Electric Fencing Help Please

lialls

lialls

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Never had to use electric fencing before with my own horses so abit of a novice about what i need?

I know il need stakes, battery, and the white tape style fencing, but i got abit lost at the power pack? can someone please explane what a power pack is?

The fencing will be used to restrick a shetland and a 13.2 pony so i know il need 2 strand of wire. Wod it b posible to see a pic of your electric fencing aswell?
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YOu need an energiser to actually put the zap! in the fence. There are different sorts. Battery powered or mains. Have a look at this site for an explanation of various components.

http://www.farmcareuk.com/?section=shop&action=cat&c=1

I have two lines of 2cm wide tape. My posts are wooden because it is a permanant enclosure. I use tape holding fixing rather than eyes because it keeps the tape flat and easier to see.

I have handles to make the gate but I just have a loop in the tape on the opposite fence post to hook the handle into and didnt bother with special fixings for it.

Two very important things are a good earth stake - we have a length of copper pipe about a metre long, hammered into the ground. Keep the ground around it damp (not a problem at the moment, but we water it in the summer). Also, do not let anything like grass, weeds, trees, posts etc touch the line anywhere as it will cause earthing and reduce the effectiveness of the fence.

My tapes are about knee high and chest high on me - so knee high and shoulder high on the horses.



 
You need a 12 volt leasure battery, I would personally use three strands of thick twine/rope as it seems to be better on the plastic posts, if not use wood stakes with screw in clips (might actually be better as then you can put them at shetty height!

You can get electric fence starter kits, they are the best to use as they all work, my favourite kit is the fenceman....you just stick it in and clip it on.
 
You can get energisers which run off mains, or off a battery. Mains is best if you can do it, as there is then no need to have a battery charged every week or two.

There will be two terminals on the energiser........one for the live wire, which goes to the fence line (tape or rope); and one for the earth, which attaches to a steel stake driven into the ground, preferably in a place which will always retain some moisture in the ground......the side of a wall or strainer post, for example.

The live must be attached to the fence, and the earth to the stake. That means that the horse completes the circuit when it touches the fence.........that's how it gets a shock. Think of the fence as a loop which doesn't meeet at the ends. The horse closes the loop and allows the electricity to flow.

If you are running two lines (tape or rope), you will either have to have one complete length, or two seperate lengths joined together by a piece of wire bridged across from one to the other. so that both upper and lower lines are live.

One earth stake should be enough for a couple of hundred yards of fence, but two would be required if over that distance, and the second one should be set at the far end of the fence run. This is because, as I said, the horse completes the circuit when it touches the fence, so the more earth stakes there are, the less distance for the electricity to travel to complete the circuit, and so the fence will give more of a belt, and quicker.

Always make sure your fence is tight, and keep it free of anything which will take the power down, such as bits of vegetation or wire from old fences nearby.

Test it by throwing your OH against it periodically..................only kidding.
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ETA..........I cross posted with the above posters.

I agree that more than two lines would be better, but remember to take that into consideration when choosing your energiser, as that will greatly increase the distance to charge.........ie, four lines over a distance of 100 yards needs an energiser which will power 400 yards.
 
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