and choke. 

Barbwire has been used for a long time. It wouldn't be my first choice, but I would use it if the need arose. Sometimes electric or wood fencing just isn't feasible.


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## ptvintage (Feb 12, 2010)

usandpets said:


> I guess I'm the only one that would use it. It's not my preference but if needed I would.
> 
> To those that say no because the horse can get hurt: I've seen a horse get cut from plastic fencing. High tensile wire can also do severe damage if it snaps. A horse can get caught up in any fencing, even wood. I've seen a horse get cast under the same plastic fencing that another got cut up running through. Heck, I've had a horse get cast in a winter blanket. I guess we shouldn't use those, huh? How about leantos that are sided with sheet metal? Sheet metal has sharp edges, so I guess those are out. Plastic siding gets brittle in the cold and can become like a dagger when it breaks, just like the plastic fencing. How about wood? Ever heard of slivers? How would you know if your horse had one until it gets infected and festers? I've had a horse get cut from a hay feeder. I guess I'm a bad owner for using one of those. Another horse got a cut next to his eye from a tree branch. Oops, forgot to take the trees out of the pasture.
> 
> ...


This logic makes no sense. Barbed wire has a higher risk of injury than any other fence. Just because accidents could happen with other fencing and other objects doesn't make barbed wire any less dangerous. Your attitude is basically "Well, the horse could get hurt by X object, so no point in putting any effort into making the pasture safer!"

Shelters don't need to be made out of sheet metal, and I haven't ever boarded or used one that is. I do think it's dangerous. Fencing is frequently put around trees to keep horses away. I don't expose my horses to plastic siding. I don't understand how a horse could have gotten cast because of a blanket, but that was probably user error. I can't imagine a properly fitted blanket in good repair causing a horse to get stuck. I use strong wood that isn't likely to break. I had a horse crash into high tension wire with ~8 strands. She bounced right off it. 

I had a horse get stuck on my three board fence. I don't know how it happened, but it appeared she reared up next to the fence and fell on top of it, and had a board between her hips and her belly holding her in place. The fence had to be dismantled for her to get down. But guess what injuries she had: NOTHING MAJOR! Slight rubbing of the hair around her hips. I had the vet out to be 100% certain she was okay. If that had been a barbed wire fence, it could have been much much worse. 

My point is that you are right in the sense that they are accident prone and will find ways to get hurt, but that doesn't mean you put zero effort into making their environments as safe as possible. My thought is that BECAUSE they are accident prone, you put a ton of effort into making their environment as safe as you possibly can.


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## Sunny (Mar 26, 2010)

Sunny got an inch deep gash due to barbed wire last summer.

It took weeks of flushing and medicating, and they vet actually thought he was going to have to cut off the skin tag left. Thankfully, it dissolved back in.

She also got a nice long cut on her nose from it.

My first horse got a nasty injury on his fetlock from barbed wire.

So, two of my three horses have been injured on it.

Never again will it get near my horses.

Where I board uses Centaur fencing, and I've really grown to like it.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## twh (Feb 1, 2010)

Usandpets: of course, it is impossible to prevent every little nick and scratch our horses get --- even attempting to would undoubtedly lead to madness!

But what one can do is try to minimize the risks of serious accidents.

Barbed wire was designed to injure. For a horse to get into an accident involving barbed wire would take basically nothing --- he could simply accidentally roll into it. But something unusual has to have happened for a horse to get into a situation with a well-maintained traditional wooden fence. 

I've never seen a respectable barn (privates barns included) use barbed wire in their paddocks or fields.

You sound like a mother who wastold something in her house was hazardous to her child and should be removed, and whose response is: "Maybe I should take the whole house down then!" and starts listing out every single nonhazardous item in the house and how it could hurt the child.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

Another oddball here, my horses have barbed wire, in fact I can't remember a time that I didn't have some amount of barb in fencing in horse fields, either where I was riding, boarding or keeping them, at home.

I do agree it's dangerous, I know that if I google it I will see all sorts of horrific barb wire injuries. I will however also find really horrific plain wire degloving injuries, horses ran through the electric and caught up injuries etc etc.

