Fencing a pony in, that jumps out!

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SpruceRI

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I currently rent a field of a few acres, that I split in half with electric rope (3 strands high) on 6ft wooden posts.

One of mine jumps over it either when she thinks the grass is greener on the other side, doesn't want to be caught or something spooks her.

One of the above happened yesterday. She has broken pretty much all the fence posts from the gate right to the other side of the field.

I'm thinking of replacing the electric rope with 3 strands of plain wire as I've got some in storage. Will use a bracing post every 5 or so posts along, which I haven't done up until now, and slightly heavier duty/shorter posts.

Up until yesterday the highest strand of rope was 5ft. Clearly this doesn't stop her attempting to jump it, so I'm thinking of reducing it to 4ft which will keep the other 2 in, and maybe naughty one will at least make it over if she attempts jumping it!
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I'm worried if she gets caught in it though as possibly the posts won't break and nor will the wire.

On a previous occasion she jumped the electric rope (which never breaks either) got caught in it, snapped the fence posts one by one, and carried the whole lot up the field wrapped round her chest and legs, taking my Shetland pony out with it.... he was running away but couldn't go as fast as she was.

Obviously I realise post and rail is the safest fence, but I can't afford that. I'm on rented land, and the owner won't pay for any fencing, nor help me put any up.

So... what I'm wondering is, is it better to put in fencing that won't snap/break, or in these circumstances is it better to allow it to break?

Lastly.... hedges. Is it possible to grow hedging taken from cuttings? I can't afford to buy any from a Garden Centre. - How do I go about doing it? When's the best time of year to do it?

Thanks for reading
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Any tips / ideas?
 
No suggestions on the jumping out issue a part from creating another boundary a few feet inside the other fence so its too wide to jump, but hedge cuttings will take a long time to establish.

Have a look online www.ashridgetrees.co.uk They are not as expensive as you think. Now up until spring is the best time to plant.

Hope this helps.
 
I know it sounds cruel, but could you hobble her? This used to work on a mare I once knew. Or could you just let her be where she wants to by leaving the gates open. If Shettie has to be restricted she's unlikely to jump in with him I'd have thought.

I wouldn't use plain wire. I've got some electric rope up, but I'm not over keen on it either. Did you see the post on here where a horse had cut itself down to the bone going through a fence?

I had one on the yard that did the same as your mare & I'd have cheerfully hobbled the s*d, but owner wasn't up for it. In the end we double fenced with 2 fences 4 feet apart, as he'd even go through or over post & rail. We did this with electric tape.
 
[ QUOTE ]
better to have a broken fence than a lacerated horse

[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto this. How strong is your electric fencer? I have found that my horses don't take much notice of a battery powered one, but they won't go near it now I have a mains fencer
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i'd never use the rope, i echo the above, better a broken fence that a lacerated (or worse) horse.
the plastic poles are useless, they go really brittle in the winter too.
i'd put up 2 rows of fencing, about 3-4' high, about 2-3m apart, see if that dissuades her.
is the fencing always on? does it have a good kick? holding it and touching her nose, so she gets a proper belt off it, might convince her that it's not to be messed with... this really works although it's unpleasant!
 
My little new forest used to jump/go through all our electric fences...we now have it connected to the mains and haven't had a problem since.

We used to have a super jumping pony that would hop out over everything...but he was a careful jumper and wouldnt touch the tape so we used wooden posts with plastic electric fence posts stuck into the tops...had 5 rows of tape going up to 7ft high...used 2inch wide electric tape rather than rope for better visibility!

As previosuly said...better an escaped horse than a broken horse. if the fence is to restrict grazing why not just restrict shettie to a small area and put a grazing muzzle on yours for part of the day?
 
lizziebell - thanks, I'll have a look at those

M_G - of course you're right

legaldancer - Hobbling her would be a no-no for many reasons, main one is that she'd kill herself trying to escape them.

Jump to it - it's about 50 - 75m across - or at least the bit that's now missing.

Oofadoofa - unfortunately there is no access to electricity at the field, so it's leisure battery powered, although whether it's on or not makes no difference.

Kerilli - my field is on a slope and rather windy. I used to use the plastic posts and tape but it regularly blew down or the posts bent in the wind.

Yours is probably the safest idea.... a double row of tape on plastic posts though and be aware that the whole thing will sag after a few days
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I couldn't do the shock thing either. Tried that before. She knew what was coming. All she did was bolt backwards giving me rope burns, whiplash, and I couldn't catch her for 2 weeks afterwards.... and we hadn't even touched the fence!

Reason I want her seperated from my other Welsh Cob is twofold. She is relatively thin and the youngster is fat. I want her to have the better grass.

When she's with the youngster I can't catch her - well, sometimes I can. But she seems to turn 'feral' when she's out with the other mare.

She's OK when with my Shetland gelding, but of course, he's on even less grazing.

I am resigned to the fact that she's going to have to go back with the youngster - who is going away into livery for a month so I can ride her. OMG, no idea what will happen then
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