How to Build a Horse Pasture Fence

Fencing a horse pasture is a necessity for the safety of the animals. Horses are intelligent animals, and usually minimal fencing can be used to keep them in a pasture area. Heavy duty fences are not required because if a horse wishes to break a fence, a wood fence will not generally hold him. The gold standard for ease of building and expense is the standard wire fence. Simple to install and remove, ranchers run thousands of miles of wire fence for pastures each year.

Things You'll Need

  • Wood corner fence posts, round or square
  • Post hole digger
  • Level
  • Metal T fence posts
  • Post driver
  • Barless wire
  • Wire fencing tie
  • Pliers
  • Pieces of rag or orange tape
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Instructions

    • 1

      Set corner posts at the beginning and end one side of the pasture, in a distance divisible by 4 feet. Dig a hole and set the post two feet into the ground. Check for level, and fill in the hole around the post. Run a string from one post to the next and tie it off.

    • 2

      Measure out four feet, and lay a metal T post on the ground along the string line you ran between corner posts. Lay them out the entire length of the fence run. Once they are laid out, adjust for any distance discrepancies. It is not important to have exact distances measured between the posts, only generally equal spaces to be sure the wires are pulled tight.

    • 3

      Tamp the first metal post in using the post driver. This is done by setting the post in the ground, placing the post tamper over the top, and hammering it down into the ground using the weight of the device to drive it in. Be sure the post top runs right up against the string line, this will be the wire line you run when the posts are in and the posts need to be right against it.

    • 4

      String wire on the wood end post. Begin at the bottom, and run the wire two feet up from the ground. Wrap one end around the wood post and use a fence tie to tighten it. Run the wire to the next post, and lay it into the metal clip on the side of the post. Using a fence tie, secure the wire to the post by making a U shaped wrap on the wire on one side of the post, loop the tie behind the post, bring it around and make another U shaped closure directly on the other side of the metal post. This will keep the wire from sliding.

    • 5

      Repeat the wire connection to each post along the run. Make sure the wire is run tight and straight. Secure it to the end post. Working backwards, run one to two more wire strands along the entire length of the fence, depending on your needs, at two foot intervals. For most horses, a four foot fence is adequate.

    • 6

      Begin the next section by placing the next wood corner post at the end of the next section. Run your string from the existing post to the new end, and repeat the entire process above to place your posts and wire the fence .

    • 7

      Complete your fence by bracing your corners. Cut a corner post to half size. Two feet from each corner post, dig and place your wood brace posts. Making a triangle, nail your 2 x 4 sections at an angle running from the top of your corner post, down to the brace posts. This will keep your corner posts from sagging inwards from the wire tension.

    • 8

      Tie rags or pieces of orange tape to the fence along the wires here and there. This will keep the horses or unsuspecting humans from walking into the wire, which can blend into the background easily.