Fear of fence

Whenever we had Eric in the past, and for the first two weeks this time, he did not leave the yard. Even when Fin and I went to the meadow, Eric would follow until he reached the pasture fence, then he would stop. I thought it was just because of his size - he took as many steps to get to the fence as Fin did to get to the meadow - but I now believe I was mistaken. He apparently was afraid of the wooden fence!