Getting ready for horses

My youngest, although not the equestrian her sister is, has a huge heart and is a hard worker.  She couldn't wait to get out and help dad put up the fence.  She knows that showing responsibility is the first step toward getting her own horse.  Smart girl!

One of the things we looked forward to most about our move to the country was the opportunity to have horses and other livestock—but mostly horses.  I have wanted a horse since I was a little girl, and one of my girls has dreamed of having one since she was 3.  At 11 years old, she is already quite the equestrian.  She has a knack with all animals, but horses are her first love for sure.  We started planning an equine addition to our family long before we ever considered making this move so that she would have her own to love and train on.  Now, with over 9 acres, we have room to spare for a horse or two.  Or three.

First things first though… Our 9+ acres are beautiful but unfenced.  In order to fix this issue, we had to take a few short breaks from home construction in order to get the front pasture ready.  Thankfully, a quality fence is something my husband can build in his sleep.  He has hung miles of fence around our area for several years now leaving hundreds of happy customers in his wake. 

Although I realize our present project seems rather large, I really am a simple girl with simple tastes.  I wanted a fence that was “non-ugly” and functional (that meant no t-posts or scraggly wire).  We decided on a simple 1-rail fence with two rows of barbless wire underneath for the three sides that face the road and within the property (you never want barbed wire for horses—dangerous injuries would result).  The property line fence is just posts and wire.

In addition to having relatively simple tastes, I’m also a budget conscious bargain hunter.  Fences are really expensive.  (I’m so happy I don’t have to pay regular price!)  We opted for a half-new, half-reclaimed fence.  All of the street facing posts and all fence rails are new—bought at McCoy’s.  The remaining posts that line our 800 foot driveway, those that face the house and those on the property line are reclaimed posts taken from job sites where an old fence was being removed.  Instead of having crews toss the old posts, my husband loaded them on one of his trailers and brought them home.  Now, there is less waste AND these used posts have already cracked and warped as much as they ever will, so we don’t have to worry about shifting.  BONUS!

Due to the recycled nature of the project, not all of the posts matched, so we decided to paint all the wood.  All ~2000 feet.  Front and back.

Thankfully, like John, Paul, George and Ringo, we get by with a little help from our friends.  And we put our kids to work.  A dear family from church with whom we have been blessed to spend a lot of time with lately thanks to our shift in lifestyle offered to come out and work with us for a day.  Husband and wife and their 4 children pitched in with my husband and I and our 3 kids, my father-in-law and an uncle, and we got a TON of work done.  The 5 girls (their 3, my 2) were the designated painters, and they did an amazing job!  And they enjoyed each other (and got REALLY paint-y) in the process.