The fence that holds a neighbour's beef herd will be hopeless for a flock of Shetlands. Before you price anything up, write down what will actually press against the boundary: sheep rub and push low, cattle lean and scratch, horses bite and can gallop through almost anything given a fright, and pigs will root under a fence that isn't dug in. Add outside pressure — deer, badgers, rabbits, dogs, walkers on a footpath — and you have your brief.
Then consider the site. A wind-blasted upland hedge line takes far more punishment than a sheltered lowland edge. A boundary along a lane where trailers clip the posts needs stouter material than one against woodland. The most expensive mistake is under-specifying the parts you can't easily reach.
For most smallholdings, galvanised stock netting is the default. It's relatively cheap per metre, quick to erect and, done properly, gives ten to twenty years of service. What matters is the height, the horizontal wire spacing and the vertical wire gauge.
Buy the best galvanising you can afford. Netting that rusts through at the base in five years is a false economy once you count the labour of re-straining.
Post-and-rail is the traditional paddock choice, and for good reason: it's highly visible, so horses rarely run into it, and it doesn't trap legs or manes the way netting can. A three-rail fence finished at roughly 1.2m to 1.35m, with rails on the horse side of the posts, is the standard arrangement.
It is also the most expensive option per metre and the most timber-hungry. Use treated softwood or, budget permitting, oak, sweet chestnut or larch. Space posts at 2.4m to 3m, closer on exposed or sloping ground. Don't stretch rail spacing to save posts — the rails will bow and the fence will look tired within three years. Round or half-round posts of 100mm to 125mm are a sensible middle ground; square sawn posts look neat but rot faster where drainage is poor, so check the treatment and consider a gravel collar.
Electric fencing is the smallholder's secret weapon for rotational grazing, temporary divisions and protecting new hedges or trees. It's cheap, quick to move and highly effective — provided the current actually reaches the animal.
Mains units are best if you can get power to the boundary. Battery and solar sets are excellent in summer and quietly hopeless in a wet, cloudy November.
Most fence failures happen at the ends, corners and gateways. Get these right and the rest follows. Use a proper strainer assembly — a large post, a diagonal strut and a tie-back — at every corner, change of direction and gatepost, and at intervals of no more than 100m on long straight runs. Concrete them in where the ground is light or wet, and brace in the direction of pull.
Gateways take a hammering. Hang gates on stout posts set in concrete, at least 150mm diameter, and set the opening slightly wider than you think you need — 3.6m is far kinder than 3m when you're reversing a trailer in the rain. Hang the gate so it swings clear of wet ground.
As a rough guide, stock netting with posts might cost £6 to £10 per metre installed, post-and-rail £15 to £30, and electric fencing £1 to £3 for a temporary line. Doing it yourself cuts the labour cost, but only if you invest in a decent post knocker, strainers and wire puller.
Check the boundary first. Most boundaries carry a legal responsibility on one side, so confirm whose fence it is before you spend. Fences over 2m high, or over 1m next to a highway, may need planning permission, and hedgerow removal is controlled by the Hedgerows Regulations. On tenanted land, get the landlord's written consent.
Finally, budget for maintenance. Walk the boundary twice a year, tighten strained wires, replace rotten posts and keep vegetation strimmed back from the bottom wire. A fence that's checked is a fence that lasts — and on a smallholding, that's the whole point.
Acre & Furrow shares practical, down-to-earth guidance on smallholding, rural property and land management for readers across the UK.
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