Arena fencing

From: Traci

Dear Jessica,

I have written you for advice in the past and have found your answers so helpful that I couldn't think of a better source to answer this current question. I have been unable to find the answer to this in the archives or anywhere else.

I'll give a little background first. My horses are currently stalled at my parent's house which is in a housing community on half acre lots in southern California. We ride at two equestrian centers funded by the property dues that everyone living in the large housing community pays. One of these ranches is primarily English, and since my friends and I train for eventing, we normally ride here.

Our problem is with the arena fencing. All arenas (including the large turnout arena) are fenced with very low rails (about waist high on me, so I'd guess around 3 1/2 feet). It is the curved fencing that curls toward the inside of the arena, like race-track rails. I turned my thoroughbred out in one of these arenas months ago and in an energy spurt he took off running, but was suddenly faced with this rail and the choice to stop or jump. I think he made the only decision he could and tried to jump it. His back legs got tangled up and he ended up back inside the arena when it was all over, with only minor cuts and bruises - thankfully.

My friend was not so lucky yesterday with her quarter-horse. They figured since the horse was older, mellow, and knew these arenas so well, that she was safe to turn out. And they've been doing it for a long time! Unfortunately, she took off running and suddenly was faced with this rail. She attempted to jump and got hung up with her back legs also, but managed to get over and then took off. They eventually found her and she required both stitches and staples on her back legs which were cut clear to the bone. They are facing an 8 week lay-up in the middle of her daughter's pony club season. Disappointing, but we're all glad it didn't turn out even worse. Our assumption in both cases is that the horses were simply running and having a good time, and due to the low height of the rail, it just kinda "snuck up" on them and left them with no choice but to jump. I don't think either horse had in mind to get away. We're actually glad they jumped, because I think slamming into a single rail right at leg or chest level could have caused even more damage. We've all learned a lesson about turnout arena safety, too.

My question is, what do you suggest we do to get these arenas fixed? It seems so ludicrous to me to put 3 1/2 foot railing on a jumping arena, too! The jumps in the arena are taller than the fencing! The other ranch has problems with their turnout also. The fence is tall enough, but some rails are 6 feet and some only 5. My horse slammed his head on this pretty bad once when running with his head over the rail and suddenly the rail was taller. Another case of lucky. I could have ended up with a horse with a fractured jaw. Can we force them to fix this situation since the people who use these arenas pay the dues that fund them? I realize you aren't a lawyer, but we're writing letters to the board of directors now requesting they fix this situation, and I'm not expecting a positive reply.

Also, is this type of fencing safe for riding arenas? I assume it is to keep riders feet from getting tangled up in vertical rails, but it was a scary moment when my horse was stuck with the top rail up in his hip-joint, and his back ankles on the outside of the bottom bar (they only have a top and bottom bar, nothing else). It nearly flipped him over backwards and I'm lucky I didn't have a horse with broken legs. And as I said before, it seems to me that a collision with a single rail could actually turn out worse than a collision with a multi-rail, flat fence.

Any insight/advice you can give would be VERY appreciated. I'll be moving my horse to my own property soon, and insight on building arenas would be of great benefit to me now, BEFORE I get started. In the meantime, I want to help insure the safety of the hundreds of horses and riders who use these ranches.

Thanks!

Traci

I won't be able to give you legal advice - not being a lawyer is a definite drawback here. ;-) My personal feeling is that all of those fences should be replaced with proper ones, but that's not a legal opinion, alas.

Fence height and horses can be tricky. Some horses and ponies are absolutely brilliant natural jumpers and see no reason not to jump over an inconvenient fence - after all, they're on THIS side, they'd rather be on THAT side, and the fence is in the way. That's one reason - there are others - that horse fencing needs to be safe, secure, visible, and of an appropriate height. If you want a rule of thumb, here's the one I've found to work best: For a pasture or a turnout paddock, the fence should be AT LEAST as tall as the tallest horse you anticipate keeping inside the fence. If you have three 15-hand horses and one 17-hand horse, the fence should be at least 17 hands (that is, 68" at the withers) - which would mean that the fence height should be at least 5'6".

Some horses require even taller fences - stallions, for instance, and known escape artists. ;-) Oddly enough, trained show jumpers are often quite happy to remain in their fields even when the fences are a foot lower than they ones they jump in competition. Perhaps it's because for those horses, jumping is WORK - or perhaps they simply appreciate and enjoy their time in the field, and have no great desire to go anywhere else. They could easily clear a 5' pasture fence, but they don't even try.

Based on your description, I'd say that the problem in this case wasn't that the arena fence was inappropriate - for a riding arena, a fence height between 3'6" and 4' is perfectly reasonable. Such a height would be quite acceptable for most arenas used for flatwork only; if it's a jumping arena, the fence would typically be between 5' and 6'. Riding arenas are for horses that are UNDER THE DIRECT CONTROL OF THEIR RIDERS, so a 4' fence shouldn't be a problem. But a 3' or 3'6" or 4' fence is completely inadequate for any area in which horses are turned out. A riding arena with a low fence should never be used for turnout. It sounds as though this arena may have been enclosed with racetrack rail (it's normally 38" to 42" high). This isn't high enough to keep horses from jumping it, but it's a perfectly good visual (and tactile) reminder for riders to stay ON the track. Racetracks are used for racing and for exercising horses, but never for turnout.

