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What kind of electric fenceing do you have?

10K views 102 replies 21 participants last post by  PaintedMare 
#1 ·
Hi I am thinking of "renovating" the pasture fence. I'm looking around for ideas of different kinds electric fenceing. What kind of electric fence do you have? Pictures and details are appreciated.
Thanks.
 
#4 ·
Your in Canada which means you need at least two wires, a hot and a ground so work in the winter. When standing on snow just the hot wire doesn't work until the horse touches both. A single strand will be enough until it snows. I have a daytime only pasture with a single wire. Be sure your have plenty of metal in the ground for attaching your ground wire. An 8' steel rod works well or three, 3' rods all connected, an old car radiator. Whichever you chose they are buried near the charger. If the charger is to be outside be sure to enclose it to protect it from the elements. If you have a problem with neighboring dogs/ wildlife, add the third strand which will be a hot wire.
 
#5 ·
I think it's plenty safe. Horses are like 1000 lbs two year olds though and will find a way to hurt themselves. I dislike 5 wire and even 4 wire. It's too low and they can get a hoof caught over it pretty easy. My stance on fencing is, it's just a suggestion. If they want out, they'll blow through or over just about anything.
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#6 ·
I think it's plenty safe. Horses are like 1000 lbs two year olds though and will find a way to hurt themselves. I dislike 5 wire and even 4 wire. It's too low and they can get a hoof caught over it pretty easy. My stance on fencing is, it's just a suggestion. If they want out, they'll blow through or over just about anything.
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Thanks. That makes sense.
 
#7 ·
High tensile can be dangerous to horses; I had one kick through it and got it twisted around her leg, pulling all the flesh off.

You might want to look into flexrail; many brands can be electrified and it's safer than simple high tensile. It's pricier though.
 
#8 ·
I have electric rope, an affordable brand. I like the visibility, the flexibility and the aesthetic. Have had horses blow through my cross fence without harm to themselves, and only toasting a few insulators each time. Easy to repair by hand, too, as it's only hand-tensioned.

I live in Cananda, have snow knee-high right now, and successfully run one stand, though it's simply there to keep them off the neighbour's fences. I really find that with enough room (not over-horsing my acreage) and enough food, they don't want to wander in winter, anyhow. Of course, our cleared pasture is also surrounded by bush... Not mich visual stimulation on the other side of the fence. All our high-traffic zones like the gate are also post & rail with the electric to keep them from pushing on it.
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#45 ·
I have electric rope, an affordable brand. I like the visibility, the flexibility and the aesthetic. Have had horses blow through my cross fence without harm to themselves, and only toasting a few insulators each time. Easy to repair by hand, too, as it's only hand-tensioned.

I live in Cananda, have snow knee-high right now, and successfully run one stand, though it's simply there to keep them off the neighbour's fences. I really find that with enough room (not over-horsing my acreage) and enough food, they don't want to wander in winter, anyhow. Of course, our cleared pasture is also surrounded by bush... Not mich visual stimulation on the other side of the fence. All our high-traffic zones like the gate are also post & rail with the electric to keep them from pushing on it.
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How deep do you sink your posts? I was wondering because I live in Manitoba too. thanx
 
#10 ·
I have tape - mainly because they can see it better. We use it to divide paddocks but are replacing all the metal and plastic stakes with wooden posts and plastic clips fastened on to them that the tape runs through. My husband uses taller wooden posts at intervals all round the field area with electrified wire rope running throught it as it seems to keep the deer from jumping in.
 
#13 ·
Perimeter I have mesh, one strand of electric tape on top to prevent/avoid leaning over. Divider was 3 strand, now one more on top, of electric tape. The high one needed because the two geldings fight about the mare in heat over the fence. Once the bottom- and once the second highest were ripped(kicking/rearing), no injuries, tape reconnected, horses even more respectful of fence.
When I used it with snow I disconnected what was buried, so still had hot wire without shorting out anywhere. Important is sufficient grounding, otherwise no juice. When dry, I pour water over the groundrods to keep the ground moist.
After using electric tape for over 20 years, I would not change. Even pretty wood or vinyl fence would have one strand hot....just to keep them OFF the fence.
 
#15 ·
Although we use the tape (Horseguard, I think), I'm not a fan of it.
1) Yes, it is highly visible, but the "keys" that actually hold the 2 parts of the insulator together are forever breaking
2) The winds tend to blow the tape out of the insulators.
3) Because the conductive wires in the tape itself can break without the plastic web breaking. I've had this happen more than once, hard to find the short!

