White Oak Fencing

Hello -

I recently came upon free and used (roughly 20 years old) white oak 3-rail fencing, complete with ~8 gates and all the posts. I think close to 1,000 feet. I'm in the process of taking it down and moving to my place.

My family and I are building up the homestead by clearing roughly 2 acres of brush (mostly buckthorn). The fencing is in ok shape and I likely won't be able to reuse all of it, but at least 80-85%. We have pigs and paneling for them. We'd like to eventually have a sheep and a cow or two. As I'm new to this, I have a couple of questions that I could use advice:

Since, we have enough pig fencing for a while, how can I best use this for the future sheep and cows? I am guessing that, due to the openness of the slats, I'll need at least some wiring to keep the sheep in

Would you recommend painting it with asphalt paint when it's dry? It's wet now (rainy in MI) but I expect it to be fine mid-summer

Any other advice for this situation? I think I'll make 3-4 paddocks to move the animals throughout the summer with the gates.

Thanks in advance!
Mac
AMDG

What condition is it in?   If it is good shape after 20 years, why paint it?  If you feel the need to treat it, why not  linseed oil?   I am trying to think of a solution with less risk than asphalt paint.

It's mostly in good shape. I think not painting is the right thing to do. My thought was to help it last longer, but it's free fencing. It quickly can become more work than it's worth.