Fencing

There are many different types of horse fencing. Here at the farm, we have 90% split rail and 10% wood board. I wish it was 100% vinyl fence, but we all have our dreams. As with anything else, there are positives and negatives to every type of horse fence. Many of those positive and negatives are based on personal experience or stories that have made their way from barn to barn. Here are my opinions on five of the most widely used horse fence materials (ranked best to worst).

1) Vinyl Fencing. It looks beautiful, it lasts forever, it doesn’t rot, and you can tailor it to meet your needs. On the other hand it is very expensive and a clever horse could potentially pop out a board here and there. A quick solution to that is hot wire tape on the inside top rail, which I suggest with any type of board fencing whether it be synthetic or real wood. This is also a good fencing option for rings. If you can't afford to get your entire fence line in vinyl, a great way to spruce up your farm is to at least get the fencing that faces the road done.

2) Wood Rail Fencing. Before vinyl came along, the best thing you could get was wood rail. It looks elegant, is very sturdy, it can be painted any color you wish, and it is simple to replace. The only problem is you will be replacing it a lot after the first few years. Cribbers love this type of fencing and eventually it will begin to rot.

3) Split Rail Fencing. When installed correctly this fencing is just as good as wood rail. It is sturdy, looks nice, and is usually a less expensive alternative to #1 and #2. Unfortunately, if it is not put in the right way, it really sucks (case in point: the fencing I have to deal with at the farm). The rails must be fitted correctly or they will fall out ALL THE TIME, it will eventually rot and need to be replaced, and, as with wood rail, cribbers love it.

4) Wire Fencing. There is a variety of wire fencing. High tensile wire, hot tape, poly coated wire, and woven/mesh wire (not recommended, especially for young horses with tiny hooves). Growing up, we always used wire fencing. While the fiber glass posts really stunk, the hot tape was easy to install and our horses stayed in for the most part. Wire fencing is the cheapest of all the fencing options and is also the easiest to install (you can do it yourself in a few hours). If you are going to use wire, tape, etc. it has to meet a few requirements. First, it must be electric. Second, it must be TIGHT. No drooping wire, no leaning posts, and no, you won’t get away with just using one strand to keep your thousand pound horse in. Or your four hundred pound pony. If a horse has not been behind wire fencing before they need to get used to it slowly. Wire fencing is not for every horse. We always tied orange tape on the wire every fifteen feet or so to reinforce the idea that it was, in fact, a fence.

5) Barbed Wire. The fact that I still see this being used for horses is absolutely disgusting. Don’t. Do. It. If you keep horses on your property and there is barbed wire anywhere on the premises your horses will find it and they will make hamburger out of themselves.



All fencing needs to be maintained. Don’t do it once a year. If you check the fence lines visually every day and go over them by hand once a week, you will catch little things before they become big things. If your fence is starting to rot and fall down, replace it. Of course, if you come into managing a barn after the fencing is already in place and has not been properly taken care of for years and there isn’t any money to spend on new fencing, you work with what you have… and keep your fingers crossed that your belgian/halflinger mare (who is to fences what a wrecking ball is to old buildings) doesn’t feel like busting out more than two times a week.



Oh, that Poppy! This is where I found her two months ago... wedged in between two fence lines with no where to go. To get her out I had to move the water trough, back her up as far as I could, and give her a slap on the rump. She jumped out in style and figured out a new way to get out two hours later.