How to Build a Wooden Horse Fence

I’m a city boy that recently moved out to the country because of my wife’s interested in horses. I’ve had to learn a few new things since I’ve been out here… running a tractor, cutting down trees, well/septic systems, and, my biggest project, building a wooden horse fence. I didn’t see a great guide on horse fence building except this one. That gives you good guidelines on general concepts, but isn’t a good tactical guide on building a fence. So, I thought I’d put my learnings up here. If you guys have any to add or have any questions, let me know.

1. Plan

The guide I pointed out above is a good starting point to think about fence (and overall property) layout. You’ll want to think about where you want your fencing, obstacles (buildings, trees, etc.), proximity to barns/house, etc. Once you have a good high level idea of where you want your fence, diagram it out on a piece of paper (or on the computer, if you’re fancy).

The next step is to figure out the linear feet of fencing that you’ll be putting up. You could either do this by pacing it out or using one of those measuring wheels. We used a measuring wheel for a more precise distance. Write these measurements down on the diagram.

Now you have to decide the type of fence you want– vinyl, wood, tape, wire, electric rope, etc. There are a lot of options and the price differences are substantial. We used electric rope along the tree lines and less visible areas and then used wood everywhere else. With wood, you’ll have to decide how many boards you want. We went with a pretty standard set-up– 4x4x14 posts, 14×5/4×6 boards. The 5/4 thickless on the boards will hold up a better than the straight 1 bys. The 14 foot length is the option we chose because we wanted 7 foot spacing between posts, but you could do 16 foot length for 8 foot spacing to save some money. We got 14 foot posts because it was cheaper to get 14 footers and cut them in half.

2. Buy supplies

This is pretty straight-forward, but once you’ve figured out how many linear feet of fence, you simply buy the supplies. I’ve found buying what you can online is a good way to save money. You can always look on Craigslist to save some money too. We bought our T-posts from Tractor Supply Company locally and then we bought the other electric fence supplies from Country Supply online.

If you are doing wood, do your research. We saw a 25% or better price difference in lumber prices. Make sure you talk to people and call around for quotes.

3. Decide on a side to start and mark the holes

I sunk one post on the starting edge of the fence. I then ran a string out to a t-post that was driven in beyond the last post of that side. I pulled the string really tight (it will sway in the wind if you don’t), had the string close to the ground, and then marked the holes with a dot of marking spraypaint. I used a 7 foot posts to get the spacing. I actually marked a little under 7 feet by a couple of inches. The reason for this is because if your boards are too long, no problem; just cut ‘em. If they are too short, though, then you’ll be wasting a lot of boards because you’ll have many less than 7 feet that you can’t use.

4. Dig the holes

They say that the best way to sink your posts are actually to drive them into the dirt. No digging… you just need round posts and a post driver. I don’t know where I could even get one of these, though. They are pretty dangerous and I don’t think it’s something that you can just rent. So, what I did was to get an auger for my tractor. Don’t forget to move the marking string first! I used a 9 inch auger so that I had a decent amount of play in case my holes were slightly off. 12 inch would have been a bit too big. Too much work to fill all that in with dirt and concrete. I’d advise you to get an aggressive style bit. I had a less aggressive bit to start with, and it was taking ages to dig a hole. Once I switched bits, I could do a hole in under 30 seconds, sometimes shorter.

The post-hole digger went into the ground roughly three feet. After I dug the hole with the auger, I cleaned out the hole with a clam style hand post-hole digger.

5. Put in the posts

Tie up your marking string again and pull it taught, but this time as a higher height (3 – 4 feet off the ground). Cut the posts to the 7 foot length and put them in the hole. Cutting the posts does not have to be an exact science because you’ll be cutting the tops level later on. Get one of those two sided post levels and make sure the post is plumb. If the post is off of the string, move the base of the post to ensure it is just barely touching the string when plumb. Also, check to make sure the space between your last post and this post is less than 7 feet. Once the foot of the post is in the right spot, kick some dirt in, then tamp it. I used a big crowbar for this, but you could use anything. Keep adding dirt, checking plumb, tamping it. Then add some concrete. I put in about 25 lbs per post. I put it in wet. Once it rained once, it wasn’t going anywhere. Tamping is critical for a good set, so don’t skimp on that step.

Repeat as needed. For me, 150 times.

6. Put up the boards

Once you get to this step, you are homefree. Up until this point, I did everything on my own. When you get to boards, it’s a good idea to get a buddy or two out to help. You can really fly with a friend on these. First, mark the 4 foot mark on each post. I just measured up from the ground so that my fence would follow the contour of the land. Some people use a level line if the land is jagged.

Once you marked the top board, place a board up in position, eye-ball where you have to make the cut to be in the middle of the next post. Cut the board with a circular saw and then nail into place. We used a Paslode gas nailgun. It’s awesome for so many reasons, but mainly because you don’t need a power outlet. You’re also using a small explosion to power nails into wood. Need I say more?

Once you get your top board on, we marked at 16 and 32 inches for the tops of the next boards down and then used the same process to put up those boards. It went really fast once we got in the groove.

7. Finishing touches

Hang your gates and cut off the top of your posts and you’re in business!