Kentucky four-board plank fence along a horse pasture — S&S Fencing

Agricultural Markets

Horse Farm & Equestrian Fencing

Fence systems specified pasture by pasture — turnout, paddock, stallion, foaling, arena and round pen — with published board and woven wire numbers, gate and lane layout, and an ongoing painting program.

Request a Scope Review Prequalification & Credentials

Operating since 2015·
Family-owned & woman-owned·
BBB A+ Accredited·
Blue Book ProView Verified

General liability and Workers’ Compensation carried — COIs on request. See full prequalification and contractor credentials.

What a working Bluegrass horse farm actually needs

A working horse farm does not have one fence — it has five or six, because a turnout field, a paddock, a stallion pen, a foaling field, an arena and a round pen each carry a different pressure level and a different consequence when the fence fails.

Pasture type	Typical size	Pressure	Recommended system
Turnout / broodmare field	5–40 acres	Average	4-board at 54 in, or 2"x4" no-climb with a top board
Paddock	0.5–3 acres	Medium to heavy	4-board at 54 in with no-climb mesh inside
Stallion pen	0.25–2 acres	Heavy	5-board at 5–6 ft, mesh-lined, no shared fence lines
Foaling field	2–10 acres	Medium — highest consequence	2"x4" no-climb full height with top board, no gaps a foal can roll under
Arena	100 x 200 ft typical	Light, high visibility	Board at 5 ft, kick boards at grade
Round pen	60–70 ft diameter	Heavy, short duration	Solid board or panel, 5–6 ft

Shawn Fick grew up in Nelson County farm country and S&S has been building these fences since 2015. If you are building a whole farm from raw ground, we lay out the perimeter, the interior divisions and the lanes together — because the lane layout drives where every gate goes.

Fence selection by pressure level

Fence selection on a horse farm should be driven by pressure level — heavy, medium, average or light — because the same fence that is correct on a 40-acre broodmare field is not adequate on a stallion pen and is overbuilt on an arena rail.

Heavy pressure — stallions, weaning pens, feed-line fences, anywhere horses are pushed against the fence daily. Specify 5-board at 5–6 ft with 2"x4" mesh behind the boards and end/gate posts at 7–8 in diameter and 4.5–5 ft embedment.
Medium pressure — small paddocks, lanes and any fence where two horses can face each other across the line. 4-board at 54 in with mesh on the inside face.
Average pressure — general turnout and broodmare fields with adequate acreage. 4-board at 54 in, or 2"x4" no-climb woven wire with a sight board on top.
Light pressure — perimeter and boundary lines with no horses directly against them. 3-board, or a high-tensile boundary with coated, high-visibility wire.

Barbed wire has no place in a horse enclosure at any pressure level. Where a farm inherits a barbed line on an interior division, the correct answer is full replacement — see barbed wire fencing for the honest comparison.

Published specifications

S&S publishes the numbers: board fence posts at 6–7 in diameter and 7–8 ft length on 8 ft centers, boards at 1"x6" oak or 1.25"x6" pressure-treated pine in 16 ft lengths, 54 in standard height, and 12 in ground clearance.

Board fence

Item	Specification
Posts	6–7 in diameter, 7–8 ft length, 8 ft centers
Boards	Oak 1"x6" or pressure-treated pine 1.25"x6", 16 ft standard length
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
Line post embedment	4–5 in diameter post, 2.5 ft minimum embedment
Corner post embedment	5–6 in diameter post, 3.5–4 ft embedment
End / gate post embedment	7–8 in diameter post, 4.5–5 ft embedment

Woven wire for horses

Item	Specification
No-climb mesh	2"x4" aperture, 12.5 gauge line wires with 10 gauge top and bottom
V-mesh	2"x4" diamond, 14 gauge vertical / 12.5 gauge horizontal
Coating	Class 3 galvanized standard; Class 40 / Bezinal in barn lots
Height — general turnout	48–60 in plus sight board
Height — foaling and small stock	Full height to grade, no bottom gap

Full detail lives on Kentucky board fencing and woven wire fencing.

Horse safety — visibility, flex, mesh aperture and chew resistance

A horse-safe fence is one the horse can see from a gallop, that flexes instead of cutting, that has no opening a hoof can pass through, and that does not reward chewing.

Visibility. A painted board or a top sight board gives a horse a solid horizontal line to read at speed. Bare wire without a sight board is the most common cause of run-through injuries.
Flex and breakaway. Boards fastened to break outward under heavy impact, and properly tensioned mesh that gives and returns, both absorb energy. A rigid, over-braced fence transfers that energy into the animal.
2"x4" aperture. A 2 in by 4 in opening is too small for a hoof to pass through, so a pawing or rolling horse cannot get a leg into the mesh and become entrapped. Larger field-fence and game-fence openings can trap a hoof and are not appropriate for horses.
Chew resistance. Oak boards resist chewing better than pine; painted surfaces are less attractive to cribbers; a hot wire on the top line stops chewing where it is a habit.
No protrusions. Fasteners set flush, no exposed wire ends, and gate hardware turned away from the horse side.

