Fencing advise needed please

[Foxfolly]

We currently turn our horses out with the sheep and cows in a big field which is fenced with stock wire with barbed wire on top.... Not ideal I know and yes we have had a few cuts and scrapes but fortunately ours are quite sensible.

But.... our mare is due to foal in April and also we want to build some stables in one of our barns and have some liveries.... but we can't afford to post and rail everything. especially as we'll want smaller padocks rather than one big field of mayhem!!

I'm sure that the sort of client we are hoping to attract won't be best impressed with our current set up... as I said it works for us now but I know its not the safest for horses......

My husband thinks the best bet is electric fencing but with wooden posts to make it more permanent and sturdy... I tend to agree but we had a paddock taped off last year this way and had problems with it going slack (Doesn't help that its in a windy place!!), we have seen that you can get electric rope, it looks stronger, and hopefully wouldn't stretch so much..

Has anyone used it and also what is the best height to have the strands (We'd have 2) bearing in mind the foal!! We don't need to keep the sheep out, they can come and go as they please under the fence if they want!!

Also what would be the best thing to do with the circumference of the field which will still have to have the stock fencing to stop the sheep getting onto the road?
Only I'm rather concious of the fact we'll hopefully have a rather inquisitive spindly legged bundle of fun running around!!

 

[appylass]

I've used rope and much prefer it, I got the thickest I could find. It stays tight much better than tape and it's re-usable if you move it (I always end up with a tangled mess of tape!!)

I'm in a similar situation, we keep cattle so the fences are cattle proofed with barbed wire with electric fence on the horses side. I've had a few foals/young ones over the years and not had a problem with this setup. I always feel mean the first time they get a shock though.. Height wise, the bottom strand is about 18 inches, the top is the top of the short fence posts. If you wanted to raise the bottom strand because of the sheep I think that would be fine, ours seem to repect the fence more with the strands closer together. Hope that is some help.

 

[zelli]

as far as the circumference, if your worried about the foal, could you not leave about a foot between the circumference and the fence for the horses? I know it makes the grazing area smaller which isnt ideal, and increases fencing costs, but would solve the problem... you could just do it to the paddocks that the foal will be using...

 

[LCobby]

Electr-rope, and worth getting wooden posts, corner posts and tensioners, it is less affected by wind than tape.
Proper gate handles too, etween paddocks, and a mains powred energiser.
ON our stirp grazing ( onpolypposts) we use three or four rows on four foot posts

A gap between the electric fence and the wire, for safety-
sure the sheep will pop through and trim it for you!

 

[kerilli]

the rope is very dangerous imo, it is too strong and if a horse gets caught in it, and is being shocked, it can't break free. doesn't bear thinking about. i would never, never use it.
i had posts in already with sheep netting when i moved here (not ideal at all) and put Fieldguard Elec fencing all round, one wide piece of tape at about 3' 6" high, on their long stand-off holders (about 10" long) to bring the tape well inside the wire. it is brilliant stuff, very well designed, the plastic holders don't go brittle in the cold weather, and we are in about the windiest place in britain but it has all held perfectly.
fwiw a friend bought cheaper stuff a year ago and had it prof installed - 6 months later, every single holder had chafed the tape (from moving in the wind) and broken the connection, she had to replace it all... (cost £££s) with Fieldguard.
you do have to use tensioners at every end and gate, but they're easy to attach and very well-designed, it's all a pleasure to use. their temporary posts (thin brown fibreglass uprights) are also very very strong, go in easily, very well designed.
i can't recommend it highly enough tbh.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

My paddock is fenced with wooden posts, electric rope, insulators, 'pulleys' at the corners & gates handles. It works very well, the wind does not affect the rope anything like it affects tape. Use 'lead out wire' for under your gates so that when the gate is open the power continues to flow through the fence. Ensure that the rope always goes through insulators & does not touch the wooden posts anywhere. I know wood is an insulator but when the posts get wet they are not. Do not use knots to make any contacts, use the correct connectors, thsat way all your connections will work. Finally have an energiser which is more than enough to do the distances you want, a smaller one will cause you problems. I have just two strands around my paddock, bottom at about 2' top at about 3'9", both electrified. I hope this has been useful to you.