It would be my guess that the rope types would hold up better, less resistance to the wind. Horses learn very quickly where their boundaries are, so the visibility is more of an issue to us than it is to them.
 
#52 ·
I use the tape like Deserthorsewoman, on top of no climb horse fence & over gates.
I also wish I had used a hot rope instead as the tape does wear out & has to be replaced at times. I would switch except I have so much invested in the insulators already that it is cheaper to buy the tape when needed.
 
#18 ·
Yes, that is the fencing that I have been using for the last 12 years. It works very well and holds up nicely. I have not had to replace any of it so far. I had one horse that ran through it and all it did was tear up the insulators. The rest of my horses respect it very well. It is a good brand of fence that will serve you for years to come. I run mine in Three strand fences, two hot and one ground in the middle. I also have a fifteen mile charger for my two miles of fence.
 
#17 ·
Agree with the flaws if the tape, especially the wide one. I use 1/2";-).
Rope, or braid, is better in windy conditions, that's for sure. But wire strands break in these also.
I've seen some nasty nasty injuries with rope that didn't break on impact. Or wrapped around the horse's neck. I would use it, if it had lesser breaking strength...to avoid nasty cuts and ropeburns.
 
#19 ·
We have high tensile (non electric) for our horse fencing-- its not flimsy stays tight for years when done right and the horses can see it good.

Cant remember the gauge off the top but ill look it up later-- either way.. this stuff can hold back a tractor if the posts were strong enough-- and we use trees.
 
#21 ·
Horsecrazy, horses sense when the charger is operating. They don't need to be almost on top of it to sense the current but can be as far as 20' away. Once a horse has been zapped it will be very respectful. There is no fear of a horse getting caught in it. Use the heavier weight of wire that is recommended for electric fencing as it carries a better charge. If you are concerned about visibility when first put up, just tie cheap bright survey ribbon to the wire between each post and hand walk the horse around while the charger is on. A horse has photographic memory for wherever it goes so the streamers can be removed if you wish after a few days. Horses run into trouble with non electric fencing as they don't respect it and paw at it or try to push thro.
 
#25 ·
If your fencing a straight run, your line posts at 3" are fine but you have to build good solid corners and don't skimp on the bracing. The reason I use wire is because the wind has little influence on it, which means the insulators stay put. Anything thicker moves in the wind which creates friction at the insulator and may eventually break or pop the insulator off the post. Buy good quality insulators, not the little cheap ones as they better ones are uv treated and are a better quality plastic. If you nail them on, don't drive the nails real tight to allow for expansion and contraction of the insulator. I've made all the mistakes and finally have it down pat.
 
#26 · (Edited)
Ok I was thinking of replacing the corner and end posts with 4"-5" wooden posts and putting a 4-5" post every 40 ft with the small ones in between.
How does that sound? Do you think that fence would hold up well then? and yes the fence is in a straight line-except for the corners.:) The posts we have are pretty sturdy and they've been up for about 4 years and none have yet broken.
 
#27 ·
Electric wire doesn't have to be strung tight like barbed wire is. Since the posts are in a straight line there are no forces of wire pulling on them so the posts are just holding the wire up off the ground. A few stout posts certainly wouldn't hurt. I hope you are using pressure treated or cedar as spruce and pine rot at the ground in about 5 years.
 
#33 ·
Electric rope is tightened less than high tensile. I would def brace the corners, especially if you're dealing with long runs, but save yourself some work and don't bother with the periodical run replacement. Useless work. ;)
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So I should just brace the corners and leave the line posts as they are?
Does it matter how I brace the corners? I wanted to do it something like this(without the concrete, though):
 
#34 ·
They look like good, solid braces. I've seen that around here. The best solution is relative to your type of ground.

I now live in a very rocky area, with HARD ground. Combined with the lesser pressure from the rope vs tensile, I can get away with a lot less than my neighbours an hour South of me.

I grew up sloughing in barns drowning in the Southern "gumbo", on the other side of our city. It was a constant fight to tighten fences and firm up high traffic zones. The mud flowed over the top of your rubber boots for two months, every time you brought your horse through the gate. PT posts rotted out in 7-10 years, still green above ground, if you were lucky. These posts needed to sit deeper than my current ones, obviously.

The posts I cleared off my property when I moved in disintegrated as we tried to pull them out, they were so old. Original homestead was 100+ years old...!? It sure was some old fencing, anyway.
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