Fence jumping!

Spiritedly

Spiritedly

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Does anyone have any advice on how to stop my pony fence hopping? I've tried electric fencing inside the normal fencing but she just seems to take it as a challenge! ...She's 14.1 and jumping 4 1/2 foot fencing with a 3ft spread! ...I've also tried making the out fence higher but if she can't go over it she jumps through it instead!
It wasn't so bad when she stayed within the farm boundaries but she jumped onto the track behind our field last week and some well meaning people tried to catch her but actually chased her further away and she spent the night lost! I thought she'd learnt her lesson from that but last night she took herself visiting all the other horses again!
I'm tearing my hair out trying to keep her in 😩
 
I presume she is leaving her "friends" when she jumps out? Do they follow?

I would be keeping her in until you have a safe area to turn her out in - what about reinforced site fencing?
 
My YO had a youngsters that jumped fences the only way she got it to stop was a small paddock with fencing and then electric on top of it so it was twice the height of normal fencing. I don't know how she did it as it was long before I was there, we joked that I might have to do it as both my boys parents jumped rather well.
 
I'd try electric fencing along the fence line, wide enough to make the jump across it and fence impossible but not wide enough that she can bounce it and the fence. We used to have a pony do this but only if the grazing had got poor and she could see better grass in the next field. It's amazing just how high they can jump without a rider, isn't it?
 
Her friends used to try and follow but now leave her too it. Unfortunately there are no stables on my yard so keeping her in isn't an option.
 
oldie48 said:
I'd try electric fencing along the fence line, wide enough to make the jump across it and fence impossible but not wide enough that she can bounce it and the fence. We used to have a pony do this but only if the grazing had got poor and she could see better grass in the next field. It's amazing just how high they can jump without a rider, isn't it?
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This what we've done but she's somehow managing to still clear it! She's usually very herd orientated so we thought she was doing it because some of the horses were moved to a field out of her sight but we've moved them back and she's still doing it.
 
AppyLover said:
My YO had a youngsters that jumped fences the only way she got it to stop was a small paddock with fencing and then electric on top of it so it was twice the height of normal fencing. I don't know how she did it as it was long before I was there, we joked that I might have to do it as both my boys parents jumped rather well.
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I have said that I was going to try attaching electric fence posts to the normal posts with cable ties and running electric fencing along the top but I don't know if it would work.
 
What is the fence made of that she can go through it? Sounds like you need to try a different material and just make it higher.

Also, why is she trying to get out? Perhaps the root cause is something not too difficult to address.
 
Barnacle said:
What is the fence made of that she can go through it? Sounds like you need to try a different material and just make it higher.

Also, why is she trying to get out? Perhaps the root cause is something not too difficult to address.
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She goes through electric tape :(
We thought she was jumping out to see the horses who had been in the field next to hers as she was going through fields with grass to stand next to their fence or jumping in with them so we moved them back to the field over the fence but she is still getting out. She seems to jump out, do a head count and then jump back in again. I'm just worried she is going to go over the perimeter fence again.
 
oldie48 said:
Are you sure she's jumping it rather than pushing under it? It may be that the charge is insufficient and if she's got a thick mane, she may not get much of a shock. Just a thought!
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Her mane is quite thin and the fence has a hefty zap to it. Various people have watched her jump different fences as well :(
 
6 foot electric fencing with 4 layers of tape on it. I have had to increase all of my fences to this due to my wayward 3 year old connie (bloody connies & there good jumps haha )
Only now is she contained

I tried 4 foot with a smaller 1 in front as like a oxer confused her for about 15 mins. 20 mins later i watched her trot & pop it !
 
Cage! :D

I've have the delight of owning far too many escape artists over the years. I had one that I ended up putting 3 fences up few feet apart from each other. The thinking was that if he got through one, the 2nd may contain him and if that failed the 3rd would. Nope, he would go through it, jump it, pull out the posts or climb through the wire fence instead. The only thing that stopped him doing it at the field - I sold him!!!!!! Heartless aren't I? I had to sell him as I didn't have time to ride two and that had been the plan all along anyway. I did say to the new owner that they would need a cage to contain him. They had to connect their electric fencing to the mains in the end. :D

I now use the 5ft posts with mine and a minimum of 3 strands, normally 4/5. Good tape and regularly line testing help with rude horses. Water the earth stake too as it's not as effective when dry.
 
I'd say higher fencing but obviously you don't want an injury! We had one at work that would jump the big electric fence posts like it was nothing and pop itself back in, in the end we used some of the construction type metal panels weighed down appropriately.. Horse could still see everything! I think finding out why horse is jumping is key first though, maybe she's happier in one herd than another? No grass? Also worth getting a fence tester to see voltage... You'd be surprised how much difference, even at low height, an electric fence can make! If it's strong! If you have electric already I'd recommend doing a quick check to make sure no bushes/ reeds etc is shorting it out.
 
How we stopped our fence jumping pony was to block off his forward vision so he couldn't get a line to see to jump the fences. We fastened a piece of leather down the front of the headcollar sticking out beyond his eyes so he could see any way apart from forward but I'm sure something could be rigged with a fly mask. Worked a treat, though he was jumping hedges and fences rather than electric tapes. He could still see in the other directions so it didn't bother him.
 
I also own an escape artist connie and have tried increasing the voltage, increasing the height, increasing the strands, double fencing etc but nothing keeps him in if he doesn't want to be in! For the most part he jumps out when he wants food or company - does yours have a field companion all the time? Is there enough grass? Mine tends to warn us before he does it (lots of hollering, standing at the gate etc) so now all the girls on the yard know that if he's doing that it's time to let me know or, if I'm not around, bring him into his stable to chill out for a bit. I used to get quite upset about it but he's settled down a bit now so it only happens once every couple of weeks and everyone looks out for him, so I just tell myself there's not much more I can do!
 
Spiritedly said:
I have said that I was going to try attaching electric fence posts to the normal posts with cable ties and running electric fencing along the top but I don't know if it would work.
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this is what we have done for our stallion and it seems to work :)

not that he is a fence jumper,and not that you would know he's a stallion but just as a precaution.....

hacksaw the metal spike off the bottom and cable tie to the fence posts. you can make it up to 8 foot high that way and if its electric no way is she going to jump through it at that height.
 
Don't forget that for electric fencing to work, the animal has to complete the circuit. So if a pony is jumping THROUGH the strands, it sounds as if all it's four feet will be off the ground when it touches the wires.

Just to remind you, the charge goes from the +ve connector of the energiser, through the fence, than back through the ground to your earth stake (which is in turn is connected to the negative side of the energiser). BUT this circuit only works if something connects the charge in the fence to earth or the ground -- that connection is the animal and why it gets a shock!

Are you with me so far? It follows that an animal that jumps THROUGH a fence may have all four feet off the ground as it jumps and although it is touching one or more wires, it isn't completing the circuit, so won't get a shock.

The solution is to electrify every other wire/tape (by connection to +ve on the energiser) and connect the other wires to the negative terminal of your energiser. Now the animal that jumps through and touches two two wires/tapes (-ve and a +ve) at the same time will be shocked. You don't, of course, connect -ve at the energiser to your earth stake as that now goes to every other wire. Got it? :)

How do I know that? Because that's how they fence out red deer with electric fencing up here in Scotland! Red deer can jump!
 
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