Not all gates swing the same

link Audra Brown

In the constant quest to keep cattle (and other livestock) contained, the gate is a crucial component. In the best of times, the great swinging gate holds the line. In some places, the gates of doom hang over our head with the threat of well-weighted assistance, and elsewhere, the gates of air and aluminum swing freely in the breeze.

But here in Realsville, not all gates swing so well. Many will never swing, and even some will never even truly be gates.

Some are not even gates at all. Gates rigged out of pallets, panels, and pieces of equipment are always around.

The gates of fire are traditionally seasonal warriors, showing up during the winter months when cattle are quartered on fields of wheat or other temporary pasture that does not have a permanent fence.

These gates are not much to look at, appearing as little more than a wire strung across the road. Nonetheless, they are charged with enough electricity to make contact quite unpleasant.

They are required to wear flags of bright color or duct tape silver in order to be more visible to both their prisoners and their allies.

These unassuming gates and their accompanying fence have one glaring weakness: tumbleweeds.

These rolling menaces of the Plains are quite good at breaking and scattering electric fence.

Luckily, preparations can be made to ward the wire against the great tumbling menace. By constructing the fence and gate of two-ply wire, either barbed or not, many tumbleweeds will be stopped in their tracks rather than bust through and break the crucial connection to the fencer.

The other enemy of these gates is, sadly, their allies. Due to the come-and-go nature of the gates of fire and their Spartan appearance, many fall to the vehicles of their builders when they are forgotten, or for whatever reason, go unseen.

They are always repaired, but as these valiant gates mature, they collect many splices and knots until the day when they can no longer hold themselves together and are reduced to so many pieces of tie-wire.

Audra Brown has had to splice a few gates. Contact her at:

[email protected]