Putting up electric fence

[Cariboo]

After waiting 6 months for house to sell in GA, it hasn't so I have to wait to get the kind of fencing I want for rest of property. After confering with Cameo and husband, they both think me capable of putting up my own temporary electric fencing. In fact, Cameo's husband thinks "it might do the fat girl some good to get outside and do the fencing." He is a dear man!

My horses have a brand new field that has new field fencing. But I want them to have the advantage of all the other acres to graze on. I know about t- posts, tpost covers, insulators, wooden end posts.........

My real questions are, I don't want high tensil. I will get aluminum wire, but what gauge. 17 gauge seems awfully thin. If they get caught up in it wouldn't it be better to get a thicker gauge that breaks easily and isn't so thin that would easily cut them? What gauge would that be? Also rubber handles, for a gate, do these go between 2 wood posts or what? Trouble is I need a picture of the electric fence and can't find one on the internet. They are all made with wood posts and haven'ts seen one with the rubber handles as a gate. I rode around yesterday measuring all my neighbors barb fences. But no one has electric.

This will be temporary fencing. It's like my dogs, I keep them in the house and have a 5 foot chain link fence they go out to. I bring them in before I leave. My girls will stay in the field with the new field fencing, where they are now, when I leave and at night. I will keep an eye on them in the new fencing. I am retired, anal and worried about what they can get into with the new fencing.

Anyways, any suggestions about my questions, plus any other information ya'll can give me will be greatly appreciated. I can do this, I can do this cause I love my horses, I love my horses................... My neighbors like to watch what I am doing. They love to watch me do things that I don't know what I am doing. Help me!

[thunderbaby703]

I don't like the high tensil wire as I've heard and seen horror stories when they get into that. I've always used a thin(er) wire that will break if gotton into. I would rather them go through it and it break them get hung up in it. Not sure of the gauge though. I'd tie soemthing on the wire so taht they can see it also. I've used the rubber handles as a gate only and put them between two t-posts (with caps). I twisted the wire as to give the hook on the handle an place to latch onto. I hope this mde sense. Good luck.
ETA: I've put up fence like this all by myself. So you should be able to do it with no problems.

[carlagsd]

I use a temporary electric set up for my horses when their pasture gets grazed down, or like right now in spring when I need the pasture to grow.

If I get what you're saying...that you will be around to supervise when your horses are in the pasture you make for them...then I would suggest what I do. This temp pasture isn't something I would leave them in if I wasn't at home to watch because they could get out if they really wanted to. The only thing that keeps them in is their respect for electricity.

I use step in pigtail posts. I just bought them for $2 bucks each and well worth it! Tractor Supply has a picture on their website if you don't know what they look like. I use a very thin plastic rope that has wire twisted in with it and tie into my existing electric fence. I put just enough tension on the rope to make it snug and not droopy, but it doesn't have to be tight. Too tight and it will pull the pigtail posts in the corners too much. The gate is just a separate strand of poly rope with a gate handle tied on. I tie one end to the existing fence and the gate handle end to loops I made in the first pigtail post.

It works great, is easy to move/remove and my horses respect it. The biggest hassle to me is turning the fencer off and on while I'm setting it up or moving the horses in and out of the temp pasture. I do a lot of walking back and forth to the barn but it's good for me, right?

[strayacres]

Here at the farm we use the thicker electric fence wire but we put a strand of the thin electric tape on the top to alert the deer. Down at our new pasture land we are using the white rope/wire from Kencove. Not real pricey, highly visible, durable enough that you could leave them in without worry and since it's such high visibility less chance of them running thru the wire and cutting themselves. I'm sorry your husband isn't helping - I'm fortunate that way - my husband loves to be out doing for the horses right along with me. We did 50 t-posts last weekend together and 395 fiberglass posts. We're running fence this weekend.

[equine.trailrider]

I just fenced in about 8.5 acres the last few days BY MYSELF with T-posts and hot wire. I used 17 gauge wire. I like it because it's so pliable and easy to work with. I just finished pounding the last post this evening. I got 1/2 the insulators on and just have to do the other 1/2 tomorrow. I'm not running the wire until after Sunday after we have some brush removed and hauled away. I've got a heck of a suntan going though!!

[Quilting1]

My hubby did help me with a pasture the neighbors let us use for free

It is fairly easy though. We used electric tape for the first time and I really liked it better for my horses because I think they were able to see it better. My dad always said once they get a shock from it they'll never forget but I figured if they got scared and was running toward the electric fence, seeing the tape should trigger their mind faster - I would hope

We use a solar electric fencer too and have never had a problem

[Amjzimm19]

We used 14 gauge, it works nicely and isn't costly.

We also just used the wire, plastic ends, and then a loop of wire to hook to. I might be able to get you a picture if you like.

[Cariboo]

YES Amjzimm19, I would like a picture very much. Thank you!

[Cariboo]

We finished the fence today. The horses ran around and ate. They got shocked several times. Then they kept running like they were hot crap. Then HARLEY AND PATCHES RAN THROUGH THE WIRE AND WERE FREE. I had a stroke. We finally caught them down the road. The fence was hot and it shocked me and my husband and daughter. WHAT DO I DO NOW?

[Horse poor]

Did you train them to the fence first in a controlled situation? It almost sounds like they were not associating the fence with getting shocked. I put electric fence across a gate to the corral and then let them eat over the fence and then turned it on so they really understood where the shock came from. Did you have streamers up so they could see where it was?

Some horses just don't get it.

