What type of fence do you use to keep your horses safely on your property? What types of fence would you recommend and why. Lastly, I would have to buy a lot of it. So what fence has great quality and is also cost effective? Thank you all in advance =).
horse property in southern california
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i have a friend who has several temporary pastures and puts up wire fences with removable wooden poles, but her usual pasture is wooden poles with wooden planks and an electric fence running along the top pole. (she has to buy things out of her own pocket, so it wasn’t too expensive)
I just did this for my stable skills assignment at college and I found that post and wire fencing is the cheapest but it can be dangerous if the gaps are not wide enough as the horse can get it’s leg stuck. It should always be plain though - not barbed. It’s good because it’s not an eyesore on surrounding areas. Post and rail are the most expensive and the most visually “offensive” but they’re easy to maintain and as long as they’re checked reguarly are usually the least dangerous. Electric fencing is also expensive but is probably the best at keeping horses in.
I’ve got post and rail.
I feel any sort of wiring could endanger my horse if he gets stuck.
The only wiring I have is on top of the rail itself and it’s electric.
How much you buy depends on how big the paddock.
As for cost, post and rail tend to be more expensive than post and wire.
i have post and rail and electric fencing stay clear of wire fencing
Hello,
Although thee least cost effective - but best - is post and rail fencing. It is recommended by most people and the Pony Club’s Manual of horsemanship recommends it. However as I said it isn’t very cost effective as it is very expensive.
Nowadays people are using portable fencing (tape and plastic posts) which is great and not too expensive. However, subjected to harsh weathers has been known to blow over and you also NEED the battery charged up constantly.
Sheep/pigs wire (the wire with square holes) can be used although its best not to as horses can get their legs caught in it and panic.
Another option is fence posts (not too expensive) with strong wire 1/4 of the way down and 3/4 of the way down, with electric tape running 1/2 the way down. A very strong and cost effective design.
Also, if you have any hedges, these can be used, but be aware as they may be escaped through (it may be that you could just use some portable fencing here)
Hope this helped
Sophie X
I use RAMM fencing on my property. Strong, safe, little to no maintenance and will even keep stallions in their paduct. Cost is about the same as putting up a wood fence and in then there is no painting or anything like that.
Also if the horses run into it they basically just bounce off. It will not brack like wood fencing. I have seen horses run through wood fence or hit it and it give way or bracks and the horse get jabed by the splinters of wood. They can also chew on wood which they can not easally do with the RAMM fencing. Over all I have had this type of fencing on my property for about 10 years now and have never had a horse get out or hurt from it.
Also put hot wire on the inside of each fence line.
Keep in mind that the best fence is the one that horse never touches.
3 or 4 board fence. It’s costly but it’s the safest thing. Also they have come out with a new fencing material, I dont know exactly what it is but its some type of plastic material that’s the same thickness as board fencing and is just as strong, but it’s lighter and supposedly cheaper.
ADDENDUM: I DO NOT RECOMMEND ELECTRIC FENCING FOR HORSES THAT HAVE NOT BEEN EXPOSED TO IT BEFORE. We had to put up a temp. electric fence once and our horses hated it! They’d keep themsleves contained for a short while until they accidently touched their nose or **** to it, then they just took off and ran right through it and kept on going! I wouldnt use it AT ALL
I actually really like PVC fencing with electrical braid wire. The reason is because it won’t split like wood fencing and create unnecessary repairs and looks quite nice when done properly. Horses also cannot crib and destroy this kind of fencing. I do like wood fencing for looks, but after time, it can become costly to maintain/fix it.
I use several types of fencing, they all have their pros and cons.
I like my rail fencing the best, but it is costly. It can cost several dollars each foot, so I only have this in the horse’s winter paddocks, which get the highest traffic, and then up front where it can be seen from the house so it looks nice. The other disadvantage of wood fencing of any sorts (besides the expense) is that many horses will chew wood and it then starts looking ugly, and needs upkeep. If you buy a “no chew” product and apply it that can help.
I also use some portable metal panels. I like these because I can rearrange them to make stalls, small pens, a round pen, etc as needed. They are strong, very visible and horse’s can’t chew them. They are also very expensive, you can easily spend $100 per panel. Also, the one danger is; if horses roll besides them they can easily get a leg trapped.
