A cowboy fence — also called a ranch fence or barbed wire fence — is a traditional livestock perimeter barrier made of wooden or steel posts strung with horizontal barbed wire strands, spaced to contain cattle and horses across large open land.
Cowboy fences became standard across the American West after barbed wire was patented in 1874, replacing earlier wood-only fencing that was impractical to build at scale on the open range. A typical cowboy fence runs three to five strands of barbed wire between posts set 8–16 feet apart, relying on wire tension and barb deterrence rather than a solid physical wall to control livestock movement. Cowboy fences are not designed to stop small animals — rabbits, groundhogs, and dogs pass under the lowest strand without resistance.
- Typical cowboy fence strand count: 3–5 horizontal barbed wire strands per run.
- Standard post spacing on a cowboy fence: 8–16 feet between posts depending on terrain.
- Lowest strand height on a cowboy fence: typically 12–18 inches above ground — open to small animals.
- Barbed wire for cowboy fences was first commercially viable after Joseph Glidden's 1874 U.S. patent.
- Cowboy fence post material: traditionally cedar or hedge wood; modern installations use steel T-posts.