Wire, Rope or Tape

[RMEADOWS]

I am deciding on an electric fence for my horses and cattle and would like y'alls input of wire, electrobraid type rope and tape type fencing.

I have three 1400 foot runs and two 600 foot runs (plus some future cross fencing).

What is your experiance with these types of fencing?

 

[fenneran]

I have been researching the same question and have been pointed to this company by a number of friends that have used them: <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.premier1supplies.com/>Premier One Supplies</A>. I also have a friend who uses temporary electric wire fence to keep in his cattle, and he moves the fence every day to change their grazing area.

Frank

 

[gerard]

For horses we've used the 2 inch tape. 4 x 4 corner posts with white vinyl covers, t posts with covers for the line posts. First two acres we used 4 strands but it was/is overkill. We're in the process of fencing another 2500 feet and we're going with three strands at 20 inch intervals (5 foot high, we have young horses that are athletic and can jump). It looks good and is very horse safe. The rope could cut if the panic and run through it but depends a lot on your horses. ie 20 year old's, colts etc. My wife did all the research and picked and chose the best products she found from different companies.

 

[JoeR]

I am currently using the electrobraid on t-posts. I was able to use one run at 48" off the ground. The one wire seems to be sufficient, and the horses no longer challenge wire (This all depends on the persistence of the horses). I have a 4 year old horse that ran through the fence today... The electrobraid snapped, and the horse did not get any injuries. He spent some time in the round pen of course for pulling that stunt. It was feeding time, and he decided to make his own route through the wire, rather than walking around the fence line.

Joe R.

 

[rockyridgefarm]

Horses will learn fast and typically won't retry the fence. Visibility is most important, so the tape is great. Wind can be an issue with it, though.

Cattle are a whole differant issue. They will try it over and over. Wire is a good answer for them.

With all electric, be sure you have the grounding done right. Two or three 8' ground rods are not overkill, especially if you have dry soil.

 

[Wingnut]

we've got 3 pastures separated (and surrounded) by 3 strands of 17 ga wire. Of course, we just have miniature horses ... but I can tell you that they definitely have a lot of respect for it! We've had one instance in the past (just last month) where a yearling got to close, panicked and pushed the top strand out to get away .... took me 2 minutes to replace the one broken stand-off. The wire is significantly cheaper than the tape. If a horse bulled through, the t-post stand-offs would break and allow the wire to push out far enough to cause no damage.
The horses learn respect immediately and, as was previously noted, don't test. I moved some pasture and it took a long time before they'd venture past the prevkious line .... I finally had to take my old gelding and lead him across the old line to show them it was safe. I also had a corner where one of the neighbor punks, I mean kids, ran into the t-post with an atv ... and bent it to the ground ... so the wires were all laying on the ground. The horses never strayed throug that spot even though it was several weeks before I noticed.
When I let the older mare in with the stallion, I have to visibly and pointedly move the gate (accordian) wire aside ... and then she finally stampedes through as fast as she can ... she's that afraid of the wire. I have a real problem getting her back to the barn if I go out to late at night ... since she can't see the wire, she won't believe the gate isn't still up ...
As was mentoined, the ground is critical .... I finally extended mine to four 6 ft ground rods. Now I need to remember that I have leather soles on when I step over the fence (I said they were minis, didn't I?)

pete

 

[gerard]

I'm sure there will be disagreement on this but I wouldn't even consider using high tensile wire for horses. Seeing one picture of a horse that ran through a wire fence and had to be put down was enough to convince me. Looked like someone took a chainsaw to him. Horses aren't the brighetest animals in the world. (Of course they don't work, get fed day in day out, get groomed and pampered etc so WHO'S the smart one here?? hmmmmmmmmm)

 

[RichZ]

Pete, you mentioned extending your grounds. I have a problem with my fence shorting out all the time. Most of the time I never even find the short, I run the wires make sure they're clean, turn it back on and it works...for a while. Luckily, my horses respect the wires, but you never know. Does adding more grounds help prevent shorts?

 

[Wingnut]

Gerard,
I guess if you were to fasten the wire in such a way that it was very taut and had no way to give, it could indeed slice through a running horse.
My experience, so far, though ... is that the horses never gallop through the wire (they know where it is, and I flag it as well for extra visibility) ... and if one does somehow get tangled (and shocked, thus panics), the plastic in the standoffs gives long before any damage might happen to an animal. There were no scratches at all to the little one that got into the wire several weeks ago ... and the wire pulled out of 3 of the standoffs and another one had one bracket broken.
So ... I'll still stand behind the setup that I have.

pete

 

[Wingnut]

Rich,
I've had a few shorts in the past .... mostly due to growin' stuff that insisted on mating with the wire .... so I get out the weedwacker, tree shears, scythe and machete several times a year. The 3 extra ground rods I added did make a difference as far as the strength of the jolt is concerned ... but I've had only one true short. When the little gal panicked through the wire, she managed to blow a fuse ... first in 4 years.
The only problems I've really has in the past 2 years (since re-grounding and extending) was in the failure of one batch of wire. It rusted and just plain failed. I'm now in the process of checking and replacing al lthe rusty sections.
One thing I've found is that the weed-cutter type of controller withstands the extra draw from weeds and shrubbery, allowing me to only walk the line a couple of times a year.
I'll be out this weekend adding a new pasture and extending an old one ... t-posts are in, just need to hack a little bit more brush in one corner.

pete