The trick with any fencing is to keep it in a good state of repair, that minimizes the risk of injury.


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

Well I honestly havent gone out and checked how the wire is. I just asked and she told me there is barb wire out there. I know it was an old cow farm and he actually does have barb wire somewhere in the fencing where the woods are in his pasture now and hes never bothered with it. 

Would I have it any other way? Yes. As I don't honestly like barb but as usandpets stated horses can get hurt on anything and I agree.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## twh (Feb 1, 2010)

Cowgirls Boots said:


> As I don't honestly like barb but as usandpets stated horses can get hurt on anything and I agree.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Just because horses are accident prone doesn't mean you should be exposing them to things they can get hurt on. There's a big difference between a scrape from a tree branch and getting a leg tangled in barbed wire.


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## lilkitty90 (Nov 11, 2009)

GRAPHIC WARNING **
we had our horses in barbed wire for over a year, and within days of each other my mom's mare got her leg caught in it and pulled against it. she about sawed her foot off. luckily nothing bad was cut. it took almost a year to fix up. tons of vet bills, and vet visits but she is finally sound again. she does have an awkward shaped hoof now. and an ugly scar.

























a few days after the incident. my mustang mare was run through the same barbed wire before we could have it replaced, by a big TWH. which ripped her chest up.


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## arrowsaway (Aug 31, 2011)

is barbed wire OK for horses?
is grass green?
is the sky blue?

am I the only one that thought this was a given? >>


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

lilkitty90 said:


> GRAPHIC WARNING **
> we had our horses in barbed wire for over a year, and within days of each other my mom's mare got her leg caught in it and pulled against it. she about sawed her foot off. luckily nothing bad was cut. it took almost a year to fix up. tons of vet bills, and vet visits but she is finally sound again. she does have an awkward shaped hoof now. and an ugly scar.


Poor horses 



arrowsaway said:


> is barbed wire OK for horses?
> is grass green?
> is the sky blue?
> 
> am I the only one that thought this was a given? >>


I am not following.


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

I don't know if this like will work, but if it does, be warned before you even try it out, *the pics are very graphic and there is a lot of blood*.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.195374640475693.50499.112856465394178&type=3

This lady has a great facility, and good fencing, they are not sure how he did this but presume it was through kicking through a post and rail fence. Fact is that horses can and will get injured on anything.


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## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

ptvintage said:


> This logic makes no sense. Barbed wire has a higher risk of injury than any other fence. Just because accidents could happen with other fencing and other objects doesn't make barbed wire any less dangerous. Your attitude is basically "Well, the horse could get hurt by X object, so no point in putting any effort into making the pasture safer!" *Ever heard of sarcasm? Since all of you are "Oh no, my horsey-poo will get an owie so I won't use it." I thought I would bring to attention some other things you might want to avoid so your precious little Pookie doesn't get hurt.:roll:*
> 
> Shelters don't need to be made out of sheet metal, and I haven't ever boarded or used one that is. I do think it's dangerous. Fencing is frequently put around trees to keep horses away. I don't expose my horses to plastic siding. I don't understand how a horse could have gotten cast because of a blanket, but that was probably user error. *No, he rolled and the blanket slid enough that couldn't roll back over. As soon as I took the straps off, he got up.* I can't imagine a properly fitted blanket in good repair causing a horse to get stuck. I use strong wood that isn't likely to break. I had a horse crash into high tension wire with ~8 strands. She bounced right off it.
> 
> ...





twh said:


> Usandpets: of course, it is impossible to prevent every little nick and scratch our horses get --- even attempting to would undoubtedly lead to madness!
> 
> But what one can do is try to minimize the risks of serious accidents.
> 
> ...


 I never said I do use barbwire. I said that I would if needed. No I wouldn't use it for a paddock or a small pasture. If I had 80+ acres of pasture, I sure wouldn't be spending a fortune on wood fencing to go around it. I also wouldn't be putting electric fencing around it because there is too much chance of it shorting out somewhere. So what's left?