Lastly, for my larger paddocks and pastures I use wire fencing. Ideally you should use smooth barb-less barbwire, not the regular barbed wire and not the high tensile wire. You probably will need at least one line of electric fencing with it to keep horses from leaning and pushing on the wire. This is the most economical type of fencing, which is why its ideal for large areas, especially where this isn’t high traffic. It is easy to install and easy to repair. Horses do not chew the wire, but they will chew the wooden posts if bored. Disadvantages are 1)less visible to a horse so more likely to be ran into, especially if horses push and fight 2)horses can get pushy and lean into and over the fence if you don’t use an electric strand on the top 3)barbed wire is dangerous if your horse ever gets a food over it, or runs into it.
Lastly, the good quality rope electric fencing is wonderful. Not nearly as expensive as wood or panels, much safer than almost any product and can last a long time. But electric fences take maintance, you have to make sure the current works, be near a source of electricity, and needs special adjusting for winter time.
I find that a combination of fencing is ideal. Make sure your holding pens and high traffic areas are super strong and long lasting. I would spend the money on either wood fencing or metal panels in this area. Then for your larger areas go with wire fencing. You may choose to put the most dangerous areas on wood fencing, such as one side where horses lean or stand alot. Don’t be scared to look around at electric fencing, companies such as Electro-Braid have some really godo products that are safe and fairly economical (although nothing is as cheap as wire fencing)
Hope that helps.
I use wood fencing. It lasts a life time, and very pretty, when you paint it white! We have a Trellis for the Horses to walk under. I never liked Barb wire, I have seen what it can do to Horses, and find this dangerous. I sleep much better using simply wood. There is also Vinyl if you have the extra money, but I can’t afford that.
u could pick the cheapest kind u could think of as long as it had an electric wire on the top the horses wouldnt step on it or bend over it cuz theyd get zapped…and if u put another line on the bottom of the fence, itd keep foxes and coyotes off ur property as well
I have the equine rope type of fence. I use a large fencer, low impedance. The horses I have are my own, and don’t have bad habits like running away. You can run a ground wire between the hot lines to ensure the fence give a good ‘bite’. The rope is fairly cheap as it is easy to install and maintain. It is also easy for the horse’s to see. I have wooden fence post approx 52″ high on most of it, they are spaced at 10′ intervals. I did try some of the plastic ’step in’ post, and had to constantly replace them. Remember, a horse weighs an average of 1000lbs. My thoroughbred backed up a few steps and bumped into a 3″ by 5″ landscape timber I had used for a post. It snapped right off! What is even worse is that if a post breaks off, it leaves a spear sticking up out of the ground. Whatever you use for post, must be strong, even with electric fencing.
Speaking only from what I have…
The high-tinsel fence on wooden posts (that we ran this past summer) looks nice and ‘clean’. It was pretty grueling work installing it but, well worth it for keeping the horses contained and looking decent. The only thing (I think) that looks nicer is all wooden.
I also have some pasture area that is metal posts with the electric ‘tape’ fencing. It isn’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination. However, some of the benefits make it very much worth it. It is very affordable, goes up extremely quickly.
So…in a pinch…the tape and metal post fencing works like a charm and put it within reach financially. Good luck no matter you choose. It’s tough work no matter which way you go.
I did extensive research before refencing the property I bought. I considered all factors, such as initial cost, maintenance cost and work, efficacy of the fence, safety to the horses, and so forth. I ended up using horse safe woven wire, and I bought the best guage, and strongest designed of those offered. Horse-safe means the weave is such that a hoof cannot get through it. I used wood posts rather than T posts, mostly for safety, but also for strength. because I am next to a subdivision on one side, I have to have secure fencing to a fault. Mine also has a top wood rail to stop leaning on the wire. I did not add electric, as I didn’t want to deal with it, and I have never had a problem that called for it. As finances allow, you can add two more wood rails over the wire for aesthetic purposes if you want, which you can’t do if you use T posts. so, that was another reason I didn’t use them. If wood posts are not in your budget, T posts can be made safer by buying caps for the tops to prevent a horse from becoming impaled on one. Of course, electric can also be added. but when a horse gets crowded into a fence, the electric only adds to the injuries he may sustain. We installed most of it ourselves, and hired workers to help under my husband’s supervision for some of it. We also secured our posts in fast-setting concrete. This was because we couldn’t access a hydraulic post driver, which would actually force the post down into the ground. If you dig post holes, you need to concrete around the posts or they will not be stable. A driven post will stay stable.
Good luck…I hope you find what works for you.
i at first had just regular planks of wood for about 2 years, but they started to rot. So, i decided to go for plastic wood. It’s great! It looks real for one and it doesn’t rot so it stays up for a while. And it doesn’t break as easy. Also. it’s good if you have cats or dogs and you don’t want them in the pasture, to put up electrical wire.
