Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
WOOD FENCE
Wood fences are traditional and have a certain aesthetic appeal for a horse farm. If they are
well installed and maintained, wooden fences increase property value. The three most com-
mon types of wood fences are board (plank), post and rail, and buck fence. Plank fences are
strong if put up correctly, with boards nailed to the inside of the fence posts and the joints
of the boards lined up evenly. Visibility, safety, and security are good with wooden fences,
except when boards are nailed on the outside of the posts or when broken or splintered
boards and exposed nails are not regularly repaired.
Wood should be kiln-dried and treated with a nontoxic wood preservative. Wood is used
as posts, boards, rails, and as the poles in buck fence. Posts should be a minimum of 4
inches in diameter and up to 8 inches in areas requiring extra strength. Wooden corner posts
and gateposts should be 8 to 10 feet long, set 3 to 4 feet in the ground. Board fences often
have three or four rails and are made of 2-inch by 8-inch pine boards, as pine tends not to
splinter. Pole fences, post and rail, and buck fences use 8-foot to 16-foot poles of varying
diameters, peeled or unpeeled, treated or untreated, with three or four rails. Sometimes pole
and split-rail fences are made of cedar, which weathers to a gray color and is resistant to
decay.
Wooden fences require regular maintenance. They should be checked yearly to assess
the need for paint or preservative. Broken, splintered, chewed, or rotten boards need to be
replaced, but it is often easier to replace a board or two in a wood fence than to repair other
fence systems. Expansion and contraction of the wood from changes in weather and mois-
ture causes nails to creep out of wood, sometimes protruding an inch or more in a matter
of a few days. All protruding nails should be regularly hammered to a flush position; using
screws instead of nails is also an option. Wood fences with rails that fit into slots (mortises)
in the post have a unique appearance, but unless engineered and installed properly, they are
not well suited for horses. Rails can fall or pop out of the mortises in posts, and the post
can split where the mortise has weakened it.
