# Fencing?



## Animallover20 (Jan 31, 2012)

Alright, i am going to be getting a foal in the summer, she will be my first horse, she is a paint horse. I have no clue what type of fencing to use!  Please, all the help i can get would seriously help me.. If you need me to give more details just ask, i will help all i can... She will be my only horse, and all we are going to do with her is train, ride, trail rise, and love her for as long as she lives.


----------



## WildRoseBeef (Feb 1, 2012)

Really, the kind of fencing you use depends on your budget and what you're willing to spend.  Most horse folk agree that barbed wire isn't the best (but it's not something that horse owners wouldn't use either... ), but really what are you willing to spend with fencing?  Electric isn't the greatest as a permanent fencing option but is great if you want to graze your filly outside of the main corral, and board fences could invite cribbing, but high-tensile set at the same height for cattle (top wire at around four feet high), and multiple wires (four is best, but nothing wrong with going more) set around 12 to 14 inches apart.  If you don't want her to reach her head through and stretch the fence, setting the wires 6 to 8 inches apart but with more wires is also an option.  One of our fencelines is a 6-wire fence, and set so that our cattle couldn't stretch the wires and break them, getting out on the road.  

But here I go comparing apples to oranges, so hopefully you'll get some more input from more horse-inclined folks on here on what options you can look for.  


 BTW.


----------



## kelsey2017 (Feb 1, 2012)

Just about any manufacturer of horse fence will include a disclaimer that no fence is completely safe.  Many horses will, and do find ways of proving that.  Barbed wire, for the obvious reasons, regular 14, 16, and 18 gauge hot wire because they can kink and wrap around legs if a horse isn't trained to respect them.  High tensile (12 gauge) is less likely to wrap around legs but if it is not hot a horse can still squeeze right through.  Wood can splinter and like mentioned before can encourage chewing and possibly cribbing (which is a bad habit, different than chewing).  I have seen the vinyl coated high tensile make a mess out of a horse too because it caused MAJOR rug-type burns on horses who freaked, tried to jump it and ended up on both sides of it.
    I personally feel hot high tensile is the best but I don't even have it yet for mine, they make do with hot wire that is 14 gauge.  I think that training a horse to respect fences is the best thing you can do to prevent injuries.  If they respect fences they simply avoid testing it and finding ways to hurt themselves.  That is easily said, not so easily done.  You will be able to help your horse be safe by making sure that the consequences of touching the fence are enough to discourage it from further investigation.   I have three horses, one is so afraid of electric fence that getting him through a gate is difficult on a halter and lead rope.  Another is always waiting for a weak spot and will go through a hot fence if it isn't REALLY hot and yet the third we have yet to see.  I just got her and all I know now is that SO FAR she has stayed in.  I will, over the next summer, start replacing our ageing wire with electrified high tensile, it is almost impossible to kink and springs back if a horse should try and bolt through it (we have moose and deer make a mess out of our fence each winter).   I am experienced with the different kinds of vinyl coated 'horse safe' fence from the boarding stable I managed.  We had a mixture of products and the wide (looks like boards) vinyl seems like a good option but you still need some hot wire to discourage lean-through grazing, the stuff on the farm was also approaching 15 years old by the time I came on and it had a tendency to splinter into sharp pieces (I hope that is not the case with the product anymore now that there are better UV inhibitors out there).  You will find that any product designed to be electrified is dangerous if it is not hot.  That includes wire, poly twine, horse braid rope, and electric tape.  We still have to make a choice and doing the best for your horses personality will do you the most good. 
   Do the best you can and give your horse the most space and food as necessary to keep them happy where they are.  I would personally avoid, at all costs, barbed wire and any kind of field fence (mesh) with holes big enough to catch a horses foot.  On a final note, any fence that lets a horse get out (even if they don't get hurt from it) is NOT horse safe and you don't want your best friend running up and down the road to get hit by a car.  
   Thank god you are asking questions, you are on the right track and very concisentous! (can't even spell it close enough for spell check)


----------



## Karma (Feb 3, 2012)

How old will this foal be? Saying foal always makes me think weanling age and that is an age where you really don't want to turn them out alone in a large field, they're small enough even an acre enclosure can seem like it is miles wide when you are trying to catch them and can turn into hour long games of catch me if you can. Not to mention if you live in a rainy/snowy area the ground will get torn up big time in the more heavily used areas. So you might think of building up to 2 fenced areas - a 50 or 60' diameter round pen or smaller corral with good drainage and a grazing pasture. It's especially important to do so if your area constantly has wet weater or freezes in winter to prevent mucky muddy messes and to save your pastures and prevent injury, hoof holes in wet weather on our land can go about 4" deep which is a risk to not only the horse when it freezes but to people as well so when it is wet the horses are put into smaller pens. A round pen will be a good investment as you will want it later for training.

