I’m getting ready to fence our turnout area, however I’m conclicted as to what type of fencing to use. I’ve been told by several fence installers to use 3-rail vinyl over wood. However, I’ve also been told that vinyl fencing alone is not the best to contain horses, so chain link should also be added to the vinyl fencing. Help! I’m in need of informed suggestions. What do you all use for your pasture/turnout fencing? Thanks
@Bluey gave some great advice. See what fencing the better farms have in your area and use that as a guide. Also consider the size of the enclosure. No climb fencing is great for larger paddocks, but if you are working with a smaller area, pipe or wood fencing might be better.
Depends on your budget also. Agree with seeing what others in your area are using. We had 3 rail wood at our last property, it required a lot of maintenance. New property has 5’ pipe with no climb wire (like picture 2 above), pretty much maintenance free. I would have loved a second pipe rail but we were on a budget. Pipe fencing is pretty much the norm in the area we live.
there are many pastures near me that were fenced with V-Mesh in the 1950s and the fencing still looks good
I have seen a few miles of PVC fence melted to the ground after brush fires where a old-time mesh fence on wooden posts remained only to have the posts charred
If you go with a fence like Bluey’s second photo… make sure to have slip joints in the very long runs as the rails will expand eventually pushing down columns or corner posts
Out here those metal posts would rust and fall over in short order. So does wood, eventually, but at least the larger diameter gives you a bit longer before it happens.
If you put up v-mesh or non-climb, it really needs a top rail or the horses will ruin it by leaning over the top. Even if they have a zillion acres inside the fence, they will try to destroy it. It’s just what they do. Also for visibility, since you can’t really see the wire mesh from a distance.
(AND THEN if you put a top board they will chew on that, so you may have to add an electric wire to keep them away! Seriously, they stand around all day eating and plotting how to destroy the fence.)
If you put any kind of tension on the posts, the corners need to be concreted in and braced, or they will shift and the fence will buckle and sag. (Learned this one the hard way!)
Has anyone used the Priefert Ponderosa fence, which is steel rails that slide through holes in wooden posts?
http://www.priefertfence.com/ponderosa-fence
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I am in love with the Ponderosa fence, but new fencing is not in my budget right now.
As someone who is really sick of replacing wood boards, when I do get to replace the fencing on my property, I don’t plan on using wood boards at all.
I am a huge fan of a top line of electric no matter what type of fencing is chosen. Keeps horses off the fences and thus keeps them from destroying them.
These are all very helpful replies. Thanks so much. In my area, some of the better stables have used 3 rail vinyl fence with the no climb or chain link for added support. I’ve even seen some with just 3 rail vinyl fencing only, however that doesn’t seem like the most secure option. My turnout area is a smaller area for the horses to stretch their legs during the day, but I want them to be there safe and sound when I return home!
I have electric 5 strand coated wire. The wood posts were driven into the ground with machinery. I am very happy with it, and the abundance of deer in my area have never run into it.
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A lot of this is going to be regional, at least on fencing affordably.
I had no climb with a flex rail “board” on top and a line of hot in MN and it was fabulous. Looked great and horses just stayed away from it.
Have three and four oak boards here in CT and while it looks nice, horses chew on it, reach through it, boards break and fall down. It requires SO many posts (compared to the MN fence.) Hot wiring it would reduce the horse damage.
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How many feet apart did you put your posts in MN?
A lot further apart than the 8’ we do here for board fence!!! 16? 20?
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If your paddock is truly small, you may wish to avoid mesh fencing. It is very easy to get a leg/shoe caught if the horse rolls too close to the fenceline. Just one more point to consider.
For very small pens, we use pipe panels.
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Haven’t meant my horse then, he’s king of destroying fences. When he decides he wants out the fence is history hot wire or not.
and that is how we found out our daughter’s new horse was a jumper. I kept finding him in the paddock with one of the mares, I though she was putting him in there and she thought I was …until we saw him clear jumping the paddock fence to get in with her
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Bubble wrap is the best fencing for horses.
Although, they could smother themselves in it…
Not joking aside, I prefer pipe for smaller corrals and arena fences. I will have large pastures (I have 130 acres to deal with) so I am going to use 3 strands of smooth “barbless” wire with the top wire electrified.
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North Texas here. My small paddock is 5.5’ high, extra-thick pipe posts with 7 extra-thick pipe rails. I don’t worry when my frantic buddy-sour mare gets left behind, because she cannot escape the fortress which was originally designed for doctoring cattle.
I LOVE the aesthetic of my front fenceline: pipe posts with single pipe top rail over 50"h cattle panels - it’s beautiful, sturdy, and highly visible to a galloping horse. The black paint still looks good after several years, whereas my neighbors are regularly touching up their white versions.
Majority of my side and back fencelines are 48"h wire mesh roll fence on t-posts, with a hot wire at top. Some of it is sagging, some t-posts are leaning, and it’s unsightly IMO. Long term goal is to replace everything with pipe & cattle panels, but the funds haven’t magically appeared in my account yet.
@clanter My daughter’s horse used to do that - jump the fence at beginning of the day to be with the girls and then jump back when he was called for dinner. Thanks for bringing back some fun memories!
I really like the look of three rail, white vinyl fencing. I have my paddocks and arena fenced that way, the paddocks have a single strand of hot tape along the top board and the horses are very respectful of it. It’s easy fencing to maintain, doesn’t warp or rot and can be cleaned up with a power washer. The only time I’ve had to replace a board was when a horse kicked one and it cracked.
