Fencing Materials

The three requirements for fencing for horses are strength, safety, and cost-effectiveness. These characteristics bear evolution by each farm owner or manager and will also take into account the type of horses to be fenced in: for example, energetic, high-strung young horses or older, retired draft horses; stallions, mares, or geldings. The following is a list of types of fencing, along with notations about each materials uses, benefits, and disadvantages:

Electric Fencing
This is a tape or smooth wire that can keep horses on one side of it - if they are taught to respect it. To teach a horse to obey electric fencing, entice him to touch it with his nose. Still, when in a gallop or when frightened, a horse may simply run though the fence. And if the power goes off, there's no protection.

Electric fencing is best used in conjunction with other types of fencing to prevent over-the-fence battles, or to subdivide larger, more substantially fenced pastures into smaller paddocks; then, it would matter less if horses broke through it as they would still be contained in the larger area by solid fencing.

Net or diamond mesh wire
Safer than barbed wire, this material can be stretched and braced between poles; using "no climb" netting in small squares or diamond shapes will keep even small horses and foals from getting a foot stuck in it.

PVC (polyvinyl chloride) tubing
PVC tubing can be used for fencing. Usually, it comes with a 15- or 20-year warranty. About twice the cost of wood fencing, it is generally lower maintenance; horses won't chew it and termites won't eat it.

Rubber or nylon tape
These strips are run through upright posts and then stretched. The tape may occasionally need restretching. The advantage is that when a horse runs into the fence, the tape is quite forgiving and inflicts less damage. The disadvantage? Horses might chew the tape and get indigestible fibers lodged in the gut. Under the right circumstances, tapes can be cost-effective.

Smooth wire
Twelve- or thirteen-gauge barbless wire can be stretched between poles to make an adequate boundary fence. Topping it with a rail or pipe, or running a strand of electric fencing inside it, makes smooth wire workable. Using smooth wire in smaller paddocks may cause horses to lean over and through it, however. To avoid life-threatening injuries, mark the fence in a manner visible to horses.

Steel pipe
More durable than wood, especially if coated with a rust-free paint, steel fencing needs fewer uprights than wood. But it has drawbacks. Steel pipe is unforgiving if a horse runs into or kicks it. And there have been a few cases of horses dying when they got their heads stuck between rails of pipe. Wherever you would like a fail-safe fence, though - at road boundaries or for stallion paddocks - steel pipe can be a good choice.

Wood fencing
Wood is a traditional type of fencing particularly three- or four-board fences painted white, brown, or black. Wood is sturdy, durable, and aesthetically pleasing. Boards should be nailed to the posts on the inside of the post, facing into the paddock or pasture, making it harder for a horse to run through; the board would have to break rather than tear out by the nails.

Horses can damage this fencing, though, by kicking, running into, leaning over, or chewing it. It is helpful to run an electric fence wire inside the top rail of wooden fencing to eliminate most of these possibilities. Wooden fences require a lot of upkeep, from replacing boards to repainting and weatherproofing. Occasionally, an upright post will snap and need labor-intensive replacement.

See also Gates