Items To Consider When Building A Horse Pasture Fence
Four Rail Wood Fence
A safe and practical horse pasture fence should accomplish the below.
- Safely enclose the horse and prevent escape.
- Be built in such a way as to reduce injuries when the horse comes in contact with the fence.
- Be built with a minimum number of nails and screws, ideally with no nails or screws.
- Be built and sealed with non-toxic materials (horses often chew fences).
- Have no acute corners (horses can feel trapped in tight corners).
- Be strong enough to not break when a horse leans or rubs on the fence.
- Be built in such a way to not cause injury when a horse rubs on the fence.
- Be of sufficient height and strength to prevent injury when a horse attempts to eat grass on the far side of the fence (rubs his neck on the top rail).
- Have the lowest rail close enough to the ground so the horse can not roll under the fence.
- Be built in such a way that the horse can not catch his hoof in the fence.
- Be built in such a way so the horses head can not get trapped in the fence.
- Be flexible enough to give when a horse kicks the fence.
- Be built in such a way to minimize injury to a rider coming in contact with a fence, especially the vertical post, such as when riding along side the fence.
- Conform to the land and not allow gaps under the fence due to terrain changes.
- Have sufficient height to prevent a horse from jumping the fence.
- Be visible to the horse during the day and night.
- Have pedestrian and tractor access gates.
- Be strong enough to support the weight of an adult climbing the fence.
- Have minimum of maintenance and long life span.
- Be resistance to termites, rot, mildew and rust.
- Be visually appealing and complement the surrounding land and structures.
The Authors Favorite Fence Building Method
While there are countless ways to construct a quality horse pasture fence, this authors favorite fence type is the 4 rail wood fence using 2"x6"x8' horizontal boards and 8"x8"x8' vertical post (the post secured in place by a bag of concrete).
Rails are secured to the post by routing out the 8"x8" post to accept the four 2"x6"x8' horizontal rails. Board are then painted with a non-toxic paint.