I had an arabian who would just throw up her tail and run through Electric as if she had no clue it was there. I know she knew what she was doing because she would jump into it just before hitting it. The faster it came down the sooner she got out of the shock.

[Cariboo]

No HorsePoor, I didn't show them anything. I guess the girls showed me! They knew it was there. It's in a weird shape and they ran the shape perfectly. Cameo's husband said it sounded like they weren't getting shocked enough. I read the fence charge and it is a continuous out put charger. Tractor supply's help center said to get a "low impedence" charger to deliver more of a shock. They did walk around get shocked several times. They were doing their "We are free and you can't catch me dance", when they ran through it. Someone said all the electric fences they had made a "clicking" noise when it was on. My charger doesn't. I used 17 gauge wire. I just don't know what to do now.

[cameo05]

Horse Poor.... Those girls ave always been on an electric fence, except for when Cariboo moved to Alabama. They know what it is and usually respect it. Harley, the sorrel, never ever tried to push the fence when it was on or off, but Patch would try when it was off. Smart girl that one. Kip, is there anyway something could have been on the wire or keeping the fence from charging properly? Even something as small as a twig can ground the fence out.

[carlagsd]

It sounds like you're off to a rough start! Since electric fence is a psychological barrier and not a physical barrier, you have to teach them to be afraid of it.
They don't know they're supposed to fear the fence, so they don't.

I don't know about the kind of fencer you have but the ones I've always used are low impedance and they click, like you said. If you get shocked it should be strong enough to almost knock you to your knees. It's the kind of shock that once you get poked, you don't ever want to have it happen again.

You will have to retrain them to the fence. Do them one at a time. Here's how I do it. I don't remember if you said how large of an area you fenced, but you should put the little streamers on every 10-15 feet or so to make it easier for the horses to see the wire. I use plastic grocery bags and tear off strips. Works fine and is free. Then I walk the fence with the horse going both directions. After the horse has seen the fence from both eyes I leave him in there. Then I get a tasty treat and encourage them to stretch across to reach it which will cause them to get poked by the fence. After awhile, you'll be able to tell they figured out the fence "bites" and they will stay away from it.

I wouldn't leave them in by themselves until you're sure they respect the fence. Otherwise, you'll be chasing loose horses around and worse, they'll learn they can break the fence to get to the other side.

[Cariboo]

Originally Posted by cameo05

Horse Poor.... Those girls ave always been on an electric fence, except for when Cariboo moved to Alabama. They know what it is and usually respect it. Harley, the sorrel, never ever tried to push the fence when it was on or off, but Patch would try when it was off. Smart girl that one. Kip, is there anyway something could have been on the wire or keeping the fence from charging properly? Even something as small as a twig can ground the fence out.

Before we let them in we walked ever line and I had Mike mow underneath. I ran the voltage thingy all the way from the end to the start to be sure it was Hot all over.

[Cariboo]

Carlagsd, I am so whooped tonight. I feel defeated. I am going to look for a "clicking" fence charger tomorrow. Then I will try one more time. I will do it like you said. 17 gauge wire is so THIN. It's the only kind they have in town. A thicker aluminum 14 or 12 gauge I can get from Jeffer's or TSC. I received a shock from a "clicking" charger and it was big. I got shocked by this one and it was not as bad. Will try new charger then wire.

[carlagsd]

Originally Posted by Cariboo

Carlagsd, I am so whooped tonight. I feel defeated. I am going to look for a "clicking" fence charger tomorrow. Then I will try one more time. I will do it like you said. 17 gauge wire is so THIN. It's the only kind they have in town. A thicker aluminum 14 or 12 gauge I can get from Jeffer's or TSC. I received a shock from a "clicking" charger and it was big. I got shocked by this one and it was not as bad. Will try new charger then wire.

Take a break, girl! Catch your breath and try again in the morning. I'm not an electrical expert, but you do need to have jumper wires and grounding rods in place too. My fence is set up with three strands. The top and bottom strands are hot, and the middle strand isn't. These are set up with the jumper wires and are connected to the wire from the charger box in the barn. I have three grounding rods driven about 6 feet into the ground around the corner, 50 feet, from the jumper wires.

I'm sorry I can't describe it any better than that. My husband is the electrical expert around here. I rely heavily on his advice. You should be able to get instructions from the store that you buy from, or go online and get the information you need.

Once you're sure your fence is working properly, then you can let the horses in for their "lessons".

[Rudy]

I would get the 'clicking' type. Seems to put out more of a punch and not waste as much energy. I like to get a bigger charger than I require for my area because it adds a more of a punch.

I know someone who had a stallion that liked to go through his fence....put a single hotwire on top of his area with a 50mile charger and he won't get within a few feet of it. O_O

[David]

I wonder if the electric shock collar I have on my dog would work for horses? I mean it doesn't hurt my dog and it only took about 30 minutes to get her trained. You could get the dog fence power box and hook it to your fence then put the reciever on the horses one at a time and let the reach over the fence for a treat. They would definately know why they got shocked because the reciever beeps when they are too close and as soon as they get their head over the fence they get hit. I've never heard of anyone trying this but it just popped into my head as I was reading this post...Anyway, I definately think you need a stronger power box. My uncle has electric on his farm and the horses won't even cross his fence if the gate is open, they literally have to be led out of the pasture.

[cameo05]

My box has a 100 mile range. It definatly keeps the horses off and respectful.

[Cariboo]

Just got home with a low impedence mega shocker. It burns vegatation. Gonna put it up tomorrow. A HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH