Horse fencing options are as varied as horse breeds.

From the traditional wood rail fences, electric wire to the high tech plastic fences, all types have their advantages and disadvantages.

Wooden rail fence is traditional. It's attractive and relatively inexpensive. The downside is that it requires maintenance to keep it looking good. If it's painted, it requires regular painting.

Horses can and will break boards and can run through a wood fence if spooked. The nails from the board can also become a hazard if they come loose and a horse accidentally steps on it.

Pipe fencing has become popular. It is attractive and highly visible. It's expensive to install, but once up there is little maintenance and it lasts a long time. It's also solid, so there is little give if a horse were to run into it.

If you're looking for a fast way to improve the look of your farm, few fences have the crispness as vinyl or plastic fence. It can add street appeal and increase the value of your property.

Other advantages of vinyl fence is that it is highly visible and visually attractive. It comes in a variety of colors and styles. A huge reason for its popularity is that maintenance of vinyl fence is almost non-existent. There's no painting required and horses don't chew it so there's no replacing cribbed boards.

The problem with using vinyl fence as horse fence is that the rails can 'pop' out if horses push on them.

If you have a vinyl fence, run a strand of electric wire on the inside of the top rail if you're planning on running horses in a pasture using vinyl fence. This is actually a nice combination. The vinyl fence provides high visibilty and looks and the electric wire discourages horses from pushing or leaning on the boards.

If you are needing some temporary fencing - which is an ideal use of electric fence - you'll discover pretty quick that its easy to install and inexpensive. To increase visibility, use one that is at least two inches wide.

Plan on checking it regularly as it will come down. It works better if used in conjunction with another type of fence such as wood rail or vinyl fence. If you do use electric wire fencing, use flagging tape with it to improve visibility.

There are many types of wire mesh fence. Wire fence is relatively inexpensive and probably the most forgiving fence if a horse runs into it.

Make sure the mesh size you use is small enough to keep hooves out .

Wire mesh fence isn't as visible as some types of fence, so many horse owners use flagging tape or a wood top rail to improve visibility. Braided wire is durable, low maintenance, and highly visibly. A couple of downsides are that horses will rub on it.

Braided wire cable can be stretched if your horse pushes on it a lot. Braided wire fence is heavy and needs sturdy posts. For this reason it is often used with steel pipe fencing.