Some stables do have multi-purpose arenas - riding arenas with higher fences that could contain horses. Some do have lower fences, but those riding arenas are reserved for ridden work only. Many boarding stables will allow horses to be longed or long-lined in the arena under specific conditions, but again, those horses are still under the direct control of their handlers. I don't know of very many stables that allow their riding arenas to be used for turnout (even if the fences are adequate) except briefly, temporarily, and always in very unusual circumstances (e.g., a broken water pipe floods the turnout paddock and the water freezes into a sheet of ice, or the winter is so severe that the indoor arena is the only place for horses to get any exercise, including ones that are too young/old/lame to be ridden). And even when that sort of special-permission turnout is allowed, it's never UNSUPERVISED turnout - the horse's owner must turn the horse out, remain with the horse while it is turned out, and then put it back into its stall.

Any fence surrounding an area - pasture, paddock, OR arena - that's used for turnout needs to be as tall as necessary and as safe as possible. The smaller the turnout area, the more careful you have to be. Horses running in a 50-acre field are far less likely to have a close encounter with the fencing than horses turned out in a five-acre field. Horses turned out into a one-acre paddock or a half-acre arena are VERY likely to have close encounters with the fencing... on a regular basis. Racetrack rail - or a 4', 2-rail or 3-rail fence - can make perfectly good enclosures for riding arenas, but aren't suitable for turnout, full stop. A horse that gets too close at speed IS likely to jump, or try to jump the fence. In the case of the arena you've described, the false ground line presented by the incurved rail makes it extremely likely that the horse will catch his hind legs and hurt himself on the way over the fence.

As for the other problem you mentioned, a rail fence having varying heights - that's something you're likely to encounter on steep hills. Take a good look at the next Helsinki jump you see when you're eventing - it's a perfect example of a fence designed to be installed on a steep slope. A horse loose in a small enclosure, and very interested in something outside the enclosure, may run along looking at the object of interest and end up hitting the fence or another horse or anything else that happens to be in the way, but it's not necessarily a function of inadequate or "wrong" fence height, it's just the result of a horse paying attention to something else and not looking where it's going.

Good luck getting things changed!

Now, about your own property:

Accidents can happen anywhere, of course, but when you build the fences on your own property, I strongly suggest that you make your fences tall and strong - including your riding arena fence, just in case think you might ever want or need to turn horses out in the arena. Like everything else, good fencing is expensive - but remember that although it's expensive to do it right, it's even more expensive to do it over... with or without vet bills as an extra expense.

The safest fence will be very strong and very visible - something that will turn a horse 999 times out of 1000, and allow the horse to bounce off it safely if it has an occasional close encounter. The traditional V-mesh or diamond-mesh fence with a top rail is still arguably the best horse fence available. Adding a "sight rail" to the top increases the fence's height and its visibility to the horses. The rail will also protect the fence from being stretched out of shape by horses leaning over it to eat the (always greener) grass on the other side. An equally sturdy and durable option would be "flexible rail" fencing made from high-tensile wires encased in 4" - 5" bands of polymer.

There are other options, too. The two fences I've mentioned would be my own top choices, but preferences, needs, situations, and budgets differ, so you'll need to figure out exactly what will be best for your situation and your horses. You'll do well as long as you take your time, collect as much good information as possible, and make an informed decision.

Here are some tips that may help:

1. Make your decision based on your needs, site, location, and budget. Some locations and sites lend themselves better to certain types of fencing - for example, a fence that works well on flat land may not work as well, or at all, on steep hills. You'll also need to be familiar with any and all zoning requirements and/or covenants - if there are rules about setbacks, fence heights, materials, or colours, find out BEFORE you build!

2. Plan your layout carefully. Will your pastures or paddocks share a fenceline, or will they be separate enclosures with room to drive between them? Where will you put your gates, and how wide should they be?

3. Think about the purpose of your fence(s). Do you only need to keep your horses INSIDE the fence, or are you concerned about keeping other animals (and possibly humans) OUTSIDE the fence?

4. Ask yourself what you want the fence to look like, how long you need it to last, and how much and what kind of maintenance you are willing to do. (Hint: traditional white-painted oak board fencing represents a considerable amount of painting, year after year after year.)

5. Whatever you choose, make strength, visibility, and SAFETY absolute priorities. Learn how the various types of fences react to a sudden body-slam by a large horse moving quickly. Tensile strength matters. "Safe" should mean "safe if the horse hits it at a gallop", not "safe unles the horse actually runs into it, over it, or through it".

6. When it comes to fence height, think VERSATILITY. Especially if you're working with a small acreage, you'll want to keep your options open. If you put up a 5'6" or 6' fence around your riding arena, you'll have the option of using it for turnout - and the fence height won't interfere with your enjoyment when you're riding.

7. Get the best possible advice all the way through your decision process, get the best-quality materials, and hire a qualified, experienced fence installer. Since you're in the States, you can get information and recommendations from the American Fence Association. You can reach them at (800) 822-4342, and they have a website at www.AmericanFenceAssociation.com. Remember, it will cost less to do it right the first time than to do it wrong and then do it over.

Jessica

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