Electric in ground under gate - feeling it?

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Flowerofthefen

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The mains electric that powers all the fences runs under the main gate that leads on to my horses sectioned off paddocks. My ridden horse, who is vastly improving being led in ( see previous post re leading in from field!) has ' started ' to react when he puts his shod foot in that area as I'm leading through the gate. I have written started like that as thinking about it he has reacted in that area several times in the past. My unshod horse is fine. Of course he could just be being naughty but is it a possibility he could feel something and is there a way I could test it? The cables each side that the wire runs through looks in good condition.
 
There is a section of road between two houses where even normally bombproof horses from our yard are really quite unkeen, some more than others, a few really get upset and we have been told that it's likely due to an electric cable running under it that makes their feet tingle or similar.
 
ycbm said:
Definitely. I was out on a hack once trying to open a gate and the horse was twitching in time with an electric fence shock. My neighbour dug it out and the insulation on the buried wire had broken.
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Thank you. Any idea how I could test it without digging it up?
 
AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
There is a section of road between two houses where even normally bombproof horses from our yard are really quite unkeen, some more than others, a few really get upset and we have been told that it's likely due to an electric cable running under it that makes their feet tingle or similar.
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I assumed he was being naughty but he might be feeling something then. Thank you.
 
There’s a lane that we ride down when do the Chester zoo ride in Backford. I can’t remember the name of it but it’s one of the lanes that leads onto a road where the bridge goes over the canal. There’s overhead power lines across the lane and it gives the most horrendous buzzing/electricity sound/feeling. It makes me feel horrible riding under it. Anyone who has done the ride will probably know where I mean.
So I can well imagine underground cables causing an issue.
 
There are several narrow lanes around here with electric fencing run across inside thick rubber or plastic pipes. Dolly soon learned to jump them on the canter tracks and just step over to avoid them when we were walking. The big fellah just stomped over them and once hit the clouds when his big iron shod hooves crushed a plastic pipe! He also learned to avoid stepping on them after that.🤭
 
Absolutely. Mains cables *should* be buried at 0.6m below ground in agricultural area to prevent crushing from heavy machinery and incident should the cable become damaged. But that’s not always the case, especially when done ad hoc to run temporary electric fencing.

It’s not really the sort of thing you want to leave unattended, as you don’t know the extent of the damage. Testing it depends on what sort of setup you have. But honestly, mains electricity is best left to the professionals who have the right gear and experience. I’ll turn my hand to most things but this is something it’s worth paying the experts for.
 
Not an uncommon problem, it will only get worse, there must be short underground. The only solution is to dig down and find it. Electric fencing cables are not normally deep. I once nearly had a nasty accident once with this happening to me on a friends farm. Horse got a massive shock and for ages afterwards she was nervous of going through gates.
 
spotty_pony2 said:
could you use a normal electric fence tester to see if there is a current there?
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Yes you can. If you put it onto the ground and there's a current, it means it's 'leaking' somewhere. Then it's a case of digging out and replacing. My lead out cables go through blue pipe before being buried, to stop this happening.
 
Horses are a lot more sensitive than us. I remember this happening...

www.bbc.co.uk

Newbury horses were electrocuted

Two horses who died at Newbury racecourse were accidentally electrocuted.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk

I don't think electric fencing could cause injury or death, bit yes, I believe it could cause discomfort even if we don't feel it.
 
Red-1 said:
Horses are a lot more sensitive than us. I remember this happening...

www.bbc.co.uk

Newbury horses were electrocuted

Two horses who died at Newbury racecourse were accidentally electrocuted.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk

I don't think electric fencing could cause injury or death, bit yes, I believe it could cause discomfort even if we don't feel it.
Click to expand...

It’s nothing to do with them being more sensitive; if there’s a leaking underground current, the horse becomes a perfect conductor, completes the circuit and gets an electric shock. We don’t notice it with our rubber soled shoes, if we were barefoot on metal plates it would be quite different!

Op, if you’re set on testing with an electric fence tester do it on a dry day when there’s more resistance on the soil to protect yourself. You don’t know how strong that current is and an electric fence tester only insulated to protect the user up to so many kv. I appreciate that sounds a bit dramatic but if there is no way of knowing how damaged that cable might be, and unfortunately accidents do happen:
 
I would have thought that a leakage of electrical current would be easier to test/spot on wet ground. At the yard we are on the electric cable goes underground at a couple of gateways it is threaded through thick hard plastic 3cm diameter pipe that even if you hit it with an axe you would not damage the cable, the pipe comes up out of the ground and is then curved facing down so that no water can get into it, been like that for years and no problems, dig deep prevention is better than cure.
 
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VictoriaSponge said:
Easier, yes. Safer, no!
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OP, Im not clear if you mean that there's 240V mains electric under ground, or a lead out cable from a fence unit? The amps on an electrical fence unit can't actually harm horses or people, but if you are talking about 240v, then it's best to get it checked by a qualified electrician.
 
