We have used heavy galvanized livestock panels for years. Yes, they
are a bear to take down and put up...it takes two of us. BUT, they are
very safe. We put no more than two horses in a 12' X 24' corral using four
panels and the side of our 20' gooseneck livestock trailer. If our horses
had not been in this confinement when a bunch of wild burros came off the desert
at the Death Valley ride many years ago, they would still be out there
somewhere. The horses freaked, bounced off the trailer wall and the corral
panels, and stayed where they were supposed to be. We did have to pack up
and move 50 miles away in the middle of the night in order to find some peace
and quiet. The burros weren't going away, but we didn't lose our
horses. I have never tried a Hi-Tie. They look great, but what
happens if a horse freaks out like in our experience? Or what happens if
you have a horse that pulls back really hard? Can they break
or pull off the trailer? (We had a horse once who would pull back,
almost sit down and would not quit until something broke.)
I agree with Heidi Smith, who being a rancher, knows what it takes to
confine cattle who are a lot less sensitive to confinement than horses.
The term "bulling your way through something" must have been coined by a
cattleman.
