Stock & Noble
- BY Tripti Kakkar
Horse agistment in simple terms is an arrangement where you care for someone else’s horses on your property. Different agistment properties offer different services, primarily based on their capabilities and the needs or wants of their typical agistees.
In some instances, an agistment property might offer only a place for the horses to live while the owners can come and take care of their animals. In other cases, the agistment property might offer end-to-end care, from horse’s living arrangement to feeding, nurturing and overall ensuring good health and well-being.
Choosing a horse fence for an agistment property is slightly different than picking for your farm or personal property, where you know your animals and their needs well.
An agistment property is a commercial space where you are responsible for caring for other owners’ valued horses. Consequently, your responsibility increases manifold, and you also tend to get a large variety of horses with varied needs.
Since you are required to be ready for the unexpected, horse fencing is a critical decision to ensure the safety and well-being of others’ animals and the success of your commercial venture.
At Stock & Noble, we provide high-end properties across Australia and New Zealand with the finest fencing solutions. The products in our portfolio are carefully selected from across the globe grounded on horse safety and proven success.
Based on our experience and expertise in creating safe, beautiful and successful horse properties, we would share the key factors to be considered while choosing horse fencing for an ideal agistment property.
Factor #1: Who is your target group/customer for your horse agistment property
Factor #2: Maintenance of horse agistment property
Factor #3: Types of horses at an agistment property
Factor #4: Safety at horse agistment property
Factor #5: Cribbers or windsuckers at an agistment property
With these 5 key filters in mind, you will be able to evaluate your choice of fencing solution and make an informed decision for your agistment property.
Factor #1: Target Group for your horse agistment property
Who is your customer?
Are you pitching your horse agistment property to a high-end horse owner who would require premium care and superior service?
Then you might need to focus extensively on the looks, safety and presentation of your property. A wealthy horse owner is not likely to entrust valuable horses to a dilapidated property.
To make the agistment property a success for this target group, it’s important to ensure the horse fencing elevates the overall aesthetics and gives a fabulous first impression.
Something like Buckley Steel Fencing System would be a good fit.
Are you looking to serve horse owners with limited budgets who only need a temporary place for horses and will be hands-on caring for their animals themselves?
We would advise you to invest in a cost-effective horse fencing solution. It should ideally be safe and contain horses effectively but can be low on looks and aesthetics as compared to the premium horse fencing options.
Something like a combination of EquiRope with a top rail of Horserail would be ideal.
Factor #2: Maintenance of a horse agistment property
Horse agistment properties have multiple horses. At some properties, this number even crosses a hundred. The prime responsibility of each one of them is to care for the horses, so fencing and its maintenance often tends to take a back seat.
If you’re considering a horse fence at an agistment property, think of how often you would have time for its upkeep.
The horse fencing might end up with broken rails, needing repairs or replacement and if it’s not fixed in time, can also result in being unsafe for the horses.
So, it’s best to get a horse fence that’s easy to manage and requires minimum maintenance from your side. It will let you spend more time and energy on horses and increase client satisfaction and profits.
Factor #3: Types of horses at an agistment property
The types of horses and activities you plan to have at your agistment property will also govern the choice of horse fencing.
- If you intend on caring for stallions, you will need a strong fence and large separated paddocks. Our recommendation would be Buckley Steel Fencing System or Horserail, with at least 1.6-metre height and probably 4 rails. It’s also advisable to include some electric fencing.
- If you would like to keep racehorses, consider larger paddocks with highly visible fencing like Buckley Steel Post and Rail Fence or Horserail. It would help contain them and their temperamental nature effectively.
- If you wish to keep simple horses and ponies, a safe, functional and effective fencing solution would be sufficient. For example, a combination of Borderline and EquiRope.
- If you want to build foaling yards, our recommendation would be to use Diamond V-mesh with a top rail of the Horserail.
Factor #4: Safety at your horse agistment property
At an agistment property, you need to care for different kinds of horses. Their needs and behaviour might not be well known to you. To avoid any mishaps and accidents with your client’s favourite animals, safety is the one filter that you shouldn’t avoid at all costs.
We understand this and therefore at Stock & Noble, safety is our topmost priority. All our fencing solutions from the highly premium ones to the more functional products are proven to be safe for horses.
We would encourage you to do thorough research on the horse fencing solution you intend to pick for your agistment property. Some fencing products claim to be safe, but they don’t match up to the high safety requirements of an agistment property.
It’s a good idea to clear all your doubts and speak to a fencing expert about the safety of your chosen horse fencing.
Factor #5: Cribbers at a horse agistment property
When your horse agistment property serves different kinds of horses, there’s a chance that some of them might be cribbers. It’s an age-old problem and a big issue faced by quite a few horse owners.
In our experience, anti-crib paints or cribbing deterrents might not be effective at an agistment property. The reason is that typically you won’t have the time to train other owners’ horses personally to stop them from cribbing.
However, if you want to look at some solutions, you can dig deeper into what can stop horse cribbing.
To keep the cribbers in check, it would be advisable to avoid using Timber fencing or posts. Consider alternate fencing solutions that horses have no interest in licking or chewing like metal or PVC fencing and hogan posts.
Ready to choose the right horse fencing for your agistment property?
Planning and developing an agistment property is an exciting and a big investment. You wanted to make sure the horse fencing you choose is right for your animals, your clients, your vision and your budget.
Now you know the 5 key factors you should consider while analysing horse fencing for your current or future agistment property. The decision should be driven by your customer, horse safety, ease of maintenance and of course the budget.
Other than these factors focused on an agistment property, there are other things such as installation, looks and style of fencing that also play their role in ensuring your equine property is safe and beautiful. You must add them to your checklist before buying your horse fence.
If you have any more questions related to cost, installation, stock availability, or if you wish to discuss the fencing plan of your agistment property, book a free personalised consultation. Our fencing experts will guide you at every step of your project and help you create an aspirational equine property.
