
Allison Lee
Smallholding Correspondent
1:00 AM 4th January 2025
lifestyle
Fencing The Paddocks
Moving to a new location with an unfenced paddock of just under five acres was a challenge, especially as I had an established smallholding that we were also relocating. With micro pigs, pygmy goats, a small flock of sheep, miniature ponies, donkeys, and chickens, time was of the essence to get sections of the land suitably fenced for the arrival of the animals.
Luckily, the people we bought the property from didn’t have any animals, and with contracts exchanged and an agreement in place, we arranged for a fencing contractor to start before our removal date. He managed to get a few paddocks fenced, and along with an amazing company, Smiths Sectional Buildings, we had shelters for the pigs, goats, sheep and chickens. The property already had a substantial stable block, so I knew the ponies and donkeys would have somewhere safe and secure until the rest of the land was fenced.
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Although we had planned the paddocks on paper before the work started, we quickly changed our minds once we had moved into the property and started to work with what we had. Having a starting point is always a good idea, but I would never be afraid of making changes if things you hadn’t previously considered begin to unfold. For example, we had originally planned to have the muck pile at the back of the stables where it would be out of sight; however, in reality, this was far too close to the house and, in the height of summer, would have caused problems with flies and smells so this was quickly reconsidered and a new site decided upon.
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Once the animals were on the land, other things came to mind. When one of the ponies succumbed to laminitis due to the rich grass, I needed to rethink where they would spend a lot of their time, and a small sand arena was added to our plans. Whilst I wanted the layout of the paddocks to look nice, it also had to work for us and the animals, and big decisions had to be made. Mistakes can be costly, so it was important to work with the fencing contractor and plan things carefully.
The work took a few weeks to complete, mainly due to the weather, but I couldn’t be more thrilled with how it looks. We have nine paddocks of various sizes, along with a small sand turnout area.
I highly recommend Smiths Sectional Buildings if you are looking for any animal shelters or stables. They have provided me with some excellent, well-built housing over the years. For more information
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You can find Allison on Instagram countryliving_writer or visit her website here