When choosing a fence for your horses, there are many different options, all with their own advantages and downsides. It's a more complicated process than to plan a fence for your house, for example, as it will contain strong, independent animals with their own will and which are not naturally equipped to be contained behind fences. If you're looking for appropriate fencing for your horse paddock, with the help of your fencing contractor, you might want to look into the option of mesh fencing.

Strength and flexibility

The major advantage with mesh fencing for horses is that it's very strong, yet very flexible. Even if your horses are the calmest creatures on earth, they can still be startled by unforeseen events, which can cause them to run and crash into the fence. A fence that isn't the least bit flexible can seriously injure the horses when they crash into it with their whole bodyweight. For the same reason, the fence needs to be strong to not break when being crashed into, kicked or just used as a tool for your horses to scratch themselves on. A pipe fence, for example, won't break easily, but it also won't budge if your horse runs into it. A wood fence is rather flexible but is also prone to break when put under a lot of pressure. Mesh fencing is a good option for these reasons, but even more so if you keep stallions or if your horses are wild or easily startled.

Safety

The other thing you need to take into consideration is safety. This is another point where fencing for horses differs from other types of fencing. Wood fences, which can be perfect for houses, can produce splinters that get stuck in the horse's body or mouth. When choosing mesh fencing, you need to make sure that the openings in the fence aren't big enough for a hoof to get stuck in. If you also keep foals in the paddock, you need to have even smaller openings. To further improve the safety of your fence, it might be an idea to mark the top of the fence with flags or a ribbon so that the horses clearly can see where they run out of space.

Maintenance

Finally, another thing that makes mesh fencing appropriate for horse fencing is that it demands less maintenance than more common wooden fences. If you're using galvanised mesh, it won't rust and will withstand weather better than wooden fences, as it can't wither or become soaked. It's also easy to combine with an electrical wire to keep your horses from leaning on it.