This is mostly a "science" question. I use electric horse fence and I am considering using it for the dogs now too. We’re talking about above-ground, "hot" single-strand electrified fence wire.
I will be sure to use the proper voltage, etc. for dogs.
BUT – here’s my question…. does the dog have to have at least one foot on the ground for a shock to happen?
I think she is climbing the existing fence. I think that when she gets to the top edge, she may not be touching the ground at all.
I can not put the wire down low – the dogs yard is very large and I can never keep up with the mowing and weeds.
( I assume it is correct that weeds can short-out the electric fence.)
I want to just run the hot wire along the existing wooden posts with the plastic holders I have always used for the horse pasture. But, again, I am thinking that it won’t work if she is totally off the ground.

If she is climbing the fence, and I assume that it is not a wooden fence, the fence will ground her and the electric wire will stop (shock) her. If you have a wooden fence run a second grounded wire about a foot lower than the hot wire. It won’t take but one time to break her of the habit.
We had a temporary electric fence, to rotate grazing for some cows, which crossed a little used dirt lane. My dog was running ahead of me when I went I was walking down that lane to check on the cattle. My dog ran into the wire, she still won’t cross that line where the wire ran and it’s been removed for three years.

I was at a farm today and I heard about this owner who comes once a week with his lawn mower and mows his horse’s pasture that’s full of poop. Is that okay to do???

Pastures need to be mowed for weed control.

Using a lawn mower is OK, as long as he sets the mower deck high enough to avoid most of the poop. If it’s a small paddock, the poops should be removed first, but you can’t do that in a large field.

Harrowing is a bad idea, as it spreads the parasite laden poops wide and far. Drying them, or wetting them, or freezing them has no effect; only composting them in a pile will kill the little buggers. If you just leave them where they’re put (large pasture), the horse will avoid them and gradually develop a "toilet" area. In a paddock, they must be removed.

I use a tractor and brushhog to mow my pastures as necessary, usually every other week in the spring, once a month in the fall.

Edit: If your horse is in a field that’s harrowed or spread with fresh poop, your horse will need much more frequent worming. I prefer to keep the pastures freer of worm eggs, the horses freer of worms, and have to deworm them only twice a year. I have fecal counts done, and the vet says they’re low, even before I worm.

The horses get fewer worms, they get fewer chemicals, they’re less likely to suffer from either, and I save money.

How do you control weeds in a pasture? I just leased 10 acres, and it had some good grass but it was being overwhelmed by all the weeds. I mowed it and it rained a lot and it got worse. I just mowed it again, and it just rained a lot again, is there anything product I can put on the pasture that won’t hurt my horses but kill the weeds and let the grass grow?

If it’s really bad, get a permit and burn the field, then re-seed the grass. Your fire department might want to do it for you, as a practice controlled burn.

If it’s not that bad, pull the individual weeds (provided they have not gone to seed) up by the roots and burn those. Or, get a herd of cows or goats to graze it down for you. They eat different plants than horses and might do a good job for you depending on the weeds.

Keeping a field mowed or bush hogged when it’s not in use will keep the weeds at a minimum, but sometimes you have to do something drastic if a field as been left to grow on its own for a while.

I am looking to buy a tractor to mow 14 acres that a hilly pasture makes up most of it. I would also use it to pull out stumps and level out our gravel driveway. I have no idea what I need to buy. Any suggestions will be greatly appericiated.

Massey Ferguson makes the best tractors on the market. They use mostly all steel for their tractors. Whereas Deere, Kubota, New Holland, etc, use more plastic. Masseys are more heavy duty. Go check out a Massey. Trust me, they are the best!

We live in a rural area. Our property is fenced for livestock along with an electrical wire to keep animals from reaching through or pushing on fence. Neighbors pasture is overgrown with brush and trees that keep falling on or pushing through our fence and shorting out electrical wire. We are also having problems mowing fence line because of tree branches hitting cab of tractor. Who is responsible to keep limbs off our side of property?

