Horse panels vs cattle panels for hoop coop

[imacowgirl2]

Do horse panels bend as easily as cattle panels? Or at least easy enough to make a hoop coop? Looking at my local TSC, the horse panels are 5' x 16' vs cattle panels which are 50" x 16'. While the horse panels are twice the price of the cattle panels, they also have 2"x4" holes, eliminating the step (and time and cost) of wrapping the cattle panels in welded wire, and giving me an extra 20" of length to my coop. Eliminating the added cost of the welded wire brings the cost of the horse panels within $60 of the cattle panel method, which might be worth the savings of time and annoyance of dealing with adding second layer of wire. But only if those horse panels will bend easily enough to make a hoop coop...

 

[Percheron chick]

You can not bend a horse panel. They are made from 1 1/2 to 2" steel tubes. They need to hold up to a 1000# animal

 

[imacowgirl2]

You can not bend a horse panel. They are made from 1 1/2 to 2" steel tubes. They need to hold up to a 1000# animal

I should have clarified; not metal tube gate panels; these horse panels I'm talking about look identical to cattle panels except they have 2" x 4" holes instead of the larger holes cattle panels have.

TSC horse panel

 

[aart]

Livestock panels come in various configurations, it can be maddening keeping them straight.
Most rod sizes are the same, the main differences are the spacing of the rods.
I've used both hog panels, smaller spacing on one side, and cattle panels.
The hog panels were stronger and a bit harder to 'bend'.

 

[Percheron chick]

I realized we were talking 2 different products.
You should be able to bend the panel fairly easily because of the orientation of the wire. The frame and braces will need to be beefed up because the pressure to straighten out will be greater. You might need to ratchet the end together to help bend it. Those are pricey.

 

[Folly's place]

Either way, additional security will include hardware cloth, so I'd use the less expensive, easier to handle cattle panels. You would get a larger coop with the horse panels, true.
I've only used the cattle panels here, so want to hear how it goes if you use the other product.
Mary

 

[NatJ]

Do horse panels bend as easily as cattle panels? Or at least easy enough to make a hoop coop? Looking at my local TSC, the horse panels are 5' x 16' vs cattle panels which are 50" x 16'.

When I look at TSC's website, I see they list the wire gauge for most of the panels.
The cattle panels seem to be made of 4 gauge wire, and the horse panels of 6 gauge wire.
(Smaller number is thicker, stronger wire.)

Of course, you should check the descriptions for the ones you would actually buy, rather than just taking my word for it-- it might be different at one store or another, or might change with time.

Will they let you try to bend one before you buy? Or maybe you can buy one, try to bend it, and then return it if you cannot bend it? (As in, try bending before you even leave the lot.)

2"x4" holes, eliminating the step (and time and cost) of wrapping the cattle panels in welded wire

That hole size will keep chickens in and dogs out, but some predators can reach right through that size hole to grab a chicken. So you might still need a layer of hardware cloth.

 

[Krugerrand]

Here is a sample coop that used both cattle and horse panel:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/compost-included-deep-litter-hoop-coop.66883/

The stated purpose was to help keep out aerial predators. knightwriter hasn't been around in almost 7 years.