safe pasture fencing, pasture fencing, build a safe pasture fence, safe fencing, sturdy fencing horse fencing
environs�
By Nancy Butler
Fencing Options
Safe, visible, and sturdy is the game plan with fencing systems.
Safe, visible, and sturdy
pasture fencing for your horse
involves careful planning. Before
investing possibly thousands
of dollars in materials,
put the effort into designing a
fencing system that will work
for your farm.
Planning Tips
• Watch the budget. For large
areas, save money by installing
fancier fencing at
the front and less-expensive
fencing in the back.
• Think sturdy. Smaller paddocks/pens
need safer, sturdier
fencing as horses who play
hard — or get spooked — can
run into a fence line before
they even realize it’s there.
• Determine center length.
The standard is to have
wood posts on 8-foot centers,
but modern fencing
materials allow you to
extend the centers to 10 and
even 12 feet.
• Determine height. Fence
height should be 48 to 54
Horse.com • state line tack HorseLink Magazine25
Issue 5 2009
inches — even higher if you
have a big jumper or a good
escape artist.
• Provide a sight line. Provide
a sight line along the top of
a wire fence so the horses
can see it from a distance.
This can be something as
simple as colored ribbons
every few feet.
• Round the corners. This
design will make mowing
easier and keep horses low
in the pecking order from
being trapped in corners by
more dominant herd mates.
• Consider a perimeter fence.
A perimeter fence around
the entire property is a
great safety net.
• Fence ponds. Fence around
any ponds to keep horses
More Environs ➺
Safe, visible,
and sturdy
are key
words when
planning a
fencing
system.
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