My attitude is not basically "Well, the horse could get hurt by X object, so no point in putting any effort into making the pasture safer!" I do do things to protect them, as much as I can. When we trailer one of our horses, we have to "Sheba proof" the trailer. No matter what we do, she ends up scraping her face. We even talked about bubble wrapping her but she would somehow scrape the one place that got left exposed. I do go through their pasture looking for things that might injure them, but I'm not going to go insane worrying about them getting hurt. I do keep an eye out for things when we are trail riding.

Yes we should do what we can to protect them. In most circumstances, barbwire shouldn't be used. However, there may be times it's needed. Just my opinion.


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## xxBarry Godden (Jul 17, 2009)

There once was a beautiful, kindly,heavy, shire cross named Tara. She was big, she was powerful, she was lovable. She was everything a draft horse should be. She was something special.

One night for some reason she got caught up in barbed wire. In the morning the neighbouring farmer spotted that she was standing oddly. He went over, he cut her free. We later estimated that she had been standing for up to 24 hours caught in the wire, during which time she had tried to free herself. Eventually she came to realize that only a human could help her, so she stood still. But in the meantime she had sawed the wire down through her flesh to her tendons.

Finally the owners found her. They cried a little and they called the vet. I watched the vet treat the horse. The owners spent five thousand pounds or more in vets fees. It was too late. The vets knew it. I suspected it.

A few weeks later they shot her. She died of gangrene. The severed flesh had turn mouldy. There was no way back. 

At one stage I had watched her stand in her stable trying to support her weight - perhaps 700 kilos on three legs. I had felt her agony. I had not known how to help her. She was not mine. I stood there wondering just how she took her pain. I could not bear to watch. I cried every time I went to see her. 

She had been put with other mares in a large field fenced with barbed wire, which had somehow come to wrap around her foot. The wire worked its way to the bone. Her bone. The wire went through her hairs, her tendons, her skin, her flesh. You could see the bone through the cut.

She was a lovely gentle horse. The sort you seldom find. 

Finally they dug a deep hole with a tractor and they buried her. Twenty five of us watched what had become a service of remembrance. Few now remember exactly where she lies. But I do. I'll never forget the look she gave me when she knew she would die soon.

Barbed wire is evil but it is cheap. It kills. But it fulfills a function.
Never use it with horses. Use it on humans, if you must.


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

But if that beautiful horse hadn't stood for 24 hours before they found her maybe the result would have been different, just saying.

All wire is evil, but then horses DO and WILL have the capacity to hurt themselves on most things. Good well kept fencing, routine maintenance and daily or twice daily checks of the horses will eliminate most issues whatever type of fencing you have.


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## ShinaKonga (Jun 24, 2010)

If I had a horse that was known for running through fences? Oh, hell no, I wouldn't touch the stuff.
With my gelding? He's been in a 24 acre pasture surrounded by barbed wire since I got him.
No fence is horse-proof. A month ago I was taking care of livestock removal for a friend who's horse got caught in a corral panel and broke both his back legs and his hips. He had to be put down that night.
I'm not oblivious to the hazards of my fencing either- I took care of a friend's horse while she was out of town when she sliced up her neck and withers by getting tangled in barbed wire.

I suppose I'm either an odd-ball or a terrible owner who doesn't deserve to own a horse. Oh, well. I suppose of anybody wants to call animal control on me for it, I can give you my address and you can send them on down.  I'm not saying that my horse will never get hurt on barbed wire, its fully possible, but its also possible for him to get hurt on wood fencing or pipe fencing or, as I discovered, even corral panels.


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## xxBarry Godden (Jul 17, 2009)

GH, You are right - if ever she had not been left unwatched for 24 hours maybe the results would have been different. It was not my call. On a DIY livery yard one often watches the blind leading the blind. Just how do you put the wisdom of job on a 14 year old girl's shoulders, whose mother doesn't like being told what _*not*_ to do. All you can do is to move out. But the wire stays put. 

As it was the owners might have saved her if she had been injected with antibiotics sooner, but the owners wouldn't listen. They wouldn'd even trim the feathers because they made the mare look pretty but she would have died anyway.