I live in a rural area also and when we install fencing we put it into our property enough so that we can get a brush hog completely around the outside.
You could rent/buy a sickle bar mower attachment and shear off all of the trees and bushes from your side at ground level-then maintenance would be much easier.
I thought that what the cab on my John Deere was for-to protect me from the elements while using the tractor.
If you have a strong enough fencer it will kill the weeds and brush touching it-lessening the need to mow.
At any rate-it is your responsibility to keep your fences clear and working.

the fields are full of "potholes" so i dont want it to get stuck. the mower will be a grasshoper front mount

don’t the horses do that?

You might ask the people who are selling you the mower if it’s OK for that use. Bet they’ll say "fill the holes, then OK".

Let the grass go to seed for a fuller pasture later.

i HAVE NEVER HAD ALLERGYS BEFORE AND THIS IS REALLY BAD IVE BEEN COUGHING FOR TWO WEEKS ,A NEIGHBOR ALSO CHOPPED THISTLES FROM HIS YARD AN GOT FLU LIKE SYMPTOMS FOR SEVERAL WEEKS COUGHING AN SNEEZING HE HAS NEVER HAD ALLERGYS BEFORE EITHER.

Local symptoms are:

* Nose: swelling of the nasal mucosa (allergic rhinitis)
* Eyes: redness and itching of the conjunctiva (allergic conjunctivitis)
* Airways: Sneezing, bronchoconstriction, wheezing and dyspnea, sometimes outright attacks of asthma, in severe cases the airway constricts due to swelling known as anaphylaxis.
* Ears: feeling of fullness, possibly pain, and impaired hearing due to the lack of eustachian tube drainage.
* Skin: various rashes, such as eczema, hives (urticaria) and contact dermatitis.
* A headache from sinus pressure[6] can arise if inflammation swells tissue surrounding the tiny sinus drains.

Have you anything of these?
It could be allergy , but it also could mean allergy in something else.
Allergies do not always appear when you eat-smell something for the first time . You can eat as much fava beans as you want but some day you may pay for it. Ditto for fish accompanied with cheese etc.So, have you eaten something very strange?

I’ve heard mixed opinions about it being ok to let them graze on it as long as the grass has dried for at least 24 hours. I mowed a fairly big section and the grass was super long. I don’t want my horses to colic but I need to change pastures so I can mow the other one. Any words of advice?

If it was pretty long and the grass is in piles rather than spread around , then the grass is likely to begin fermenting fairly soon. It would not be safe for the horses when that happens. I always pull the drag and light harrow behind the mower to toss the grass around so it doesn’t form piles and ferment, and my horses stay in the pasture and eat with no problem.
Fermentation occurs when there is depth to a pile of grass. Anaerobic microbes deep in the pile begin to multiply because they thrive where it is moist and dark, and there is no air flow, so these microbes digest and decompose the grass. Toxic molds or deadly botulinum bacteria may be present in the grass and multiply, and if the horses eat it, they can become seriously ill. If the grass is left in piles, then even after 24 hours it is risky to let the horses eat it.
If you can harrow or drag it and spread it out so it doesn’t ferment, it would be safe. You can rake it by hand if the field is small. At this point it has already begun to ferment if it is piled up, so it would need to be spread out and dried in the sun for at least 24 hours to kill any microbes that have multiplied, and drying it for 48 hours would be safer.
But if it is left in piles, then fermentation can continue as ground moisture combined with the dark, low oxygen environment sustains it.
So it really depends on whether the grass is spread out well and exposed to air or not. If it is, then it should be safe for the horses to eat.

I read that it is bad to give a horse grass clippings, and there are very tall weeds that my horses aren’t eating. Is it ok to mow them?

well its bad to give any horse a ton of grass if they aren’t used to it. but if they’ve been on grass for a while they probably aren’t going to colic.

before you mow, double check what the weeds are. are they a type that could be harmful to ingest? your horses may be avoiding them out of instinct. It’s a good idea to clean up the clippings, just in case.