Gates, entrances, lanes and alleys

Gate and lane layout should be designed before the fence line is staked, because gate placement determines how horses and equipment move through the farm — and a badly placed gate is the one thing you cannot fix with better fence.

Field gates. 12–16 ft for tractor and hay equipment; 4–6 ft man-gates where handlers move alone.
Placement. Gates in corners funnel horses into a pinch point. Set gates back from the corner, on the lane side, so a horse can be turned rather than cornered.
Gate posts. 7–8 in diameter at 4.5–5 ft embedment — the heaviest post on the farm, because it carries a swinging load for 25 years.
Lanes and alleys. 12–16 ft wide so equipment and a led horse both fit; double-fenced with mesh where horses move past each other.
Farm entrances. Custom welded and automated entrances, including the 35 ft cantilever entrance gate S&S installed at Four Roses Distillery in Cox's Creek, Kentucky — see custom entrances and gates.

Fence painting and maintenance programs

Paint is what makes a 20-year board fence last 30, so S&S offers fence painting as an ongoing program rather than a one-time add-on — we are one of very few Kentucky fence contractors that installs and paints with its own crews.

New installs — first coat applied after the boards have dried down, not the week they go up.
Program cadence — a full-coat cycle with a spot-and-touch year in between, set against how your fence is weathering rather than a fixed calendar.
Scope options — full farm, road frontage only, or entrance and show-face sections.
Scheduled by season — booked in advance so the farm is not competing for a crew in May.

Details and pricing structure on fence painting and staining. S&S does new installation, full replacement, painting and temporary fence rental — we do not take on repair work on other contractors’ fences.

Warranty and proof

Every S&S horse farm installation carries a one-year workmanship warranty, with General Liability and Workers’ Compensation carried and COIs issued on request.

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

Farm references are provided on request, matched to the type of line you are putting in. Completed work is in the projects gallery.

How We Work

Our Process

Step 1
Walk the farm
We walk every pasture with you and record pressure level, pasture use, lane routes and gate positions before any pricing.
Step 2
Specify by pasture
Each enclosure gets its own written spec — height, board count, mesh, post diameter and embedment.
Step 3
Build ends and drive posts
Corner, end and gate assemblies first at full embedment; line posts driven for compacted holding power.
Step 4
Paint and program
Boards painted or stained once dried down, then the farm is put on a scheduled repaint cadence.

Frequently Asked Questions

Standard horse fence is 54 in tall. Stallion pens, arenas and any enclosure where horses are pushed against the line should be 5 to 6 ft. Ground clearance of about 12 in keeps a hoof from being caught under the bottom board while still discouraging a horse from rolling under.

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 a foal from putting its head through the fence and is the standard for paddocks and foaling fields.

A 2 in by 4 in opening is too small for a hoof to pass through, so a horse that paws or rolls at the fence cannot get a leg into the mesh and become entrapped. Larger field-fence and game-fence apertures can trap a hoof and cause serious injury, so they should not be used in horse enclosures.

Line posts of 4 to 5 in diameter are set at a minimum of 2.5 ft embedment, corner posts of 5 to 6 in diameter at 3.5 to 4 ft, and end or gate posts of 7 to 8 in diameter at 4.5 to 5 ft. Gate posts carry a swinging load for the life of the fence, which is why they are the heaviest and deepest on the farm.

Farm lanes and alleys should be 12 to 16 ft wide so tractors, hay equipment and a led horse all fit. Field gates are typically 12 to 16 ft for equipment access with 4 to 6 ft man-gates where handlers move on foot. Gates should be set back from corners so horses can be turned instead of cornered.

Paint is the single biggest factor in whether a board fence reaches 30 years, and most Bluegrass farms run a full repaint cycle with a spot-and-touch year in between. S&S offers painting as a scheduled ongoing program with its own crews rather than a one-time add-on.

Send us the drawings and the spec section

We bid from plans, walk the site, and return a line-item scope. Ask Shawn or Shelby Fick directly at 502-468-1209.

Request a Scope Review 502-468-1209

Also See

Related Scopes & Documentation

Kentucky Board Fencing
Post diameters, board spacing, heights and embedment by post role.
Woven Wire Fencing
2"x4" no-climb and V-mesh specs — the safest wire around horses.
Fence Painting & Staining
Scheduled painting programs for board fence, with our own crews.
Custom Entrances & Gates
Farm entrances, automated gates and welded custom work.
Cattle & Livestock Fencing
For mixed operations running cattle alongside horses.
Prequalification & Credentials
Insurance, COIs, safety program and verification.