Keep Your Horse Safe with Top Quality Fencing

Thursday, September 9th, 2010 at 1:16 am

All About Fences For Horses And Ponies

Is there such a thing as fail-protected fencing and gates? Maybe someday! Within the meantime, there are specific steps it’s best to take to ensure your horse not solely stays in his enclosure, however remains there safely.

First of all, consider visibility. Your horse must be able to see his fencing, otherwise injuries are imminent. While your horse shouldn’t have any trouble seeing a wood or PVC fence, wire fences pose more of a problem. Colorful tape or ribbon tied to the fence every foot or so makes the horse aware of the fence.

Next, consider the height of the fence. Fencing must be high enough to deter the horse from going over, and low enough to deter him from going under. How high is high enough? About nose high (the horse’s nose, that is!) should do it. If you have more than one horse in the enclosure, put it at the height of the tallest horse’s nose.

There are many different types of fencing to choose from, but electrical, wood, and PVC are essentially the most popular.

Electric fence is the most economical for horsemen on a budget. The most popular forms of electric fence for horses are galvanized wire, plastic-coated wire, 1/2-inch electric polytape, or 1 1/2-inch electric polytape. A good way to make wire fence visible to your horse is to tie brightly colored cloth on every strand every three feet or so. In addition to the wire you’ll need insulators, posts, hardware, and a charger. For about $200, you can buy everything you need to build a small electric fence corral.

In case your budget is bigger you might wish to examine wood—both board, slipboard, or rustic rail. While lumber prices will differ from area to space and do fluctuate, wood is at all times dearer than wire. Wooden fencing is extra aesthetically pleasing than wire and can add worth to your farm, however it’s going to also value you money and time in upkeep. Fences made out of non-stress treated wooden must be painted or stained regularly, and broken or harmful boards must be replaced as noticed. When installing board fencing, be sure to nail the boards to the within of the posts, and not the skin, to forestall them from popping off when a horse leans against them. Nail heads needs to be flush, and the fence posts needs to be stable. If you’re in a situation where it is imperative that your horses do not get out—your pasture borders a busy road, you need to separate stallions from mares, etc.—you may want to think about working a strand of electrical wire alongside the highest rail of the fence.

If money isn’t any object you will get attractive fencing with little or no upkeep. PVC fencing is aesthetically pleasing because it appears to be like like wooden from afar, but it never needs portray and won’t rot, rust, splinter, or break. Some manufacturers claim it is stronger than wood.

Regardless of what kind of fence you choose, once you have it up it is important to walk it frequently for safety reasons. Make sure there are no downed wires or boards that horses could get caught in or escape through. All fencing must be free of any protruding wires, nails, or pieces of splintered wood that a horse could injure himself on. As you walk your fence, replace any broken, sagging, or splintering boards and downed wires as you notice them. Always check your posts for sturdiness by grabbing them and giving them a good tug; if you live in an area where the ground temperature changes frequently you’ll need to do this more often.

Bear in mind, function is essential in terms of fencing, but so is safety!

by Rohan William Scott
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