Choosing the best Fencing for your Horse

Choosing the best Fencing for your Horse 

We all want to keep our horses safe and deciding what type of fencing to use can be hard. Many things need to be taken into consideration.  

• Cost – Know your budget and how much you can afford 

• Safety – What will be safest for your horse and property conditions 

• Maintenance – on going care for some types of fencing can be frequent and costly 

• Ease of installation – Some fencing you can do yourself whereas others require professionals to install 

• Size and type of land – The area you need to fence and the lay of the land. If you have some areas that go underwater for any length of time, then some types of fencing won’t be appropriate 

• Size of horse – Miniature ponies will require a different style of fence than larger horses 

Most common types of fencing 

• Timber – Post and rail fencing has always been the go-to for horse fencing. It is considered one of the safest, durable and highly visible. However, it can be expensive to install, has high maintenance costs, is susceptible to white ant activity and horses can love to chew the timber.  

• Wire – Is a more cost effective and lower maintenance alternative to timber, it is easier to erect and depending on your experience you can often put it up yourself. It is good for those larger paddocks and can handle higher levels of moisture. However, it isn’t as visible as the timber, horses can push and lean on the fence unless it is electrified.  

• Electric – Is very versatile, it can be added to an existing fence, even if that fencing is a bit older. This type of fencing is easy to install, can be moved if need be, is not expensive, and with solar power can be used anywhere. You can use the tape or rope wire, however using the tape makes it more visible. Maintenance isn’t high but you do need to check it regularly as breakages can occur.  

• Mesh – This type of fencing is a bit more expensive and harder to erect so is probably best used for smaller paddocks or yards. It can be good for foals and smaller ponies to help keep them safe. Care needs to be taken to get the correct wire, avoid ring lock or mesh that has larger openings so hooves can’t get stuck between the wires.  

• Horserail (PVC) – Has become one of the most popular and safe alternatives for horse fencing. It is a bit more expensive to erect but is low maintenance, durable and very safe. 

Whatever you decide and whatever your budget, the most important thing when choosing fencing is to make sure it is safe. Fencing can be replaced- your horse can’t!