Jackie Clay - Build the Right Fencing for Horses: Storeys Country Wisdom Bulletin A-193

Jackie Clay

Horses are big, strong, playful, and smart, so finding a way to keep them safe and secure in their pastures and paddocks can be a real challenge. Building strong, safe fencing that is also economical and long lasting is an even bigger task. But experienced do-it-yourselfers and even handy beginners can build great fences for their horses.

The considerations for building fencing for horses are quite basic. The fence must be strong, because a 1,000-pound (454 kg) horse can exert a lot of power, especially when running, bucking, or playing. However, most fences are broken or ruined not by a fast-moving equine but by a leaning one! Horses are heavy, and the old saying The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence seems to have been coined with them in mind. If at all possible, a horse will lean out of a fence, reaching over, under, and through, stretching the wire or even boards to the point where the wire sags, nails pull out, and things break. You must build your fences, then, so that a horse cannot or will not lean over, under, or through them.

The fence must be safe. Horses are excitable creatures, sometimes playing rough. A fence needs to be built of material that will keep the animals from being injured while playing, exercising, or just grazing.

And for the owner, fencing costs must be considered. Most horse owners would love to have their pasture fenced in on all sides by a 6-foot-high (1.8 m) stone wall smooth, strong, and extremely safe but not many of us can afford it! Luckily, there are alternatives, so adequate fencing is available for nearly any budget.

A fence built for horses must be strong, safe, and economical.

The fence types that best fit these criteria are wire, woven wire, and plank-and-post fences. Your choice will depend on the area to be fenced, how you want it to look, your budget, and the durability youll require.

Tools for horse fencing are relatively inexpensive and basic. Most can be used for several types of fencing and/or other jobs around your farm, yard, or garden, so their cost is minimal for their value. If you are fencing a large acreage, you may choose to hire out to get some of the work done, especially the posthole digging or post pounding. These jobs are quickly done using a tractor with either a posthole auger, which mounts on the rear of a tractor with a three-point hitch, or a post driver, usually mounted on the front of a tractor. A person using a tractor can easily dig more than 100 postholes in part of a day and pound as many fence posts. In contrast, it took me a whole summer to fence a 20-acre (8.1 ha) pasture by hand!

If youre opting for the do-it-yourself method of digging postholes for wooden or steel-pipe fence posts, you still have choices. While you can rent or possibly borrow a gasoline-powdered posthole auger, I have had the most luck using an old armstrong clamshell digger. The gasoline models work well in moist black earth or fairly moist sand, but they are useless in heavy clays, rocky ground, or hard-packed clay-sand soils. The clamshell digger, on the other hand, will get it all done with some talent and work. This tool has two cupped steel blades, hinged together, with a handle rising from each. With the handles together, you jab the digger into the earth, usually more than once, to loosen the soil. Then you pull apart the handles while lifting the bite of soil with it. You can also find hand augers, but like the gas type, theyre useless on all but excellent soils.

As with any other tool, there are a few tricks of the trade in using a posthole digger. Where the soil is dry or compacted, digging is much easier if you dig a shallow, cupped hole through the sod and fill it with water. Then move on to the next few post positions and repeat, allowing time for the water to soak into the soil. You wont believe the difference a little moisture makes, in both the earth and your temper! In very dry conditions, you may have to soak the holes two or three times, but the effort is definitely worth it.

Working with Clay Soil

Digging in clay soil is always a challenge. If the soil is too dry, it must be moistened. (Digging following a mild rain is helpful.) But if the ground is too wet, the clay will stick to the digger. If this is the case, one good remedy is to carry along a small log to rap the clay-clogged digger against. Some folks even resort to dipping the digger in used oil between holes.

If you must dig holes in very gravelly or rocky ground, using the chisel end of a tamping bar (see page 27) is a great help. Jab it into the hole, prying at different angles to loosen rocks and even to break larger ones. After the rocks and surrounding soil have been loosened, theyre usually quite easy to remove with the posthole digger.

With some practice, the clamshell digger can be a very effective tool for digging postholes.

The head of the clamshell digger is composed of two hinged blades.

If your fence will be made up partly or nearly entirely of steel T-posts (so called because in cross section they are shaped like the letter T), you should either buy or borrow a post driver. This is essentially a piece of pipe with a handle on each side and a weighted top end. Slip the driver over the top of the fence post, line up the post, and raise the driver, then bring it down with force.The weight will drive a post much better, and much more safely, than will a sledgehammer.

A post driver is the best tool to use for driving metal posts into the ground.

Quick Tips for Using a Post Driver

If youre having trouble getting the heavy driver over the fence post, try tipping the post first, easing on the driver, and then pulling the entire setup upright. This can really make a difference, especially when youve been working for several hours on a fence line.

Wear leather gloves and allow your hands to slide on the drivers handles while pounding, instead of forcing it down onto the post. This will help prevent blisters and hand soreness.

If you are driving posts into very dry soil, soak the area where you will be digging the day before driving to soften the ground. This will make pounding posts a less challenging chore by far!

If you are using any type of wire in your fencing, whether it is stock fencing (woven wire), wire, or even chain link, a wire stretcher is essential. Without this tool, getting the wire tight enough, safely, is nearly impossible. The most common stretcher is a rope-pull model. The versatile come-along, composed of a bar with a ratchet-type handle at one end and a hook with a grasping latch at the other, is another good choice. Whichever kind of stretcher you choose, they all work in basically the same way: One end is attached to something stationary, such as a tractor or a dummy post, and the other end clasps the wire tightly. Work the stretcher to tighten the wire, bit by bit, until it is tight. The stretcher will then hold the wire in that position so you can work safely, with your hands free, to secure the wire to the post.