Consider Wright Farm Gates

This is a Morgan horse inside a red set of corral panels.   Fencing not only makes for good neighbors, but for good animals as well.

          It's Spring on the farm and consistent with my plan to live life to the fullest, a Shetland pony and a miniature pony have joined the farm.  They have long names, but their barn names are Cocoa and Chip. The two of them are adjusting, and so are we.  I am finding horses, even smaller ones, to be more time consuming that alpacas.  I have also found that small horses will try to climb conventional fencing, and this is a definite no-no for little and not-so-little hooves.  Our solution, was to order a set of the corral panels I had been researching and that I profiled on a recent post here.

           I went to all our farm supply stores and found that the corral panels in the amount I needed them, were sold out and on probable long term back order.  I was also particular about the color. I wanted these to match other items on the farm and not introduce and entirely new color.   After some research I located a particular supplier who not only buys directly from the manufacturer, but who could also deliver these for a fee, to the site where I need to assemble the corral.   I purchased them over e-mail, and was slated to pay for these today.  Mr. Wright was on a delivery trip today, and promised to call me when he was about an hour from our home.  I received a call at about ten am that said he expected to be here around eleven am.  At five to eleven, I went down and gingerly opened, and entered the code to keep the electronic farm gate open.  No one delivering anything has ever been anywhere approaching on time, I thought.  A 10:59 am, Mr. Wright came through the gate and proceeded to the pre-arranged spot on the farm and unloaded the corral panels. We spoke briefly, and I paid him, and then he was on to the next delivery a couple of hours away by 11:11.    Not only did I receive beautiful corral panels with gorgeous gates in the color I wanted, but they were scratch and dent free unlike the ones I had seen in local farm suppliers.
          As you know, I don't advertise any product or service here of which I have a financial interest.  (Except my books of course, and I have not yet received any royalties on those)  When I tell you about something, it's in order to save you money or time, or to help you get the right thing, rather than wasting time and money on something else.

          I cannot say enough about Wright Farm Gates.  They have excellent products, with an excellent selection.  They do have distributors who sell these gates in some places, but they will personally truck deliver for a fee, the item you need.  I was fortunate in that I could buy a color and a type that they had in abundance that was "off the shelf".  However, if you have a special farming or livestock need, they can help with this too.  They can provide customized gates and fencing for emu, deer, buffalo, ostriches and other animals.  They sell everything from farm equipment to rodeo supplies.  They have gates, fencing,hay feeders, products for cattle operations,  dog kennels and even materials you could use to make your own custom dog kennel.  They also sell garden and landscaping implements. They also have powder coated wire fencing and gates suitable for smaller animals, and much much more.
           They routinely supply North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia, and are North Carolina's largest livestock equipment distributor.

          If you are in these areas and have any interest whatsoever, please go to their website which is:

www.WrightFarmGates.com

Their address and other contact information is:

150 Gateway Lane, Advance, North Carolina, 27006

336-998-8637



Prior related Rational Preparedness posts can be found at:

http://rationalpreparedness.blogspot.com/2013/01/some-points-on-large-animal.html

http://rationalpreparedness.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-features-and-benefits-of-corral.html

http://rationalpreparedness.blogspot.com/2012/02/considering-varieties-of-fencing-for.html

http://rationalpreparedness.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-value-of-excellent-auger.html

The Features and Benefits of Corral Panel Systems

   

 I did a prior post which touched on this subject, but I will clarify and enlarge upon some details in this one.

    I do a lot of talking about our responsibility to care for our animals properly in all weathers and especially in disasters and emergencies.  Most of us with dogs and cats have a plan.  Of course, if you have livestock such as horses, alpacas, cattle, goats, sheep, emu, etc. you need to have a more detailed plan for evacuating them.   Once you buy, rent, or get a friend to aid you with evacuation from your own site, you still need to have arrangements for where they might stay until your place is ready for your animals return.   Once you've secured a safe piece of land with a friend or your vet, how do you prevent your animals from becoming lost in an unfamiliar location ?    One of the ways you can keep livestock together and somewhat protected is through the use of corral panels which link together to provide fairly sturdy fencing for them. These can actually be assembled up against a barn or garage so that your animals have access to an indoor area, and can freely walk around in the corral.
     One of my friends keeps her animals on her farm and has a friend with a farm west of here with whom she has an evacuation arrangement, should a wildfire for example, trigger an evacuation of her farm.  She considers her friend's farm their evacuation location, or beta site. She has chosen to store her corral panels at the beta site, so that in an evacuation, all she would need to do is move the animals in a horse trailer herself. Her friend has a similar arrangement with her farm.  If you don't have a similar arrangement with someone, now is the time to consult with your farm vet. Most farm vets know of people who have space and run ins, who would often be agreeable to such an arrangement if it were made in advance.  Do not wait for an emergency and then try to relocate your animals. Advance planning is always best.

