The Devoted Barn has put out a plea that they need money for brand new fencing on the entire property. In one GoFundMe- they said they need $50,000 for TWO paddocks!! We have some questions about this. Why would they need brand new fencing instead of repairing the fencing they already have? The cost to do this would be MUCH less than what they are asking for.
The current fencing on the property is Centaur CenFlex 5" Rail Fencing. https://www.centaurfencing.net/collections/cenflex-rail/products/cenflex . This fencing is very safe for the horses and easy to maintain. It is designed to need very little maintenance. It even comes with a 20 year warranty! Go read reviews on this stuff. It's really a very good product. This fencing is a poly flex that is a continuous rail with tension. The tension of the fencing can be tightened if it comes loose. When a horse hits it, instead of breaking through and potentially injuring itself, they bounce off. It works that way to hopefully prevent accidents like what happened to Rogue in Newport. https://www.facebook.com/TheDevotedBarn/photos/a.194336130744206/1272323129612162/
What probably does need maintenance and replacement are the wooden posts to which the fencing attaches. Wooden posts can rot, or get chewed on to the point that they snap. Each wooden post costs around $15. Instead of brand new fencing. Why doesn't The Devoted Barn invest money into some new wooden posts, and some sweat equity into maintaining the integrity of the existing poly fence? Even if they need new sections of the Centaur fencing, it is much less expensive than what they are proposing is required. Instead of $50k for just the two paddocks, perhaps they could spend $15k or less and fix all of the paddocks. Just a cost saving thought....It would definitely be more labor intensive on organizers and volunteers, but in the end it would save so soooo much money.
Another way to help maintain the fencing they already have would be to put up electric tape. This tape keeps the horses from leaning on the already compromised fencing and damaging it further. From early videos you can see that the prior owners of this property did just that. You can see the white electrical tape all around the paddocks. Where did all of this tape go?
Here Melissa actually mentioned the hot wire and how it was working (1:17 "Thelma got zapped")
https://www.facebook.com/TheDevotedBarn/videos/2430673277000975 October 2019 (You can see fencing condition in the background)
https://www.facebook.com/TheDevotedBarn/videos/915834725483444- Nov 2019 ( at 8 minutes you can see paddock by boarding barn)
https://www.facebook.com/TheDevotedBarn/videos/456734918888857 - April 2021 (Large paddock)
Here is what is happening now.....
https://www.facebook.com/TheDevotedBarn/videos/1220225235159290- Horse under fence
To us, this just looks like management doesn't know how to properly maintain fencing. Fencing on a farm requires ongoing, daily maintenance. Of course the fencing needed repair when they bought the place. It's likely you could go visit most large farms and find fencing that needs repairs. It takes a lot of physical labor to keep up on it! Instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars, The Devoted Barn should consider what is already there. Why would they not investigate this option? To spend so much extra money would be fiscally irresponsible. Yep, it will take some work and sweat but in the end there would be more financial resources to put towards the animals! And isn't that the goal?
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