Description
Horses were the main focus of this multi species system in Texas. The sanctuary houses 300+ horses requiring yearly veterinary care. The layout is similar to cattle systems, but for horse safety, the single file chute is divided in sections to hold single animals in line to the squeeze chute. Like bison, horses do not like standing and waiting in a single file chute. They panic and try to jump out. This facility has slide gates between each animal in line, keeping them calm. The single file chute splits, and one side has restraint equipment for foot trimming. Donkeys and Burros are handled the same way. Photos and videos links of this system are on this website. Solid sided fences were installed in high use areas like the curved lane and crowd pen. Blocking vision with solid fences keeps the horses calm. Deep groove concrete floors also keep horses calm, and give them confidence when walking through the facility. The last is curved fences. Curved fences promote forward motion and make animals think they’re going back where they came from, and the curves prevents abrupt corners or chutes that appear dead-ended. Curved fences also take advantage of cattle’s natural tendency to circle. The pens, alleys, gates, and the curved fence area was built using surplus oil filed pipe. The gate posts and strike posts are 4-1/2″ OD pipe, the fence posts 2-7/8″ OD pipe, and the top rail, fence rails, and all the gates were made with 2-3/8″ OD pipe.
