In article <
64o16b18fte1f23qopejg4ebd9u8uu9uaf@4ax.com>,
Tricolor.Pinto@unlisted.--- wrote:
Having had horses for many years, I learned long ago, that fences built
from common pine or fir lumber from the lumberyard is not for horses. It seems they almost enjoy eating it. Not to mention it rots quickly if
it's not treated. And treated lumber contains harmful chemicals, so I
wont use it around horses. (They chew it too).
In recent years, I have not built any wooden fences. I use either
electric fences, cattle panels, or barbless wire.
I have had horses that will "bolt thru" an electric fence, and cattle
panels tend to get pushed down when they reach over it for "the stuff
that's always greener on the other side". Barbless is not 100% stable
either, and it's a pain to install and repair, and when trees fall on
it, it's a huge mess.
That tells me you're not using your hot wire properly... More in a
moment.
Anyhow, Come Spring, I'm planning to fence in a section of my land I
have not used for the horses in the past. Because it's near the road, I
want to install a solid board fence along the road, then put a strand of electric on top.
No, no, No, NO! And NO again! And if that isn't clear enough, ***NO***, dammit!!!
Toss that idea straight out the window and never even think about it
again! EVER! For ANY reason! A lone hot wire on the top rail is
ABSOLUTELY WORTHLESS! You might as well not put up a fence at all if
that's what you intend to do.
Build your fence out of whatever material - wood, vinyl, hog panels,
cattle rails, or even PVC pipe - floats your boat. If it's wood or
plastic, make it AT LEAST three rails. Then put your hot wire up so that
it runs NO MORE THAN two inches above *EACH* rail. If you go for a
rail-count that leaves wide (big enough for a horse to put its head
through) gaps, add ANOTHER hot wire halfway between each pair of rails,
so that if a horse wants to try putting its head through, it has to hit
at least one hot wire in the process. Whether you've got big gaps or
not, add a hot wire on long standoff insulators (At least 4 inches, 6 is better) at a height suitable to hit your horses where the neck meets the
chest to stop "leaning over" or "butt scratching" activities before they
start.
Almost as crucial (some will say more, and I really can't find a way to disagree with them) is the ground system for your fence charger. It
*MUST* be *VERY* well grounded if you want it to work as it should. Half
a dozen 8 or 10 foot ground rods, pounded to full length into the
ground, then wired together and back to the ground terminal of your
charger aren't too much. In some places, you want a dozen or more - soil conditions are the determining factor. It's possible to get away with a
single ground rod in certain areas - consistently moist, sandy/loamy
dirt, basically. Anywhere else, go with no less than three ground rods,
and in general, "more is better" - In terms of fence performance, it
simply isn't possible to sink "too many" ground rods.
On the other hand, put in a half-assed ground system, and you're going
to get a half-assed result - at best.
Hot wire is (comparatively speaking) cheap. Don't be shy about using it!
And fergawdsake DO NOT go for the "looks good on paper" approach of just running a lone hot wire on top.
Despite what many people seem to think, hot wire *IS NOT* a "primary containment method" for horses. (or any other livestock, really)
The reality is that hot wire is for keeping the critters parked inside a
"real" fence from eating, knocking down, rubbing against, or otherwise
making *ANY* contact with the wood, metal, plastic, or whatever material
you use to build the actual fence. Ideally, hot wire will teach the
critter in it that the fence is *EVIL*, *SCARY*, *PAINFUL*, and *NOT TO
BE TOUCHED FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER*. A properly built board plus hot
wire fence will often show a "trail" on the inside - Usually a foot or
two away from the fence, showing where the critters in the fence won't
even *TRY* to graze, no matter how lush the grass might be. Which is
precisely how it should be!
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