Safest type of arena fencing

[brightlights]

Hi all,

Just wondering what everyone’s take is on the safest type of arena fence?

I’ve just had my second crash into a hard, thick rectangular timber post and feel very lucky to have survived this one (head first from a gallop, grazed the post with my ear and took the force on my shoulder blade… thank god for air vests but still very sore!). So I’m ready to get rid of the whole fence at this point.

I had originally preferred vinyl but our builder dissuaded me and we instead went with heavy timber concreted in… great for preventing his team having to come back and fix broken or displaced fencing but not so great for horse and rider safety. Aside from vinyl, I had also considered rubber flexible rail or thick tape. There would still need to be posts for the rail or tape fencing but I could likely get away with narrower and round. The other option I can think of is hedging, though we’re in quite an exposed environment and would need to find something without a lot of windsail. Would love to know if I’m overlooking anything

[trubandloki]

I can not think of a single fence that will contain your horse all while not being painful if you happen to part ways with your horse while riding and land on the fence.

A hedge will hurt too, poking you and stabbing you.

Wide tape will likely just break as you fall on it and then you will hit the ground and the horse will get loose.

[brightlights]

This is true, but there’s painful and then there’s irrevocably injured. I would prefer not to smash into something again with zero yield

[Foxglove]

Until you decide on what type of fence is best --consider putting finials on each fence post. [See pix below] --we put them on all fences and jump standards so when the kiddos went flying off their jumping horses, they would (hopefully) slide down the post and not be impaled.

[Simkie]

Perhaps the rail they use on racetracks?

Steriline Racing Running Rail | Horse Racing | Steriline Racing

[BAC]

Steel Horse Fencing - Buckley Fence, LLC

What about steel fencing? Its meant for pastures and paddocks but maybe it would work for a riding ring as well.

[LCDR]

Popular in my area is a fence with a posts only about 24 inches high above the ground, a single rail at that 24 or so inch height on the inside, and topped by another board laid horizontally along the top. The last three places I boarded used them. One even had the arena sprinkler heads popping up through holes in the horizontal board.

Sure, a horse could easily jump over it, but I never saw that happen. I really liked it because I have a tendency to hit my outside foot on the higher rails, and these fences were below stirrup height. In a fall you’d come down on a flat broad surface rather than the edge of a board.

I will try to find a picture. All I found so far are videos of me riding in these arenas. BTW, what I described were used for jumping arenas, but also would work for a home dressage arena fence.

[luvmyhackney]

I’m doing wood post and Ramm fencing. Hopefully I can avoid hitting the wood posts. I’ve went head first in a wood fence rail and cracked a 1x6 in half with my jaw which left a nasty fracture. Would like to avoid that in the future.

[Bluey]

We use powder River green panels, the heavier ones, but they are also a bit flexible without bending when something hits them.
Many of ours are around 50 years old or so.
These are not the classic, very expensive bull panels, but the six bar next model, I think maybe #1600?

Since there is some cutting and all kinds of roping, they are great so when cattle get wild, they don’t get hurt hitting a fence.

If you don’t need to keep critters in there, maybe two or three bands of that rubber stuff would be safe?

[StormyDay]

@LCDR

Popular in my area is a fence with a posts only about 24 inches high above the ground, a single rail at that 24 or so inch height on the inside, and topped by another board laid horizontally along the top. The last three places I boarded used them. One even had the arena sprinkler heads popping up through holes in the horizontal board.

Sure, a horse could easily jump over it, but I never saw that happen. I really liked it because I have a tendency to hit my outside foot on the higher rails, and these fences were below stirrup height. In a fall you’d come down on a flat broad surface rather than the edge of a board.

I will try to find a picture. All I found so far are videos of me riding in these arenas. BTW, what I described were used for jumping arenas, but also would work for a home dressage arena fence.

This is what I’m doing. It still hurts when you land on it, but you break ribs; not your neck.

I have landed on a PVC fence and it had some give. Still had bruises but nothing broken. I don’t like it though because it can splinter and I’d prefer to not have to have someone pick plastic shards out of my sides.