For grazing pastures I like no-climb or diamond mesh horse fencing for foals. We had that at the Thoroughbred breeding farm I worked on and through the 4 years I was there never had a single of the hundred or so foals, mares, or stallions injured by fencing. The diamond mesh is my favorite, it's flexible and strong, no worrying about weeds grounding the fence, it's no climb and the mesh can be found small enough that even foals can't get a leg through, no graze through problems, and lastly it keeps out dogs. Probably my favorite part is that I can see straight through it. You do need one board or hot strand across the top of the mesh to keep the fence from bending or sagging if a horse leans over, though I know some with horses that are leaners will run a hot strand inside the top board. You want at the largest 2"x4" mesh. 


Things I would stay away from are barbed wire, mesh bigger than 2"x4" or any that can fit a 3" round object through, t-posts (we call them horse skewers), curved corner metal tube fencing (legs can snag if they decide to jump), and plain electrified wire. I don't like fences that aren't highly visable, I also don't like electrified fencing beyond a top hot strand for horses as I just don't want to worry about my fences grounding out and being worthless.

And lastly for height I think 4' is fine if fences are electrified or with a top hot strand however with non-electrified fencing I'd go higher, 5' mesh with overlaped 3" by a 6" board will keep most horses well contained though for stallions or horses who are known for fence testing/jumping I'd go up to 6' mesh and the top strand.


----------



## mabsonjackson (Aug 13, 2012)

If you want some help regarding fences or decks, Just go on this site www.sierrastructures.com. You will get more information and knowledge about fences and decks on this site.


----------



## GLENMAR (Aug 13, 2012)

Horses do better with company. You may want to get a mini horse or donkey for company. 
I like Ramm Fencing Products.


----------



## Animallover20 (Apr 10, 2013)

Actually the foal I wanted to get was sold already. But instead I got a Haflinger yearling, a 12yr old mini, and a 12-13yr old Quarter Horse. They all are the best things for me, i'll go to sit on the ground and my quarter and mini will lay down next to me, my halfie just stays standing but will sleep. They are my life and have helped me with my depression.


----------



## michickenwrangler (Apr 10, 2013)

I personally like combination fencing, like wood with a hot wire or woven wire with a hot wire.

If you are going to do high-tensile electric, you may want to put brightly colored plastic ribbons between fence posts for better visibility for both humans and horses.

Of course we would all love to have 4 rail white PVC   but it's not very budget friendly


----------



## CritterZone (Apr 10, 2013)

If you are getting a foal, I assume a weanling or yearling, and it will be alone, the safest option will probably be a wood fence.  Keep the lowest board ad least 2 feet off the ground.  Make the highest at least 5.  Three rails is probably enough.  High tensile hot wire can act as a cheese grater or a hot knife and take the skin and deeper tissue right off.  Plastic or vinyl fencing is very expensive and will not hold up to a horse leaning on it - or in our area - it doesn't even hold up to the wind.  No-climb horse fence is not bad, but you need to make sure it is stretched very tight.  Pipe fencing is another good option, but it has its problems too.  We recently had a friend who had to put a horse down after a tangle with a pipe corral panel, and that is only the most recent I know of, not the only incident.  Hot wire is a fantastic option if the horse is properly trained to respect it, but never use it as a sole, perimeter fence.   We use a combination of wire fencing that includes barbed wire, hot wire and livestock fencing, however, none of our pastures are small (under 10 acres) so the only pressure on the fence is deer and elk.  Our horses are never alone, and they were all raised on the range and a bit more saavy to dangers than a horse raised in a box stall. 

The reality is, the more you love the horse, the more the horse is worth, the more likely they are to find the only nail in a mile of fence and render himself useless or dead.


----------



## promiseacres (Apr 11, 2013)

.We have Hot high tensile. It works great for most animals and easy to install and little maintenance. Imo any fence wood cattle panels or wovens still need a hot wire on top and in the middle otherwise some horses wil forl lean or walk it down....unless you have excess pasture....and even then some will. For 2 horses and 1 mini you would need 3 . acres of good pasture.. with my critters I prefer a dry lot and rotational or limited grazing minis and haflingers can be prone to grass founder so a dry lot for them is a necessity Imo.


----------

