Fencing

By Peggy Miller, Iowa State University

Fences are a major investment for a horse farm. The fence should keep horses on the property. Properly designed paddocks/pasture
fences allowing for controlled grazing and segregating groups of horses. Fencing decisions should be based on the age of the animal,
breed and temperament of the animal, production system, and situation. There are two types of fences - - physical barriers, such as
woven wire, high tensile, and wood, and
physiological barriers, such as poly wire, poly tape, low-tension smooth wire, and electric wire.
Understand the purpose of a fence. It is not when horses are peacefully grazing. Horses are notorious for being harder on fences then
other livestock. What happens when an excited horse hits a fence or horses are romping and accidently hit a fence? Because they are
faster and stronger they hit a fence with more force than other livestock. Horses also fight harder when caught in a fence compared to
other livestock. So the purpose of the fence is how it stands up to the horse hitting it, running into it, or getting caught in it.
Horse fences should be 54 to 60 inches above the ground. A rule of thumb is to have the fence at least shoulder height. There should
be an 8-inch clearance on the bottom to allow animals such as rabbits to escape but this is to small for horses to get their head under.
The openings in fences should be either small enough where foals or small horses cannot get their hooves through or large enough
where there is little chance of sticking a leg or head through. Small, safe openings are less than 3-inches square.
Open spaces between rails or strands should be 12 inches or less. The open space can be increased to 18 inches because horses avoid
touching the fence.
To discourage horses who reach over, scratch or lean on fences place a single strand of electric wire 4 to 6 inches above or just inside
the top rail.
A large variety of fencing materials exist and all of them have advantages and disadvantages. Plan the fence and especially the
foundation or posts. The post spacings are as follows: woven wire - 14- to 16-foot spacing, high tensile wire - 16- to 90-foot spacing,
and electric wire - 20- to 90-foot spacing.. Listed below are web sites for determining the price of fences.

Useful Web-Sites for Fences

Estimated Costs for Livestock Fencing http://www.extension.iastate.edu/publications/fm1855.pdf
Constructing High-Tensile Wire Fences http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/442/442-132/442-132.pdf
Virginia Cooperative Extension Fence Budgets - Fence cost calculators for a variety of fences http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/446/446-048/446048.html#FenceBudgets
University of Kentucky Fence Budget Calculator - Fence cost calculator for woven wire
http://www.bae.uky.edu/ext/Livestock/Calculators/LivestockCalculator_FenceWovenBarbed.htm
University of Kentucky Fence Budget Calculator - Fence cost calculator for High Tensile Wire
http://www.bae.uky.edu/ext/livestock/Calculators/LivestockCalculators_FenceHighTensile.htm

Helpful Hint - Calculating Acreage Length for Fencing

Mile = 1,320 ft. or 80 rods
Mile = 2,640 ft. or 160 rods
1 mile = 5,280 ft. or 320 rods
43,560 square feet = 1 Acre
Example: The square root of 43,560 is 208.47062 so one possibility is a square that is 208 .5 feet long and 208.5 feet wide 43,560 =
208.47 x 208.47