# Fencing



## kmdstar (Nov 17, 2009)

What, in your guys different opinions, is the best type of fencing? 

I've been trying to figure out the past few days what kind of fencing I want, but I really don't know. I just want something that is safe for the horses and that they can't get out of. So, I want opinions from people who have experience with different types of fencing, what do you have? Do you like it? Would you have picked something else now that you have what you have? Pictures?


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

I will start with - there is no fencing that is 100% safe and that will keep all horses in. :wink: Darn things were born trying to kill themselves and seem to always find a way out at the most inopportune times.

I have no climb on wood posts with a board across the top in my paddock areas. My pasture is white coated electric wire on wood posts.


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## kmdstar (Nov 17, 2009)

Alwaysbehind said:


> I will start with - there is no fencing that is 100% safe and that will keep all horses in. :wink: Darn things were born trying to kill themselves and seem to always find a way out at the most inopportune times.
> 
> I have no climb on wood posts with a board across the top in my paddock areas. My pasture is white coated electric wire on wood posts.


LOL they are just accidents waiting to happen!

Anyone else have any opinions on fencing?


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

We have, and love, horse-cote/hot-cote wire on three sides and plank fencing on the run that is up nearest the house. All on wood posts


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## payette (Jun 3, 2010)

We have electric fence, which is fantastic exept for the fact that our pony tears through it whether it is on or off. So for him we have powdercoated round pen panels. . .


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## maura (Nov 21, 2009)

If money were not an object, I would have diamond wire with a board and a strand of hot wire on top, or 4 board oak on 4 x 4 posts with a hot wire on top. 

Since money was an object , I have the 4 board on the road frontage, and high tensile wire on the other three sides. Six strands of high tensile wire is strung on 8" posts every 20 feet, the top and the second from the bottom wire are electric. This has the added advantage of keeping the neighbor's dogs out of the paddock. It's easy to maintain, decent looking and very safe for the horses. 

Here's the thing about fencing - if a horse has good forage, water and companionship, you can keep them in with a piece of string. If they don't have those three things, you can't keep them in with a brick wall. 

I know lots of folks rely on hot tape for fencing, but I would be loathe to rely on it alone. It's too easy for the fence to be shorted out, the battery to fall, a tree limb to fall on the fence .... It's great as temporary fence, or as an addition to a sturdier fence


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## payette (Jun 3, 2010)

Half the time, I don't bother turning our electric fence on. . . All the big horses are content, and as Maura said, could be contained with a piece of string.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

maura said:


> Here's the thing about fencing - if a horse has good forage, water and companionship, you can keep them in with a piece of string. If they don't have those three things, you can't keep them in with a brick wall.


 
Or if you have horses like mine, who are always concerned that the grass is greener on the other side (even with a fresh bale of alfalfa in the pen with them), they will walk through any fence that _isn't_ electric just to be loose and graze in the open lot.

I have combination fencing. In the big pasture, it is a single strand of electric wire for part of it and *gasp* barbed wire the rest of the way around. Not ideal horse fencing but it is all we have right now. I just re-did the smaller paddock in front of the barn using the electric tape. It used to be wood but Pokey got to where he would just walk through it whenever he wanted but now he'll stay in. He only had to test it twice and now it doesn't matter if it's on or not, he won't touch it.

Here is a couple of pictures of the tape fencing I use.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

maura said:


> Here's the thing about fencing - if a horse has good forage, water and companionship, you can keep them in with a piece of string. If they don't have those three things, you can't keep them in with a brick wall.


The grass IS always greener on the other side of the fence though.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

3-rail split rail with stakes on the inside where hot wire runs. Works well for us. The hot tape we used to use was a mess, it broke and the horses ran through it to get out.....
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## apachiedragon (Apr 19, 2008)

I have high tensile electric for one pasture, and 5 ft no-climb with a hot wire topper in the other. I know, 5 ft seems excessive unless you have my QH, who thinks it's great fun to jump over anything 4 1/2 ft or less. We would have high tensile for it all, except I'm afraid he'll get tangled up in it one day. Although, anytime I leave the power off, my daughter's pony thinks it's great fun to pluck to top wire like a guitar string, lol.


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## AmberPick (Jul 13, 2010)

Awh, that's cute that the pony plucks on the wire, haha!


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## MN Tigerstripes (Feb 20, 2009)

For the last 15 or so years we've had a single strand of barb wire enclosing the pasture. The paddock started out barb wire, changed to 3 board oak, and is now a single strand of electric wire. I just changed the pasture to 2 strands electric rope. 

The only problem we ever had with the barb wire was one of our mares would crawl UNDER it if you took the gelding out without it. 

But we've been lucky because our horses have never been fence testers or busters. Well, except last spring when there was something wrong with the wire and there was no grass and they were both on diets... the grass was definitely greener on the other side then!


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## Just Ruthiey (Jul 12, 2010)

I have a very very short fence, its around 3ft tall, its backed up with hot wire on the inside. My horses have never done jumping or anything like that, so they pretty much stay in unless I am out side working with the dog.


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## cakemom (Jul 4, 2010)

We just finished refencing a triangular pasture for
Flicka. 8 ft wooden posts with horse wire 4 ft tall and wooden board on top along long side, the side in the brushline got 7 ft tpost same wire and hotwire to the inside to keep horses off of the ts. We would have preferred wood, but they were not really accesible with the tractor to use the auger, bc we only cleared a path, and left brush bc it's the road side and I don't want it seen from the road.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Valentina (Jul 27, 2009)

No climb horse fence with hot wire on top for perimeter fencing - keeps neighbors dogs out, my dog in (& my horses of course). It is also the most effective for larger areas to fence. 

4 rail fencing in the interior of the property to divide into pastures, hot wire on top to keep but rubbers from tearing down the fence.


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## Rowzy (Mar 1, 2010)

My mare will go through hot tape fencing if there are only two strands. She is DETERMINED that the grass is greener on the other side, even if it isn't. She also goes underneath stall guards (the rubber, singular ones).

Where I used to board my horses had electric fencing that I knew was hot (I zapped myself a few times, ugh), and like I said, she would just go right through the "gate" area (where there are only 2 strands). I would not trust Gypsy with electric fencing if there wasn't a seperate fence that went all the way around the area to contain escapees, especially because this barn was right on a major road where people like to speed.

I have 4 rail wood fencing. I would say it is atleast 4' tall, maybe more. Around the entire property there are various kinds of chain link and wood fencing to keep any escapees in (which I am greatful for because they used to escape a lot until I figured out what they were doing).


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## Maxify (Oct 18, 2010)

*Electric Fencing*

We keep our stallion in Centaur HTP Fencing. Then pour 10KV through it. He has lots of respect for it....:wink:


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