Skip to content 
Corral gates and field gates are sold in the same sentence and fail in different ways. A corral gate is a member of a demountable stock yard: it stands on welded lugs and pins, moves with the panels and passes the mob’s pressure along the fence line. A field gate is a span hung between two fixed posts, and it puts that same pressure into two hinges and the ground around them. Order the wrong family and you get a gate that cannot travel with the yard, or a line that swings open when cattle lean on it.
The numbers on this site’s product pages make the split obvious. The cattle panel gate is listed at 2.1 m high by 2.25 m long on a 50 × 50 mm rectangular hollow section (RHS — the square steel tube used for the frame). The farm gate hinges sold separately are listed with an ø20 × 70 mm stud and gudgeon thread lengths from 150 mm up to 350 mm, depending on type. One is designed to be lifted and re-set; the other is designed to be anchored.
Key Takeaways
- Corral gates are pin-and-lug members of a movable yard; field gates are hinged spans fixed to permanent posts by gudgeons.
- Size from the opening, not the catalogue: the product page lists a cattle panel gate at 2.1 m × 2.25 m and a man gate at 2.2 m × 0.85 m.
- Narrow hardware is for narrow jobs: race bows at 2.3 m × 0.83 m and sliding gates at 2.05 m × 1.06 m are single-animal dimensions.
- Thread length is the field-gate decision — 300 mm or 350 mm for through and lock-through gudgeons, 150 mm or 200 mm for screw-in and drive-in.
- Buy the gate from the same system as the panels. A hinged gate dropped into a pin-and-lug yard becomes the weakest joint in the line.
Two Families, Two Load Paths
A corral gate is a panel with a latch, built to the geometry of the yard around it. The product page for the cattle yard line lists steel caps, lugs and pins welded onto the post; the sheep yard panel page lists two sets of double lugs and two single lugs on each panel, plus 16 mm pins to link them. Pull a pin and the line opens. Put a gate in that line and it behaves the same way: held by its neighbours, passing animal pressure into the panels either side.
A field gate has nothing to lean on. Its load path runs through the hinge studs into the posts and the soil around them, which is why hinges are sold by thread length rather than lug count. That is the structural argument in one line: a yard gate is supported along its length, a field gate at two points and nowhere else.
Sizing From the Opening, Not the Catalogue
Gate sizes are fixed because panel sizes are fixed. Yard panels are listed with heights including 1.6 m and 1.8 m, and lengths around 2.07 m, 2.09 m and 2.1 m, so a gate that matches the line has to sit near that width or the gap it fills will not repeat elsewhere. The published gate dimensions:
| Gate type | Height × length | Frame | Accessories itemised on page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cattle panel gate | 2.1 m × 2.25 m | RHS 50 × 50 mm; oval infill 30 × 60 to 42 × 115 mm | Not itemised on page |
| Man gate | 2.2 m × 0.85 m | RHS 50 × 50 mm; infill 40 × 80 or 42 × 115 mm | Not itemised on page |
| Race bow | 2.3 m × 0.83 m | All tubes RHS 50 × 50 mm | Caps, lugs, pins |
| Sliding gate | 2.05 m × 1.06 m | RHS 50 × 50 mm frame; wheels | Lugs, pins, wheels |
| Cattle crush | 2.05 m × 1.06 m (0.75 m internal) | RHS 50 × 50 mm; 1.0 mm galvanised sheet | Welded caps, 8 U lugs, pins |
Read the widths before the heights. A 0.83 m or 0.85 m opening is a single-animal passage — a race dimension, sized for one animal at a time moving forward rather than turning. A 2.25 m opening is a yard dimension, wide enough to shift a mob or break a panel line. Sizing a field gate is a different question: you are spanning between two posts, and the hinge data sets the limit. Our cattle panel sizing guide works the pen geometry through; the gate follows from it.
Hardware That Carries the Gate
Inside the yard the hardware is deliberately simple: pins through welded lugs. Nothing is buried or concreted, so a line opens by pulling pins — ask the factory to confirm the crew size and time a line change takes. Wear shows up there first: a round pin in a rounded lug hole is where gate sag starts, so order pins and lugs as a set.
Outside the yard the hinge is the structure. The farm gate hinge and latch page lists a ø20 × 70 mm stud, with washers and nuts itemised for the through and lock-through types, and thread length is where the four types separate: through and lock-through gudgeons at 300 mm or 350 mm for a post you can pass the stud through; screw-in and drive-in gudgeons at 150 mm or 200 mm for one you cannot. Surface treatment is quoted as hot dip galvanising or dacromet. On a coastal order, ask which finish is quoted for hinge and latch: gate hardware is usually the thinnest coating decision in the purchase.
The latch is a handler decision, not a preference. Before committing to a pattern, ask whether it releases and sets with one hand while the other holds a halter or a yard flag, and whether it stays shut when an animal puts weight on the gate. A latch that needs two hands and a clear run at it is an open gate in disguise.
Stock Flow: Where Each Gate Belongs
Lay the yard out as a route, then place gates at the decisions along it: paddock to holding area, holding area into a single-file race, race to the crush for drafting or loading. The 2.25 m cattle panel gate belongs at the wide ends, where a mob goes through or a panel line is broken. The race bow and man gate belong at the narrow points, where one animal at a time is the design intention. The product page lists the crush as used with a sliding gate and panels, which is the same logic at the working end.
Count openings before gates: every gate you delete becomes a panel you must unpin. On soft ground, the demountable line depends on the legs of the panels either side: loop legs are used to stop panels sinking in wet or soft ground, while square and triangle legs resist displacement by presenting a smaller contact point. A field gate has no such fallback: it needs firm, level ground at the post, which is site works, not fencing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What size corral gate do I need for a cattle yard?
Size it from the opening you are bridging. The product page lists 2.1 m × 2.25 m for a yard gate, against 2.3 m × 0.83 m race bows and 2.2 m × 0.85 m man gates for single-animal passages.
Can a panel gate be hung as a field gate?
It can be hung, but a yard gate is built to be supported along its length by lugs and pins. As a field gate the whole load falls on two hinges, so match the gudgeon thread length to the post and the ground.
Which hinge should I order with a galvanised farm gate?
Choose by how the post can be fitted. Through and lock-through gudgeons take 300 mm or 350 mm thread; screw-in and drive-in gudgeons take 150 mm or 200 mm — all on an ø20 × 70 mm stud.
Do gates arrive with pins and lugs included?
The panel line is listed with welded caps, lugs and pins, and sheep yard panels ship with 16 mm pins. Ask for the same itemised list for the gate rather than assuming the hardware travels with it.
Conclusion
Corral gates and field gates differ in load path, and that difference decides the rest: which dimension matters, which hardware you order, and where the gate can be stood. Buy the gate from the same system as the panels whenever the yard moves; buy hinges by thread length whenever it does not.
Before ordering, walk the route your stock takes and mark each opening, then check it against the cattle yard panels and gates page and confirm gate quantities and order minimums with the factory. Stock items are dispatched within 7 days; bulk production runs 20-25 days.