[Tha_Ridge]

You poor thing.

Our outdoor arena has… no fencing. Obviously it doesn’t work for every type of property (and it helps improve your steering!), but most departures involve the horse cantering a few strides until they reach grass and then deciding that that’s preferable to running around like a loon.

[foggybok]

@StormyDay

I have landed on a PVC fence and it had some give. Still had bruises but nothing broken. I don’t like it though because it can splinter and I’d prefer to not have to have someone pick plastic shards out of my sides.

When it gets cold, it shatters into a million very sharp pieces. I’ve decided I hate it. I think it can be very dangerous.

[furlong47]

@Tha_Ridge

Our outdoor arena has… no fencing. Obviously it doesn’t work for every type of property (and it helps improve your steering!), but most departures involve the horse cantering a few strides until they reach grass and then deciding that that’s preferable to running around like a loon.

The arena where I ride has a fence (wood), but there’s a big buffer space so you aren’t riding right next to the rail. Think rectangular fenced area with an oval arena inside it and about 10 feet or more of grass between the footing and the fence. You would have to be seriously lawn darted or horse extremely out of control to hit any part of it. Obviously this setup doesn’t work if land is at a premium, though.

[StormyDay]

@foggybok

@StormyDay

I have landed on a PVC fence and it had some give. Still had bruises but nothing broken. I don’t like it though because it can splinter and I’d prefer to not have to have someone pick plastic shards out of my sides.

When it gets cold, it shatters into a million very sharp pieces. I’ve decided I hate it. I think it can be very dangerous.

Yeah, I’ve luckily never seen any injuries from it but once I saw a tree limb fall on some and it became a very pointy white spear.

[Pico_Banana]

I have Wind River HDPE fencing. It’s recycled plastic and the rails are hollow. Doesn’t shatter like vinyl. The rails are held in place by pins - usually a metal pin on the top rail and these accordion plastic springy pins for the other rails. If you used the plastic pin on the top rail, I suspect that the pin would give way if you landed on it and the post would pop out. At a minimum, the rail would flex a decent amount upon impact. The website shows pictures of bowling balls being dropped on cold rails to give you an idea of their flexibility. The posts are also hollow and I have mine just set in gravel filled holes (and gravel inside the posts up to ground level, so while it still would hurt to hit them, they would give more than wood posts in concrete for sure.

[LazyA1]

I’m actually in the process of replacing my wood rails with 5" CenFlex in brown. I still have wood posts, but the the rails will flex. Zero maintenance, no warping and no need to periodically paint/stain.

[mmeqcenter]

I’m more partial to un-fenced arenas.

But the short fence LCDR described look really nice, and double as a mounting block when needed They have them at some of the show grounds down here. Would be easy to do if you’re okay with taking a chainsaw to your fence posts!

[x]

I use a high-quality electric 1 1/2 inch (or more) electric fence tape with several strands–anywere from 3 to 5., such as Horseguard. Horses view it as solid enough, and if you fall on it, it slowly sags and gently breaks your fall. I have used it for years–needs to be totally properly installed, I do not put electricity on it if I am only using as a riding ring, and then I don’t have to worry about anyone getting shocked. In the close to 30 years I have used it, I have had several riders fall on it, and not one of them has been hurt, or even felt hurt. Of course, if you have wooden posts to hold it and they happen to hit one of those, it hurts. But overall I have been very, very happy with it.

[brightlights]

Thanks so much everyone for your kind responses. You’ve given me a wealth of excellent suggestions!

Somehow I’ve gone into the fence twice and it’s always the post I don’t think I have affordable access to vinyl or plastic posts due to my location (Ireland) but I will absolutely be taking a chainsaw to our fence (woo, free therapy!) and shortening it as suggested to its lowest rail. I will leave the posts with the sprinkler heads at full height and use coated electric strands between them as my top rails. I do love the idea of a second fence set further back and will try to save my pennies for that option in the future