"I have come home to look after my fences."
–Senator John Sherman (1823-1900), from a speech to his neighbors

When it comes to horse fences and the building and maintenance thereof, let’s face it, we have all sometimes felt rather like that ol’ rascal Tom Sawyer. As Mark Twain described one fateful day: "Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush. He surveyed the fence, and all gladness left him, and a deep melancholy settled down upon his spirit. Thirty yards of board fence nine feet high. Life to him seemed hollow, and existence but a burden." (From The Adventures of Tom Sawyer).

To build and maintain good horse fence does take time and effort, but in the end it can be very rewarding. We shall assume that the proper fencing materials have been chosen. However, a quick review of good, safe choices is helpful. (See "A Place Apart" in the February 2004 issue of The Horse, article #4913 at TheHorse.com.)

A sampling of veterinarians, extension specialists, and farm managers/owners across the country seems to show they favor fencing materials that are highly visible, have no sharp edges, and are relatively sturdy, yet give way in a collision. A horse will test a fence, one way or another, sooner or later