It was the wire that killed the mare. That awful lethal, accursed, barbed wire and of course, ignorance. 
The wire caught her, it trapped her, it cut her,it severed her tendons. The farmer used it because that's what he had always used - it is cheap and it keeps the sheep in their place.

Yes all fencing has its weaknesses. In centuries old hedges there are poisonous plants. Wooden fencing breaks under stress. Cattle wire without barbs is still lethal. 
But barbed wire is always potentially lethal until it is junked.


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

Well I walked the 50+ acre field today and checked the fences and most of it is just plain square wire. Sorta like chicken wire but not with the super tiny squares. I saw maybe a foot long stand in places but the horses have so much land I doubt they'll even care to go near the fences. 

I know no one has yet but don't turn this into a "omg your a terrible horse mom for puttin him near wire" I don't wana hear it because as I just stated the whole permitter isn't barb it's wooden fencing As well as the square wire I stated above. 

Thank you for all that replied. I appreciate your in put. I just started this thread to get others opinions. I just don't want it to turn ugly.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Tianimalz (Jan 6, 2009)

ShinaKonga said:


> If I had a horse that was known for running through fences? Oh, hell no, I wouldn't touch the stuff.


-glares at Indie-


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

Never. I'd much rather use stakes and electric tape if I have an area without split rail I need to rope off.


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## ShinaKonga (Jun 24, 2010)

Tianimalz said:


> -glares at Indie-


I was thinking about Indie when I typed that, LOL.


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## soenjer55 (Dec 4, 2011)

I have barbed wire fences for my horses, right now, because frankly as a minor I have no say in the matter. Our horses are very smart about it, don't mess with it, etc., but I still will never have barbed fences if I have a choice, even if I end up spending loads more money and have loads more difficulties (although it is NOT that hard to set up a proper fence. AT ALL.). In four years we have had two accidents. One, my neighbor was scaring our horses on purpose with his monster truck, and my gelding bolted and scraped his knee on it. It was just a scrape, but the point is that even if my horses know better, and I trust THEM, there are other factors involved (like disgusting neighbors).
The second incident was much worse. My young (at the time, 2) colt was out with the geldings in the 'big pen' with the barbed wire, and he was running as fast as he could, which was FAST. He ended up not being able to stop himself because of how fast he was going, and added to that the unfamiliar boundaries, and he flew over the fence, cutting both back legs open. He healed and had no permanent damage, but I still have a passionate hate for barbed wire and believe that unless the last option, it is NOT to be around horses. I don't condemn it, exactly, but I personally will never have it if I can help it.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Barbed wire is not meant for horses, but if it's a large pasture with good grazing & the wire is tight, it's a minimal risk. For smaller areas, poor grass it's a ticking time bomb. It's not a matter of when they will hurt themselves, it's a matter of when they will, & if they don't, color you lucky.


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## Sharpie (May 24, 2009)

Hmm... Ideally, one would never mix barbed wire and horses. That said, 90% or more of the horses I know live with barbed wire as part of their lives. Most of them never have a problem with it. My horse (before he was mine) was known go through an old three strand barbed wire fence where the middle strand was broken and the others loose. He'd put his head under the top strand let it scratch up and over him while he stepped over the bottom one. That image scares the bajeebers out of me. I watched him do it once before I bought him. Recipe for disaster.

A guy I know lost his favorite horse last summer when his horse tried to plow through a wooden rail fence. Somehow the wood broke in such a way that a spear of it went through his chest and killed him right there.

Horses are amazing, both in their intelligence at times and their ability to get into trouble at others. If I bought a barbed wire fenced property, I would use it if it was in good condition (not loose or broken), and slowly work at replacing it. I wouldn't put up new barbed wire anywhere though.


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

I have a five wire barbwire fence around about 6 acres where I keep my horses. I wouldn't have anything else if I could. If the wire is kept tight then all it can do is scratch and not very deep either. If it is kept tight and a horse hits it very hard it will snap and NOT entangle the horse. If you don't keep your wire stretched tight then it can be very dangerous but a properly maintained barb-wire fence is safe and effective way to contain horses in larger pastures.


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