Fence Planning for Horses

than one type of fence on a horse facility. Stable management objectives and price ultimately determine which fencing is chosen. Many new fence materials and hybrids of traditional and new materials are now available. Details of fence materials and construction may be found in other publications see Additional Resources.
Features That Apply to Any Fence Type
Good Planning Attributes
Planning includes more than selecting a fence type. It is best to develop an overall plan where the aesthetics chore efficiency management practices safety and finances are considered. The best planning involves a layout drawn to scale that shows proposed gates fence lines where fences cross streams or other obstacles irregular paths along a stream or obstacle traffic routes for horses and handlers routes for supplies and water vehicle traffic routes and access for mowing equipment. All these should be in relation to buildings and other farmstead features.
Select and install fencing that allows easy access to pastures and does not limit performance of stable chores. Gates should be easy to operate with only one hand so the other hand is free. Fencing should also allow easy movement of groups of horses from pasture to housing facilities. Allweather lanes should connect turnout areas to the stable. Lanes can be grassed or graveled depending on the type and amount of traffic that use them. Make sure they are wide enough to allow passage of mowing equipment and vehicles. Vehicles such as cars light trucks and tractors can be up to 8 feet wide. Farm equipment needs 12to 16footwide lanes to comfortably negotiate. Narrower lane widths are acceptable for smaller tractors or mowing equipment. Remember to leave room for snow storage or removal along the sides of lanes and roads.
It is best to eliminate fence corners and deadend areas when enclosing a pasture for more than one

horse. By curving the corners it is less likely that a dominant horse will trap a subordinate. Round corners are especially important for board fences and highly recommended for wire fences.
Most wire fencing is installed with the wire under tension as part of the design strength of the fence. This tension may be modest just enough to keep the wire straight and evenly spaced throughout seasonal temperature changes in wire length or may be quite substantial as with high tensile wire fence. With tensioned fencing rounded corners may not be as strong or durable as square ones. A slight outward tilt of support posts on curved corners can help resist the inward forces of the tensioned wire. Position the tensioned wire on the outside of the fence post as it travels around the curve then back to the inside horse side on the straight sections. It is possible to build square corners for tension fences and use boards to prevent horses from getting into the corner. This creates areas that limit grazing requiring regular mowing but it is cheaper to construct than curved corners.
Good Fence Attributes
Horse fences should be 54 to 60 inches above ground level. A good rule for paddocks and pastures is to have the top of the fence at wither height to ensure that horses will not flip over the fence. Larger horses stallions or those adept at jumping may require even taller fences. At the bottom an 8inch clearance will leave enough room to avoid trapping a hoof yet will discourage a horse from reaching under the fence for grass. A bottom rail with clearance no higher than 12 inches will prevent foals from rolling under the fence. Fence clearance varies with fence types. Higher clearances allow small animals such as dogs to enter the pasture.