Kentucky 4-board farm fence — S&S Fencing project 1

Kentucky Board Fence Installation

Kentucky Board Fencing — Published Specifications

Kentucky board fence specs published: 6–7 in posts on 8 ft centers, 12–14 in board spacing, 54 in height, embedment by post role. Call 502-468-1209.

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★ FEATURED PROJECT: Ballard High School, Louisville, KY — Four-board athletic track fencing

What Kentucky board fence is and what it is for

Kentucky board fence is a post-and-board fence built from round wood posts on 8 ft centers with three to five horizontal boards, and it is used where horses need a fence they can see at a gallop and where the property has to present.

It is the right fence for horse turnout, paddocks, stallion pens, arenas, farm frontage and entrances. It is the wrong fence for small stock — goats, sheep and foals go through board spacing, which is why those enclosures get 2"x4" no-climb mesh behind the boards. S&S has been building these fences since 2015 out of Cox’s Creek in Nelson County, and Shawn Fick grew up in the middle of them.

Pressure level drives the build: light boundary lines take 3-board, general turnout takes 4-board at 54 in, and heavy-pressure stallion pens and arenas take 5-board at 5 to 6 ft. Full pasture-by-pasture selection is on horse farm and equestrian fencing.

Published specifications

S&S publishes the numbers most Kentucky fence contractors leave off their websites entirely: 6 to 7 in posts, 7 to 8 ft long, on 8 ft centers, with 1"x6" oak or 1.25"x6" pressure-treated pine boards in 16 ft lengths.

Item	Specification
Posts	6–7 in diameter, 7–8 ft length
Post spacing	8 ft centers
Boards	Oak 1"x6" or pressure-treated pine 1.25"x6"
Board length	16 ft standard
3-board spacing	15–16 in on center
4-board spacing	12–14 in on center
Standard height	54 in
Stallion pens and arenas	5–6 ft
Ground clearance	12 in

Post embedment by role

Post role	Diameter	Embedment
Line post	4–5 in	2.5 ft minimum
Corner post	5–6 in	3.5–4 ft
End / gate post	7–8 in	4.5–5 ft

Gate posts are the heaviest and deepest on the farm because they carry a swinging load for the life of the fence. A gate post set like a line post is the most common reason a five-year-old fence has a gate that drags.

Installation method

We drive posts rather than hand-set them wherever the soil allows, because a driven post compacts the soil around the shaft instead of sitting in loose backfill — it holds longer and resists frost heave.

Layout. Corners, ends and gates staked first, then the line pulled straight and the grade read.
Setting. Posts driven to the embedment above; rock and hardpan handled with augering — see post augering and driving.
Boards. 16 ft boards spanning three posts where possible, joints staggered between courses so no two joints stack on the same post.
Terrain following. On grade the fence steps or racks with the ground; ground clearance is held near 12 in through dips so a hoof cannot get caught under the bottom board.
Gates. 12–16 ft field gates for equipment, 4–6 ft man-gates, hardware turned away from the animal side.
Finish. Painted or stained once the boards have dried down — not the week they go up. See fence painting and staining.

How board fence compares to the alternatives

Board fence carries the highest material and labor cost of any farm fence and the best visibility and presentation, with a 20 to 30 year service life that depends on staying painted.

System	Service life	Relative cost	Best for
Kentucky board fence	20–30 years with painting	Highest	Horse turnout, paddocks, frontage, entrances
2"x4" no-climb woven wire	25–35 years	Higher	Foals, small stock, safest wire around horses
Fixed-knot woven wire	30–40 years	Medium	Mixed livestock, rough ground, game
High-tensile wire	20–30 years	Lowest	Long runs, grazing systems
Barbed wire	15–20 years	Low	Cattle perimeter only — never horses
Vinyl rail	25–30 years	High	Low-maintenance presentation, light pressure

Maintenance and expected lifespan

A board fence reaches the top of its 20 to 30 year range only if it stays painted, so the maintenance program matters as much as the install.

Painting cycle — full repaint on a scheduled cadence with a spot-and-touch year between coats; the interval is set by how the boards are weathering rather than a fixed calendar.
Annual walk — check for loose fasteners, chewed boards and posts that have started to lean.
Board replacement — handled as part of a full-line replacement or a painting program on fences we installed.
Chewing — oak resists better than pine; a hot top wire stops a cribber.

S&S does new installation, full replacement, painting and temporary fence rental. We do not take on repair work on fences built by others; warranty service applies to our own installs.

Total cost of ownership per year of service

Board fence is the most expensive fence per foot and competitive per year of service once painting keeps it standing for 30 years — the wrong comparison is install price, the right one is dollars per foot divided by years of life.

An unpainted board fence that fails at 15 years costs more per year than a painted one that runs 30. That is why S&S sells painting as a program rather than an upsell.

Installed pricing depends on board count, terrain and clearing, so we price your actual line rather than quote a number sight unseen. Call 502-468-1209.

Warranty and proof

Every S&S board fence installation carries a one-year workmanship warranty, and the company carries General Liability and Workers’ Compensation with COIs issued on request.

S&S Fencing & Property Maintenance LLC is family-owned and woman-owned, operating since 2015 from Cox’s Creek in Nelson County, Kentucky. BBB A+ Accredited and Blue Book ProView Verified. Shawn and Shelby Fick are reachable directly at 502-468-1209. Full documentation is on the credentials page.

Featured project: four-board athletic track fencing at Ballard High School in Louisville, KY.

Farm references are provided on request. More completed work is in the projects gallery.

Project Gallery

Recent Work

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Kentucky board fence posts are 6 to 7 in in diameter and 7 to 8 ft long, set on 8 ft centers. Embedment varies by role: line posts of 4 to 5 in diameter go a minimum of 2.5 ft deep, corner posts of 5 to 6 in diameter go 3.5 to 4 ft, and end or gate posts of 7 to 8 in diameter go 4.5 to 5 ft.

Four-board fence is spaced 12 to 14 in on center, and three-board fence is spaced 15 to 16 in on center. Tighter four-board spacing is what keeps foals and small stock from putting a head through the fence, which is why it is the standard for paddocks and foaling fields.

Standard board fence height is 54 in with about 12 in of ground clearance. Stallion pens and arenas are built at 5 to 6 ft. Height is chosen by pressure level rather than by animal size alone.

Oak 1 in by 6 in boards resist chewing and impact better and are the traditional Bluegrass choice. Pressure-treated pine 1.25 in by 6 in is thicker, more dimensionally consistent and holds paint well. Both come in 16 ft standard lengths and both reach 20 to 30 years when painted on a schedule.

A correctly built board fence lasts 20 to 30 years when it is painted or stained on a regular cycle. Posts driven rather than hand-set in backfill hold longer because the soil is compacted around the shaft, and paint is the single biggest factor in reaching the top of that range.

Yes. S&S offers post augering and driving as a standalone service for owners who want to hang the boards themselves. Call 502-468-1209 to schedule.