Ergonomic solutions for your livestock and you. Serving Maryland and Virginia.
Gate Systems: the good, the bad and the downright dumb!
I’ve spent a lot of time using and evaluating gate systems – here are some of my favorites. You’ll shake your head at some, probably relate to others, and then some will simply make you laugh. Please send your good and bad gate photos and we’ll include them in the slideshow!
One of my favorite hooks - easy to manage it one-handed and very secure. You must have opposable thumbs in order to use it.
Another one of my favorite hooks - easy to lift up the latch, and it hooks close automatically.
Carabiner hooked to welded wire fence in poor condition. Not safe and not easy to use.
Some gates come with a notch that you can fit a chain link into - works quite well and is easy to unlatch unless you've made the gate too tight. This one also can hook to the eye-bolt - not a great solution, but gives some added security to the gate.
Pretty common for the inside of doors and some gates. OK, but these can get rusty and/or stuck.
A very nice lift-up system. Heavy duty latch that fits completely over the pole. Only downside is that some animals can figure out how to lift these up.
Bungee cords. NO NO NO! So dangerous. I once nearly lost my eye undoing a gate latched with a bungee cord.
Clever and attractive- a horseshoe acts as the latch on the iron gate.
This is a nice, strong gate secured to a solid wall and latched with a strong latch - it has to be, to contain this guy!
A simple hook. A large animal could bust the eye bolt out easily. It also has the disadvantage that it can only be opened/closed from the outside.
Again, my favorite hook type. Lifts up and locks itself upon falling back down on the very heavy duty eye-bolt.
No. Semi-broken pressure latch barely attached to a chain.
Don't do this.
Keys to a dungeon.
There's not much to be done if you simply leave the door open.
There are two problems here: First, there are two chains. In order to go in and out of this gate, you must unfasten and re-fasten two separate chains. Second, the chains are the compression -latch type which often rust and get stiff and in general are very difficult to manipulate.
This is a very fine old gate in a barn. It is being held together, however, by frayed baling twine.
A flimsy chain is attached to a loose deck screw. This is the only point of separation between an entire herd and the outside world.
Another fabulous gate that is, however, held together by baling twine. To open it one must push the lower level inwards. A clever animal could easily sneak past.
One of the winners: One must lift up a piece of twine in order to lift up a log, and then lift the gate up and out to get in/out of the pasture. Takes an engineer to do it.
Ergonomic solutions for your livestock and you. 
