Fencing for horses

[Donn Hewes]

Recently I was asked about single strand poly wire for keeping horses. Our farm has a high tensile perimeter fence in every field. I don’t think I would rely on a single strand between my horses and the road. Other than that our horses use a single strand of poly wire some part of almost every day. There may be some breeds of horses and some individuals that this would not work for, but mine have all excepted it with out much difficulty. A new horse may go through a fence or two but then they stop. Once or twice a year my overnight paddock might be knocked down and my horses will be wandering around. Maybe it was deer or a poor job of setting fence.

The big advantage of having horses trained to single strand fences is how quickly you can set up a new paddock for them. We use a simple tread in post with an insulated top. I can carry about 20 of them. Five minutes to put them in and five minutes to unwind the reel, and you have a one acre paddock good for two or three nights. I also have several tread in posts attached to scraps of locust 6 x 6 with heavy fence staples. These are very handy for my small paddock around the barn that disappears when I need to get a load of hay in or something. I use this portable paddock all winter with out any problems. Donn

[Robert MoonShadow]

We use the same set-up in the wilderness in the spring – one 1000′ strand, and a charger w/a built-on post that takes 3 “d” batteries. It’s too soft/muddy to hobble them – Ellie (the Belgian draft mule) will sink in 3″ in soft ground w/ hobbles on – or use a picket-stake. These mules won’t even step over it if a deer knocks it down… ‘cept that time a bear came into the canyon…

[Lane Linnenkohl]

We’ve been using the braided poly line to divide paddocks for cattle and horses for several years. Easy set up, easy take down. Like Donn said, occasionally we have to reset a line and put the critters back where they belong. But, that’s a small inconvenience compared to the convenience of using the poly.

[jen judkins]

I use 3 strands of polybraid on my perimeter fence (which has never been breached). Had a tree fall on it once…was a simple matter to remove the tree and plop the wires back on the fence post.

I use 2 strands to enclose my winter paddock. I have minis, so the lower wire is for them. I put the lower wire at nose level for them and then one at nose level for the bigger horses. They bust through this occasionally (though fingers crossed not this winter).

I use a single strand for my rotational grazing in the summer and I occasionally find one of the minis in the wrong section grazing, but its not a big deal and they usually wander back on their own.

Very easy stuff to work with and move around.

[jen judkins]

@Robert MoonShadow 6085 wrote:

These mules won’t even step over it if a deer knocks it down… ‘cept that time a bear came into the canyon…

Yeah, the only time my horses have escaped my property was under threat of a bear. I only had two at the time and they both cleanly jumped the fence…motivated for sure.

[near horse]

Donn, For your perimeter hi tensile I assume you are talking woven wire not multiple single strands. Is that right?

In our neck of the woods, a moose is way more trouble than a bear. We’ve had moose walk into charged polywire and drag it and 20+ step in posts off into the woods (like a terrestrial Moby Dick) with the fence “popping” the whole time. The moose never even changed pace:eek: BTW – our horses were hiding in their shelter peaking out through the cracks:)

When moving cows (or sheep) you can use a strand of polywire (uncharged of course) stretched between you and one other person and cover a lot of ground. Animals don’t know it’s not hot.

Out west the biggest trouble w/ electric fence is getting it grounded well when the soil dries out – and it sure does in late summer.

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Geoff, I think most often people referring to “high tensile” fencing are referring to 2, 3, 4, or 5 independent strands of high tensile galvanized wire. The number of strands depends on the animals you want to keep out, and the animals you want to keep out. Some systems have every strand “hot”, while others alternate between hot strands and grounded strands. Some times a system like this can help in area with dry soil I believe. When they touch both strands they are grounded all the way back. Woven wire is best when stretched, but I don’t think they usually consider it under tension.

We have about four miles of perimeter fence and some is 4 strand, some is five. This is the norm for sheep farming as it keeps the lambs in. The newest fence we built used the new style fiberglass posts. They are UV stabilized, flexible enough to bend to the ground, and use a stainless steel clip to hold the wire. They were very fast and easy to install. we used three wood posts in the corners, and a wood line post every 200′. Next time I will use even less wood line posts. This fence is about five years old and it has been great. Donn

[near horse]

Hi Donn,

I thought folks considered hi tensile non-woven wire dangerous for horses. Some people called it a cheese grater. I know that electrified should keep them off of it most of the time but what happens when Mr. Bear shows up? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not criticizing as much as inquiring. If it has worked well for you, I’d like to know. I hate stretching woven wire fence and would be glad to use multi strand hi tensile. Whose stuff did you use? Premier and Gallagher are some we see out here. In fact, we put some New Zealand (Gallagher) style stuff in for a rotational vs continuous grazing study a few years back. It worked pretty good – the weak point seemed to be using spring gates. Even though they were hot and cattle were trained to electric fence, a desperate heifer would still barrel through them.

Did you use spreaders or stays to keep the wires apart between line posts?

[dominiquer60]

High tensile can be dangerous for horses. In the northeast we have a lot of hedge rows, large visual barriers that very often contain one or more of the following: buckthorne, multifloral rose, thorny locust, thornapples, etc. Some folks I know don’t even have a real fence on some of these types of hedge rows, the large animals have no interest of wading through the thorny jungle. Small animals on the other hand would like to live in the thicket for ever. These hedge rows can be enough to keep horses in, so a hot fence can be icing on the cake in these cases. It is all about what works for the individual. Garlic is listed as poisonous to horses and dogs, yet some people feed it to them every day for pest/parasite control, it works for some and not for others. That is the great thing about farming and animal care, there are so many ways to make it work.

