Phyllis Posted November 21, 2002 Report Share Posted November 21, 2002 I have been training my 1 1/2 year old BC at a ranch about 20 miles from my home. I have just aquired about 2 acres adjacent to my house. So I would like to get specs (hieght, width, etc.) for the pen, the gates and the chute. I'd also like plans for the gate panels. I realize I could figure it out, but if plans are available on some web site, it would save me some head work. We have just had our first good winter rain and the grass is now up about 3 inches, and I can hardly wait for my fencing to be complete so I can use this pasture for my little dog training flock of a whether, one ewe and one bred ewe due to lamb in January. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PrairieFire Posted November 21, 2002 Report Share Posted November 21, 2002 Pasture getting ready, huh? I'm putting the heaters in the waterers, setting out the bale feeders, and generally getting ready for a few feet of snow... Panels are set 7 yards apart - no "real" specs on height and width, I've usually seen them 8' long and 4 feet high, just because it's convenient... Officialy pen size is 8' x 9' but I use 8' gates for mine, as do many folks... While it's nice to train so you're heading for something, I know few people who set up a course and train on it - just pick a spot and drive your dog that way - turn at the thistle, etc...don't really need anything fancy... ------------------ Bill Gary Kensmuir, Working Stockdog Center River Falls, WI 715.426.9877 www.kensmuir.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phyllis Posted November 21, 2002 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2002 - just pick a spot and drive your dog that way - turn at the thistle, etc...don't really need anything fancy... A good idea Bill. I can just put a few posts in the ground for the time being. Right now just getting the sheep from the barn yard corral over to the gate to the new pasture will be good practive in working gates or chutes. I don't envy those of you who get to work in sub freezing weather. Right now we are hoping for another storm, or that nice green grass will start to shrivel. (Autumn storms in Calif means a day or two of rainy weather that wets the ground but not too much run off. - the heavier storms usually hit after the first of the year.) Phyllis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PrairieFire Posted November 22, 2002 Report Share Posted November 22, 2002 Hey Phyllis - Stakes in the ground are good - I was also taught to drive a "walking square" - where I stand (but not solidly, I drift with the dog and stock), while driving in straight lines, with square corners, around in a "square". you may already know this, but with very young dogs, I let them "drive" the stock toward a gate the stock want to get to anyway...and then use a lie down so the dog can get used to the stock "escaping". ------------------ Bill Gary Kensmuir, Working Stockdog Center River Falls, WI 715.426.9877 www.kensmuir.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pipedream Farm Posted November 22, 2002 Report Share Posted November 22, 2002 Phyllis, Bill's suggestions will work well for most of your training (we only have posts right now). But if you're planning on trialing, at some point you should get a set of gates and a free standing pen because stock will often behave differently when approaching panels and it's different to pen stock when they can run around the pen. For gates we've used pallets, homemade wooden panels, and 4' sections of vinyl fence panels. Our current pen consists of two 8' red tube gates (sides) and a 6' red tube gate (back) tied together at the corners. We have no gate on our pen (ran out of tube gates), but we're finding that learning to pen without a gate makes penning at the trials easier. ------------------ Mark Billadeau Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PrairieFire Posted November 22, 2002 Report Share Posted November 22, 2002 Hey Mark - Just a comment on using gates for a pen... I use 8' gates for the pen I use at my trial - no complaints so far... To attach them to each other I use large, stainless steel hose clamps that I got from an auto store. Three down each side make a sturdy arrangement, and to reverse the direction of the hinge for the gate, you can just kinda "fold" the pen around itself...if that makes sense. For the hinges, I bought chain link fence hinge pieces that clamp on - they weren't quite the right size, but with the judicious use of "big freaking hammer" they work pretty darn well... Anyway, after fighting for years trying to figure out what would work for a lightweight, strong pen, that could be reversed and toted, this seems to be a pretty good solution. I did finally build some heavy, strong panels for the trial, though, gates weren't visible enough at long distances, even painted white. ------------------ Bill Gary Kensmuir, Working Stockdog Center River Falls, WI 715.426.9877 www.kensmuir.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pipedream Farm Posted November 22, 2002 Report Share Posted November 22, 2002 Bill, actually the pen we use is at our neighbor's (Mary Brighoff) place. She found the right hardware (I guess chain link fence hinge pieces) to use the attached gate hinges to hold the gates to one another, it was easier to describe the pen as tied. For the Oatlands SDT I built a wooden pen and Mary bought 8' sections of vinyl fencing and the posts. We attached the posts to the panels and we just slip the hollow posts over t-posts we pound in the ground. The vinyl gates were a bit expensive, but for running a trial away from home having light weight equipment is a plus. ------------------ Mark Billadeau Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PrairieFire Posted November 22, 2002 Report Share Posted November 22, 2002 Haven't tried the vinyl stuff. I did try to use PVC pipe, it sagged too much. I figure for my trial I'm gonna stick with the strong wood panels, especially as long as I run my Roy... Last fall, on the fetch, he had a sheep dive off to his left, just before the fetch panel - he cut it off and drove it right OVER the left hand panel at a full gallop - sending a panel that probably weighed 50# straight up in the air... I thought it gave a whole new meaning to the phrase "hitting the panels"... ------------------ Bill Gary Kensmuir, Working Stockdog Center River Falls, WI 715.426.9877 www.kensmuir.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vpwolf Posted November 24, 2002 Report Share Posted November 24, 2002 Quick, easy way to set up a temporary panel in your field is get a "T" post pound it into the ground and slide a pallet over it thus creating a "wall" of some sort on each side.....not exactly "specs" but it works and gives you something to aim for. It is also easily moved about. Also, I quick freestanding pen I've used round pen panels (with stakes to hold them up of course). If your short on posts there is of course the good ol' twine and duct tape LOL. Kris Wolf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.