     Corral panels are available from a variety of manufacturers.  They come in galvanized which is a silver variety, and may also come in dark blue, brick red, or what most call "farm green". Rarer colors include yellow or brown.  Panels come in 6', 12' and 16 foot sizes. They are generally 5 feet tall. There are modular sections which have 4 or 6 foot gates.   The panels weigh about 50 lbs. each and are easily hooked together using the pin assembly on each corner, by two people working together.  One person can assemble these, but it goes much faster with two.   Some people assemble these as circles, especially for horses as they can also be used as riding rings, but others configure them as squares or as rectangles, although a triangle is certainly possible.   Some people use these as permanent fencing, and if you do this, you should anchor the fencing additionally by securing the corners using wood posts buried in the ground, which the fencing could be strapped to in some fashion.

        

This is how one manufacturer links the panels together.  This is a galvanized panel.

This is an example of how livestock panels can be linked up to make a circular enclosure.  Note the gate at the far right of the picture.

This set of corral panels is being stored upside down. They will last longer if stored with a roof above them perhaps with other farm implements.

Such corrals can also be transported fairly easily.

This is a small temporary enclosure for animals  If you use a corral panel system for miniature horses, you may need to place something else below the lowest rail.  Really young miniatures horses can get stuck while trying to exit the enclosure..

A horse near corral panels.

                A number of companies manufacture these panels.  Some home improvement stores have them, depending upon your area, as a special order item.  Certainly, agricultural supply companies usually have a way of getting them.   They come up used occasionally in rural areas on Craigslist.    A few sellers of corral systems advertise new corrals on Craigslist.    It can be very difficult to buy all the portions you want with the gate sizes you want, and so it can take time to buy what you need.  In my area, these systems were stocked for Spring, and are now all sold out.   This is what I get for singing the praises of planning ahead and making sure you have provisions for your own animals.

               If you plan to use a run in structure for your animals, and permanently link a corral fencing system around it, you can set galvanized poles in concrete on both sides of the structure. (Please cap them, so rain doesn't become ice and shorten their lifespan)  then, you can link up, or secure your corral fencing to these. Remember also to secure your corners in the same way.

These horses are being pastured with red corral panels

                Depending upon the size of the corral you need, they can be purchased for anywhere from $695. US to $1500. US   If you have livestock, this is definitely something you might consider,  for your tax refund. Conventional animal fencing is often much more expensive, and generally more permanent.  It is also possible to buy corral fencing systems with wire bottoms for the purpose of fencing smaller animals, such as chickens, ducks, and smaller goats and sheep.   It is also possible to use some of the wired prefabricated fencing systems to fence around garden areas depending upon the size you wish to contain.

This particular gate can be specially ordered from Home Depot. This particular one is not designed to link up with a corral panel set up, but there are some that are.  In addition, with a little of extra work, these could be used to create a square or rectangular region designed to protect a particularly sensitive area of a vegetable garden.

               When you do decide to buy a corral fencing system, order it well in advance from the time you anticipate needing it, as there can be a significant backorder on these items at certain times of year and in areas where there has been a tornado, or other emergency, and emergency temporary fencing for a large number of animals has been needed.

GATE WARNING:   Many horses have great dexterity with their lips, not unlike fingers.  I have watched horses casually unlock a number of different types of gates and then go for a stroll.  Make sure that all of your gates are secure, and if you have any doubts, add an additional way of securing the gate.  I know of one horse who had his temporary pen tied with a scarf because he could defeat all the other locks.  Mr. Ed has abilities you haven't even contemplated !



Should you have an interest in other types of fencing, these are prior posts of ours on the subject:

 http://rationalpreparedness.blogspot.com/2013/01/some-points-on-large-animal.html

http://rationalpreparedness.blogspot.com/2012/02/considering-varieties-of-fencing-for.html

http://rationalpreparedness.blogspot.com/2012/04/gates.html


This also applies to fencing installation:

http://rationalpreparedness.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-value-of-excellent-auger.html



These are simply a few of the manufacturers and sellers of these items in the US:  Most will also send to Canada.

Baird Gate Corral Panels

Tractor Supply Corral Panels

Home Depot Corral Panels

C Siron Corral Panels