Erika

[Donn Hewes]

Hi All, It is important to remember that there is no ‘one’ right answer. Here are some of the things that we considered in fencing our horses. First, many of the same hazards with high tensile fencing would be risks with using a single strand of ploy wire. There are certainly some breeds and individuals for whom this would be more challenging or dangerous. I don’t have any horses like that on my farm. I believe draft animals by nature are a little less likely to have these issues. Having said that, I am very careful with each new horse I bring home.

What is the stocking density in a new paddock? Is there more food available than will be needed for the desired length of stay? Will shade or water be needed or wanted? I may not think they need it, but I also don’t want to give anyone a reason for leaving. Have the horses or mules developed a habit of inspecting the perimeter of a new paddock? Most importantly what is the temperament of the animals?

Finally, Just like with the type of stalls you use or how you chose to lead your animals, they must be trained to your system.

As far as spreaders or stays goes the fiberglass posts are about 40′ apart and the fence is plenty tight enough to span that. Donn

[Donn Hewes]

Hi All, It is important to remember that there is no ‘one’ right answer. Here are some of the things that we considered in fencing our horses. First, many of the same hazards with high tensile fencing would be risks with using a single strand of ploy wire. There are certainly some breeds and individuals for whom this would be more challenging or dangerous. I don’t have any horses like that on my farm. I believe draft animals by nature are a little less likely to have these issues. Having said that, I am very careful with each new horse I bring home.

What is the stocking density in a new paddock? Is there more food available than will be needed for the desired length of stay? Will shade or water be needed or wanted? Have the horses or mules developed a habit of inspecting the perimeter of a new paddock? Most importantly what is the temperament of the animals?

Finally, Just like with the type of stalls you use or how you chose to lead your animals, they must be trained to your system.

[Carl Russell]

We use single wire perimeter. Not hi tensile, just stretched on insulators. Sometimes we double it for the calves. Single poly on fiberglass for interior paddocks, wicked simple, fast, and easy to modify.

Good hot fencer, and approachable animals seems to be the answer on this farm.

The visual barrier of the hedgerow is a key, like Erika said. Even when the moose takes it down, half the time I (or some chick visiting, out walking her dog) notice it before the horses do.

High tensile definitely lasts longer, but the outlay of cash is a real stinger.

Carl

[Robert MoonShadow]

Geoff ~ Another option to consider: electric netting. It’s pricey, though… unless you’ve got a source for used netting. It has built-in fiberglass posts, takes me about 10 – 15 minutes per roll to put in. I even sold some to an older {mid-sixties} couple who move it by themselves (it weighs about 30 lbs. per roll). I made a deal w/ Ray Holes here last year: he buys the Premier 42″ netting (165′ per roll) & replaces 1/2 of it every 3 years (on a 2 year cycle)… I buy it (the used, patched, but still good netting – really bad stuff gets tossed) at $40/ roll & was selling it for $65 – half the price of new. Even with the power off while recharging the battery, the goats seldom test it. Nice & white – it even deters most deer. Ray uses it, literally, by the mile. He taught me a secret he uses throughout the West for grounding all those chargers… get some standard electric fence wire (copper if you can) and just string it along the ground, weighted down w/ rocks along the way… use several 100′ strands, if needed… or his favorite trick: “run a stretch of wire over to that old barbwire fence sitting over yonder – especially if it’s on steel posts”. Ray almost always has some netting for sale -it’s a tax/depreciation thing for him. If you ever want some, let me know, you’ll pay the same price I do. {DAP family discount thing, ya know? :D} Oh yeah… the 2 company mules totally respect it, even though it’s only 42″ high; they crunched my cattle panels leaning/scratching on them. And with it being white, it’s also a visual thing as Carl & the others were saying; probably a bit easier to move than a hedgerow, too!

[Robert MoonShadow]

Geoff ~ Forgot to include my personal trick for grounding the fencing… I took one of those 8′ grounding poles they say to completely bury 3 foot (or more!) deep, and cut it into 4 pieces: 2 three-footers & 2 one-footers. Weld a short piece to a long piece (typical cross pattern), sharpen the opposite tip. The cross piece makes it easier to grasp & pull/twist it out. Run a 3 – 6 foot copper wire connecting the crossbars. Drive these into the ground by the watering trough… guaranteed grounding. I don’t know if it’s hazardous if using a mains, but I use a 3-joule battery system. To test it, I wore only a pair of cut-offs, hooked the system to a new & fully charged battery, and soaked the ground & layed down on the mud.
Weird, but I needed to know my critters would be safe & I didn’t know anyone to ask. {Hey! I don’t know didley about electricity}
Oh, if the ground’s too rocky, I’ve gotten good results with both being driven only 18″ or so in the ground – if it’s kept moist.
I hope this helps.

[Gabe Ayers]

Here at the homeplace we have a woven wire paddock with a board on the top and a 2×4 extension into the paddock with a hot wire on it. This way all horses that I don’t know about go in the paddock to learn about the hot wire in a setting that doesn’t invite them to run through it while they are getting a memorable experience from the little shiney or white wire.

Then when we turn horses into a new enclosure we just walk them around counter clockwise, leading from the left, allowing them to see the wire and when we get back to where we started we turn them lose and they know where their perimeters are.

We use a single strand of poly or wire on our temporary paddocks on logging jobs all the time and rotate with a single wire in small pasture lots with one.

Deer constantly run through the stuff and tear it down. Most horses will not go over where it was, even when it isn’t there. Not the case with Rudy. When I am gone for more than three days and a deer tears his fence down he is out…

One of our auspicious spring plans to to finish the board fence (with electric on the top board) around his paddock. He was born in that field and knows the fence charge better than me.

You would think somebody in the logging and lumber business would have board fence everywhere…and then there is the story of the cobbler’s kids being barefoot….

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