horses and goat fencing

[weldingisfun]

Two things you will be dealing with: Horses getting their hooves caught in the fence, as stated before; and, goats that love to rub on the fences. The rubbing pushes your fence out and subsequently down. If it was mine to deal with I would go with the Stay-Tuff horse fence Shop 48" x 2' High-Tensile Horse Fence at McCoy's and two runs of electric wire. One run across the top to keep the horses off of it and the second run right at goat shoulder height to keep the goats off. That Stay-Tuff fence is the best, but it is hard to work with. That high tensile is just that, it does not bend and wrap very easily at all. Good luck and let us know what you decide to do.

 

[Birdhunter1]

If you're keeping your horses in with three strips of polytape then I would go with three high tensile wires, the stuff is easy to work with and very strong.

 

[EddieWalker]

Two things you will be dealing with: Horses getting their hooves caught in the fence, as stated before; and, goats that love to rub on the fences. The rubbing pushes your fence out and subsequently down. If it was mine to deal with I would go with the Stay-Tuff horse fence Shop 48" x 2' High-Tensile Horse Fence at McCoy's and two runs of electric wire. One run across the top to keep the horses off of it and the second run right at goat shoulder height to keep the goats off. That Stay-Tuff fence is the best, but it is hard to work with. That high tensile is just that, it does not bend and wrap very easily at all. Good luck and let us know what you decide to do.

Thank you. That does seem like the best, long term solution. Pay a little more to get the best, and never spend anything else on it again. I'm also a big fan of hot wires, especially at keeping coyotes and racoons out. I am going to run a line outside the fence to keep them from climbing it, and I can easily add another line or two on the inside to keep the horses and goats off of it. That's probably a lot smarter then running a strand of barb wire on the top of the fence.

 

[rgr33]

When I had horses, I fenced off about 10 acres with 48” woven wire, adding a hot wire 6 inches on top. I never had a problem with injuries or escapes. That was in 1988, and that fence is still there in decent shape, although pretty rusty these days.

A couple of years ago, I had to fence off a few more acres for deer control in the vineyard, and I used high tensile woven wire. Big difference in quality over the original fence, I would highly recommend high tensile if price is not an issue.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

For the electric strand I would recommend either aluminum or electric rope over high-tensile wire. Both are way easier to work with than HT. Both shock just fine, the aluminum actually carries the charge further than HT. The aluminum is somewhat safer and the rope is a lot safer, the rope tends to work better than wire because the animals can see it.

The downside of aluminum is the cost. The downside of rope is that it's not as durable. Aluminum is about five cents a foot, rope about the same, HT about half as much. So for 5,000 feet the difference might be $150.

I'm not talking about the flimsy poly twine you sometimes see, but a rope of at least 1/4" diameter with stainless strands.

 

[RichZ]

At my peak, on my farm, I had 15 horses, about 100 goats, 40 sheep, 6 llamas and 6 alpacas (not all in the same pastures). I used Red Brand Non-Climb Horse Fencing for all of them. I held it up with T-posts 8 feet apart. I never had any problems with any of my animals and the fencing.

 

[QRTRHRS]

The plastic coated high tensile wire brands like "White Lightning" are a safe long lasting choice for a top wire or even for multiple rows if no goats. I like to use it for "H" brace wire with a single strand for a single "H" even with wire rope for the rows. For a double "H" even in a figure eight configuration, it is less damaging for the errant foot. If you were to look at a cross section they look like a pie with four black conductors that will shock if touched.

I have also had wire rope in service for ten plus years with no major deterioration except for moss growing on it thoughI had some brands where the stainless wires rusted. You would not expect it but wire rope sags when cold (not sure about Electrobraid). Maybe not so much in Texas but the proximity to woven wire could be an issue.

 

[EddieWalker]

When I last looked into the different types of materials to use for electric fencing, I found that the ropes and tapes all had a much reduced amount of power when compared to the bare metal wires. My horses have all touched the wire once, and as far as I can tell, have never touched it again. I have also made this mistake once, and I understand why!!!!

 

[QRTRHRS]

IMHO, charger ratings are akin to HP ratings when it comes down to doing the job. A bit of charger overkill and good grounds will get the job done. One of my dogs got zapped by a section of wirerope and had a burn mark.

 

[TheMan419]

When I last looked into the different types of materials to use for electric fencing, I found that the ropes and tapes all had a much reduced amount of power when compared to the bare metal wires. My horses have all touched the wire once, and as far as I can tell, have never touched it again. I have also made this mistake once, and I understand why!!!!

We use electrobraid. You will only touch it once if charger is hot. The horses can sense when it is on and when it is off.

I forgot..... once. 10kv tingles.