Dear John, For an easterner, you haven't been around very much...go down to Kentucky...or watch a movie about horses...see those miles and miles of fences made with posts six-ten feet apart and horizontal 1x6 planks nailed horizontally about eighteen inches apart...typically there are three or four rails...often painted white...we have them out here in the West also...a very attractive fence, I might add...but somewhat expensive to maintain... With warm regards, Ralph Gainey