Red-1 said:
Horses are a lot more sensitive than us. I remember this happening...

www.bbc.co.uk

Newbury horses were electrocuted

Two horses who died at Newbury racecourse were accidentally electrocuted.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk

I don't think electric fencing could cause injury or death, bit yes, I believe it could cause discomfort even if we don't feel it.
Click to expand...

Apologies to derail the thread slightly but I think this is a really important thing to be brought up from @Red-1.

Electricity, mains electricity, is incredibly dangerous. That’s 230v running beneath our feet. Anything above 50v is harmful to humans. You’re especially vulnerable when you’re a horse with four metal feet on the ground.

I’ve interpreted op’s post to be mains (apologies if it’s not but I think this is useful to say anyway). An average electric fence runs at 100milliamps, mains electricity is 13amps. 13x as strong. It’s one thing testing an electric fence, going out and doing this on mains wiring on a wet day without the correct equipment is not something you should ever be doing if one values life.
 
meleeka said:
OP, Im not clear if you mean that there's 240V mains electric under ground, or a lead out cable from a fence unit? The amps on an electrical fence unit can't actually harm horses or people, but if you are talking about 240v, then it's best to get it checked by a qualified electrician.
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1 x mains to a electric fence energiser, I x fence tape, yes I know underground cable should be expensive reinforced type, but I don't argue over it as it's a good yard and never had any problems with it. Yes I know it's not the safest way to test but a pair of wellies would probably help reduce the options of a shock and give more chance/opportunity of finding a fault.
 
neddy man said:
1 x mains to a electric fence energiser, I x fence tape, yes I know underground cable should be expensive reinforced type, but I don't argue over it as it's a good yard and never had any problems with it. Yes I know it's not the safest way to test but a pair of wellies would probably help reduce the options of a shock and give more chance/opportunity of finding a fault.
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Sorry I quoted you, I was asking flowerofthefen. I'm surprised your fence even works if there's tape under the ground. An old bit of hose pipe makes a reasonable insulator for tape, but lead out cable isn't expensive and can be joined to tape both ends. Not using 240V armoured cable on a mains underground is irresponsible, especially if there are liveries.
 
Thanks all for your replies, experiences and suggestions. I'm not sure it is the underground fence as I would have thought he would react on the way to the field as well, but nothing! There is a spooky rustly hedge and a few other spooky things around the gate area which may well set a slightly tense horse coming in from the field off anyway. I will keep an eye on it. I can turn the electric off if needed so if nothing improves that will be my next step.
 
VictoriaSponge said:
Apologies to derail the thread slightly but I think this is a really important thing to be brought up from @Red-1.

Electricity, mains electricity, is incredibly dangerous. That’s 230v running beneath our feet. Anything above 50v is harmful to humans. You’re especially vulnerable when you’re a horse with four metal feet on the ground.

I’ve interpreted op’s post to be mains (apologies if it’s not but I think this is useful to say anyway). An average electric fence runs at 100milliamps, mains electricity is 13amps. 13x as strong. It’s one thing testing an electric fence, going out and doing this on mains wiring on a wet day without the correct equipment is not something you should ever be doing if one values life.
Click to expand...
I presumed it was lead out cable from a mains energiser on the yard, that’s most usual
 
VictoriaSponge said:
It’s nothing to do with them being more sensitive; if there’s a leaking underground current, the horse becomes a perfect conductor, completes the circuit and gets an electric shock. We don’t notice it with our rubber soled shoes, if we were barefoot on metal plates it would be quite different!

Op, if you’re set on testing with an electric fence tester do it on a dry day when there’s more resistance on the soil to protect yourself. You don’t know how strong that current is and an electric fence tester only insulated to protect the user up to so many kv. I appreciate that sounds a bit dramatic but if there is no way of knowing how damaged that cable might be, and unfortunately accidents do happen:
Click to expand...
They are more sensitive to the shock not just because of shoes. If we stand on a charged ground, it may go up one leg and down the other. With a horse, they have 4 points of contact, and they go through the trunk, so are more likely to have their heart affected.

Of course, this isn't a perfect analogy, but it makes sense as to another reason why they, apparently can't cope with a shock as well as us.

Of course, rubber soled shoes or wellies also help.
 
Flowerofthefen said:
The mains electric that powers all the fences runs under the main gate that leads on to my horses sectioned off paddocks. My ridden horse, who is vastly improving being led in ( see previous post re leading in from field!) has ' started ' to react when he puts his shod foot in that area as I'm leading through the gate. I have written started like that as thinking about it he has reacted in that area several times in the past. My unshod horse is fine. Of course he could just be being naughty but is it a possibility he could feel something and is there a way I could test it? The cables each side that the wire runs through looks in good condition.
Click to expand...
I would get that checked and maybe put rubber across till it is. You remember what happened to the race horses with electric shocks!!!
 
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