Murfreesboro, Tennessee · Rutherford County
Horses are hard on fences, and fences can be hard on horses. They lean over to reach grass, chew on boards, rub their hindquarters on posts, and spook into anything they can't see. A good horse fence is tall, easy to see, smooth on the inside, and tough enough to flex instead of breaking into something sharp.
The University of Tennessee Extension's farm fencing guide is blunt: avoid barbed wire for horses, because they can tear their hide on the barbs. It also warns that plain high-tensile wire can entangle horses unless it's made more visible, with posts closer together or something hung from the wire. Visibility is the theme throughout.
The classic Middle Tennessee horse fence. UT calls board fences ideal for horses and lists 8-foot post spacing. HomeGuide's national guide puts wood board horse fence at $6 to $10 per linear foot installed for pine or oak. We nail boards to the inside face so a horse leaning out pushes them against the posts, not off them. Tennessee law also counts a 4-foot post-and-plank fence as a "sufficient" fence for livestock.
No-climb mesh is woven tight enough that a hoof can't go through it. UT notes that woven wire works well for horses, especially with a single board on top so they can see the fence. HomeGuide lists no-climb horse fence at $3 to $5 per linear foot installed. It's a good choice for foals and minis.
White vinyl board looks like painted wood without the painting. HomeGuide puts vinyl horse fencing at $15 to $30 per linear foot installed. It's best for show frontages and paddocks near the barn.
Flexible coated rails flex and spring back when a horse hits them. HomeGuide lists them at $4 to $8 per linear foot for three rails. Wide electric tape or coated electric wire runs $1.50 to $3.00 per linear foot installed. Electric is allowed for livestock in unincorporated Rutherford County, and an offset hot wire inside a board fence stops chewing and leaning.
For cattle or goats, see farm fence. For the entrance itself, see driveway gates.
Tell us the acreage, the paddock layout and how many horses you have. We'll walk it with you and quote posts, boards or wire, gates and any electric separately. Call (629) 334-2020 anytime or use the quote form.
Rather talk it through? Call (629) 334-2020 anytime.
Back to Murfreesboro Fencing Company for every fence and gate we build.
