Horse Fencing Options

Some common horse fencing options include a three-rail wooden fence, vinyl rail fence, electric fence and wire mesh fence. Before you choose, consider the breed, age and personality of your horses. Inspect the fence carefully before you turn your horses out to pasture for the first time and periodically after that, to make sure the horses cannot escape or be injured.

  1. Three-Rail Wood Fence

    • Wooden three-rail fencing consists of posts spaced 8 to 12 feet apart, with three rails running between the posts. It is relatively inexpensive to install, but it requires regular maintenance; horses can chew or kick the rails down or lean over the fence to get to greener grass on the other side. If the fence is painted, it needs to be repainted regularly to keep a good appearance.

    Vinyl Rail Fence

    • Vinyl rail fence requires less maintenance than wood; it does not need painting, and horses don't chew on vinyl fencing. Vinyl fencing is available in numerous colors and heights, and it comes in a two-, three-, four- or five-rail style. However, vinyl fence rails are not very strong; horses can knock the rails out of the posts or break the rails. When the rails break, they leave sharp edges that can injure the horses. Additionally, if you live where there are drastic temperature changes, the expanding and shrinking of the fence will weaken it over time and cause cracking.

    Electric Horse Fence

    • An electric fence delivers a small shock when the horse touches the fence wire; after being shocked a few times, the horses won't touch the fence. Electric fences come in several styles,including electrobriad, electric tape or hotcoat wire. All require a battery-powered or electric fence charger and insulators to attach the wire to the fence posts. If the wire touches anything metal, it will short out. If you use wood posts, it will short out whenever the wood gets wet. You need to keep brush and weeds around the electric fence trimmed down to prevent a fire. Portable or temporary electric fences are often used to divide a large pasture into several smaller ones for pasture rotation.

    Wire Mesh Fence

    • A good wire fence will hold horses that are not being crowded or trying hard to get out. The wire must be tight, without slack, because if the horses can reach over it to eat grass, they might eventually knock it down enough to step over it. Wire mesh fencing is available in different heights, lengths and mesh spacing. Most horse fencing uses 4-foot-tall wire mesh. You need to inspect a wire mesh fence regularly to make sure it is attached properly and is tight. Attaching one strand of electric fencing to the top of the wire mesh fence is an excellent way to discourage horses from leaning on and over the fence.