Horse Fence
Fence Masters Unlimited / Affordable Fence Guys is a family-owned business and has been installing horse fences for homeowners across the Carolina's for 21+ years. We know exactly how to build a superior horse fence product that will last years to come! Don't forget to ask about our Lowest Price Guarantee!
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Currently We Are Serving The Following Areas:
(If you are in another area we do not cover feel free to contact us for pricing and if we cannot install your fence we will help you find a qualified contractor anywhere in the United States Free!)
North Carolina
Raleigh NC
/ Durham NC / Chapel Hill NC / Oxford NC / Roxboro NC / Henderson NC / Mebane NC / Burlington NC / Charlotte NC / Mathews NC / Pineville NC / Gastonia NC / & Surrounding AreasFort Mill SC
/ Rock Hill SC / York SC / Chester SC / Richburg SC / Lancaster SC / Columbia SC / Lexington SC / Blythewood SC / Spartanburg SC / & Surrounding AreasHorse Fence
The Pros and Cons of Common Horse Fencing Options
Horse fencing options are as varied as horse breeds. From the traditional wood rail fences, electric hotwire to the high tech plastic fences all have their advantages and disadvantages when it comes to horse fence. In this article we look at a variety of horse fences from a horse owner's perspective. Here's a list of the common horse fencing options.
Wood Rail Horse Fence - Wood Board Fence
Wooden rail Horse Fence is a traditional variety of Horse Fence. Its attractive and relatively inexpensive. The downside is that it requires maintenance and upkeep to keep it looking good. If its painted, it requires regular painting if its stained it has to be safe for the horse.
Horses can and will break boards and can run through a Wood Horse Fence if spooked if not properly installed. The nails from the board can also become a hazard if they come loose and a horse accidentally steps on it.
Many horse owners use a strand of hot wire on the top rail to discourage pushing on the wood or chewing on it and this seems to work rather well for several purposes.
Vinyl or PVC Horse Fence
A fast way to improve the look of your farm, few horse fences have the crispness as vinyl or plastic horse fence. It adds horse fence street appeal and increase the value of your property. Other advantages of vinyl horse fence is that it is highly visible and visually attractive. You can get it in a variety of colors and styles. A huge reason for its popularity is that maintenance of vinyl horse fence is almost non-existent. There's no painting required and horses don't chew it so there's no replacing cribbed boards.
Okay, so what are the downsides of using vinyl horse fence? Well, the first obvious negative is that vinyl horse fence is very expensive. However, there is a bigger negative you need to know about if you're considering vinyl horse fence to contain horses.
The problem with using vinyl horse fence as horse fence is that the rails can "pop" out if horses push on them, so by themselves the plastic fences don't hold horses well.
Hot wire in conjunction with the vinyl horse fence works quite well, so we advise using the two in conjunction if this is what you decide you would like.
The take away lesson: If you have vinyl horse fence with horses, run a strand of hot wire on the inside of the top rail if you're planning on running horses in a pasture using vinyl horse fence. This is actually a nice combination. The vinyl horse fence provides high visibility and looks and the hot wire discourages horses from pushing or leaning on the boards, thus decreasing the chances that they will pop the boards out. The other option is to use the vinyl horse fence in areas where you have redundant fencing so your horses are still contained if they happen to pop some boards out.
Electric Horse Fence - Electric Tape or Hot Wire Fence
Hot wire horse fence is normally used as temporary fencing. We never recommend using electric horse fence by itself in a congested area or if you live near a busy road.
If you are needing some temporary cross fencing - which is an ideal use of electric horse fence - you'll discover pretty quick that its easy to install and very inexpensive. To increase visibility, I'd recommend using one that is at least 2 inches wide. Plan on checking it regularly as it will come down. If you have an abundance of deer they could regularly knock it down not that they will but the chance is there.
Electric horse fence is perfect to help you keep horses out of part of your pasture while you rotate it or seed part of it.
Use caution using it as a sole perimeter horse fence due to low visibility. It works better if used in conjunction with another type of horse fence such as wood rail horse fence or vinyl horse fence. If you do use electric wire fencing, use flagging tape with it to improve visibility.
If you want electric horse fence, but don't have electricity nearby, there are solar electric Horse Fence chargers that work fairly well.
Wire Mesh Horse Fence or Woven Field Fencing
There are many types of wire mesh Horse Fence. Its relatively inexpensive and probably the most forgiving Horse Fence if a horse runs into it.
The one thing you need to be careful with wire mesh Horse Fence is the size of the mesh openings. Make sure the mesh size you use is small enough to keep hooves out - including small foal hooves if you raise horses.
Wire mesh Horse Fence isn't as visible as some types of Horse Fence, so many horse owners use flagging tape or a wood top rail to improve visibility. If you live in an area where vines are prevalent, wire mesh Horse Fence can turn into a headache. Vines love to grow on wire mesh and it is difficult to remove the vines once they are established in your Horse Fence.
Tubular Panels as Portable Horse Fence
If you've visited your local feed store, you have probably seen the tubular steel round pens on display. Many horse owners use the panels as fencing around the barn. They are easy to install and move around so they provide a lot of flexibility to the horse owner.
They are great to isolate a horse due to injury and restrict activity by moving it to my end stall thereby creating a temporary convalescence paddock. You won't be able to do that with permanent fencing.
Braided Wire Cable Horse Fence
Braided wire is durable, low maintenance, and highly visibly horse fence. A couple of downsides are that horses will rub on it.
Braided wire cable can be stretched if your horse pushes on it a lot. You may need to tighten it from time to time or add a hot wire to the top.
Braided wire Horse Fence is heavy and needs sturdy posts. For this reason it is often used with steel pipe fencing.
Rubber Horse Fence
The obvious positive on rubber belt fencing is that it gives if a horse runs into it. The problem with it is that it stretches so you will need to tighten the Horse Fence periodically to keep it snug.
Buck and Rail Horse Fence
If you live in a rocky mountainous area you are probably familiar with buck and rail fence. This type of fencing is popular in rocky areas because installation doesn't involve digging holes.
Buck and rail Horse Fences are often called wildlife friendly fences as they don't have wire that wildlife can get tangled in.
A buck and rail Horse Fence is a triangular shaped section with rails connecting the two triangular ends. It is attractive Horse Fence and in the right places it is very practical fencing.
Chain Link
Although I've seen chain link fence used to contain horses, it is not a common fence for horses due to cost. However, if you keep stallions or have horses in a crowded area and you do not want them getting loose, chain link may be a solution for you. Plan on using a hot wire on the top rail as horses will lean on the chain link and stretch it out.
Combination horse fence
Many farms and ranches use a variety of horse fence types depending on where the fence is and its purpose.
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Currently Installing Horse Fence In The Following Areas:
Raleigh NC / Durham NC / Chapel Hill NC / Oxford NC / Roxboro NC / Henderson NC / Mebane NC / Burlington NC / Charlotte NC / Mathews NC / Pineville NC / Gastonia NC / Fort Mill SC / Rock Hill SC / York SC / Chester SC / Richburg SC / Lancaster SC / Columbia SC / Lexington SC / Blythewood SC / Spartanburg SC / Danville VA