What you need to know about building the best horse fence, regardless of whether you want it to add to the farm landscape or be completely practical.
Building a fence for your farm horses isn’t an easy task if you plan to add them to the ever-growing list of animals on your farm. When there are so many options to choose from, you may not know which fence will be most suitable for your horses. Listed below are some tips and advice on building a fence that will contain and keep your farm animals happy.
Fencing horses: What to consider
You should ask yourself the following questions before you begin building a horse fence:
- What is the size of your pasture? You might be able to get by with a relatively small paddock if you only keep one or two horses, but as your herd grows, you’ll need higher fences.
- How much will it cost? In smaller paddocks, more expensive and attractive fencing like wooden board fences may be an option; if you plan to build a larger paddock, less expensive options, like electric fencing may be a better choice.
- What height should the fence be? A fence height of 5 feet or less for an average-sized horse is generally considered a standard, however you can adjust the height according to the size of your horses. A tall fence designed for Clydesdales, for instance, would be more than enough to keep miniature horses.
Good Fences for Horses
When it comes to a farm horse fence, a few types of fencing are superior. Here are a few examples:
- It’s hard to top the beauty and presence of a wooden board fence, which is synonymous with lush pastures in Texas. There is almost no way a horse can avoid seeing a board fence—they’re so visible that it’s hard to hide from them! —but they are much more expensive than other options and don’t last as long.
- Building a horse fence with electric fences is safer, simpler, and less expensive than building a fence with any other method. Adding four- or five-wire electric fencing will require a few more materials, like a grounding rod and charger, but they are considered among the safest options for horse fences, and you can install them without incurring huge costs. You should use polymer-coated wires or wires that are woven into polymer tapes or ropes.
- The PVC board fence looks like wooden board fences, but it is less expensive and requires less maintenance, but often does not possess as much strength as its wooden counterpart.
- Equine fencing can be made with mesh wire that has small square- or diamond-shaped gaps. Mesh wire is generally less expensive than electric and board fences, and requires less maintenance.
Materials Needed for Horse Fence Building in Texas
Depending on what type of horse fence you choose, the materials required will vary.
Posts
You’re going to need posts to support your fence unless you plan on using trees (not recommended) or building giant stone fences. Wood, steel, plastic, or fiberglass are common materials for fence posts. While wooden posts can rot over time and may require insulation from electric fences, wooden posts are a great choice when strength is needed, and even in fences that use steel or fiberglass posts for the line posts, wooden posts are often used for the corners.
Fasteners/Insulators
In order to attach the fencing material to the posts, you’ll need fasteners that are appropriate for the type of fence you’re building. In the case of wooden boards, nails or screws can be used; in the case of mesh wire, staples might be used. Furthermore, for electric fences, the fasteners should be insulated to prevent electric current from escaping the fence wires and following the post into the ground, interrupting the flow of electricity.
Gates
Steel tube gates are one of the most durable and popular types of gates, as they come in many shapes, sizes, and materials. Make sure that your gate is wide enough both for horses and machines. You don’t want to discover after the fence is constructed that your gate isn’t wide enough if you plan to use machinery (perhaps to mow the grass).
Time and effort are two preceding factors for fence building in Texas. Choose the right one for the job through researching your options and making informed decisions. You’ll soon be building a fence that will be perfect for your farm horses.
Keywords: fence building in Texas
