I have tried rope enclosures (2 ropes) and electric fences. In my experience neither are reliable enough when containment is critical (beside a busy road, horses unattended overnight, etc)
I have used barbed wire fencing for many years and have had no injuries to my horses. Mine are cold blooded horses, also some mules. The limited experience I have with hot blooded horses tells me with them, barbed wire fencing could be another story.
If you are keeping close tabs on the horses while they are enclosed I might suggest that you train them to picket and hobble, then the cable gate would likely be sufficient.
What about the "barb-less" wire. I use that between my (horizontal) fence boards to keep dogs from getting through fence. It's very strong, I don't think it would hurt horses. Plus it cheaper than barbwire. Barbless Cable - For Life Out Here
I tried that, horses will lean on it & push it over, bend T post & I've even had T post pulled where they use it as a scratching or massage device, whatever they think they're doing, I went back to barbwire for top & bottom strands & they poke their heads through the middle strands.
You don't have to use a heavy duty gate for horses, at least we don't, they seem to respect that.
JD2210, Ford 4400, Case IH 685, Terramite T7, JD 6x4 M-Gator
I've decided what Im going to do. Rather than a cable gate, which would have me worrying about the livestock, I'm going to weld up a swinging gate similar to the one pictured. Although it will require a very substantial post at the hinge side, I can place that post anywhere I want (within reason) and avoid the buried power and fiber optic lines on either side of the road, this because I can choose any length for the gate I want because I am building it and am not stuck with standard sizes
One modification I am going to make to the design pictured is to simplify the hinges. Rather than using hinges at all, I will use a steel ground post slightly smaller in O.D. than the I.D. of the hinge post on the gate, and slip the gate assembly down over the ground post, setting it's height with a grade 8 bolt through the gate hinge post and riding on top of the ground post. Since this gate will only be used about 50 times a year, I think it should last decades, and the massive leverage it will provide upon being swung will render any resistance that corrosion in the hinge causes trivial. Come to think of it, I'll have a place to pour my used oil.
Two totally useless, sway-backed, knock-kneed pasture ornaments. Both were once broke and trail rideable, but had "episodes" that made them untrustworthy. Almost impossible now to capture and harness for worming, but they'll still come running to dosed sweet feed. We've given up on farrier care. Fortunately, they keep hooves reasonably worn down. They survive very successfully in about 20 acres of mixed pasture and woods, all with 4 strands of barbed wire, mostly on T-posts. Storms occasionally take out sections of fence, but they seem to prefer their known habitat rather than escaping down the hollers.
