Fencing - help and opinions please!

[piffapie]

I’m relatively new to the forum so a big hello to everyone.
I’m looking for advice and opinions on fencing! Currently we have two strands of barbed wire above stock fencing (I know - bw is far from ideal but looking to change it ASAP!).
I’d like to keep the stock fencing as it’s not old and we also have sheep and goats but wanted something different to top it off with. I was looking at horse rail/ stud rail but it’s quite difficult to come by and really expensive. I’m happy to pay more if it’s worth it, but lots of places don’t stock it and have long lead times which makes me think that it’s not a popular option so I’d like the consensus on whether it’s worth it or not.
Also another option is to put simple high tensile wire in place of the bw? What do people think of that? Would you be happy to turn your horse out in a field fenced like that?
Electric isn’t really an option as our fields are all really big (around 7acres each) and post and rail, although would look lovely I have a serial chewer and I just know it will be wrecked in days!
Any other fencing options I haven’t heard of out there?

 

[milliepops]

I have plain wire above stock fencing on the boundaries (can't do without stock fence as wild boar are all over and there are also free roaming sheep) and it works fine.

i do run electric as an inner perimeter in a few places (mainly for visibility and just to back them off in open areas) but tbh i find well maintained wire fence is OK. the problems start if it gets saggy.

 

[paddy555]

what is behind the stock fencing? If it is just stock fencing across open ground I wouldn't find it acceptable. If it was stock fencing along the base or top of a bank it would be more acceptable but I would want the horses electric fenced off stock wire. Not sure what the problem is with a larger acreage field. Our fencer does miles.

I have a rail above stock fencing which is protected by electric fencing. I have stock fencing and a rail on top across the middle of an open field (to create 2 fields) As I don't feel that is safe enough I have metal electric stakes on each side about 2 foot away so the horses on each side cannot come close to the fence.

 

[Sprig]

I can't see why you can't have electric. We do on fields that big. If I was you I would keep the barbed wire and just stand off a strand off electric from the inside of the top of the fence.

 

[NLPM]

I had stock topped with wire and one of mine just leant over the wire repeatedly until it weakened ? so I'd never do it as a boundary fence (my boundaries are all stock with post and rail, then hedges).
Electric round 7 acres should be fine; you can get a good few km out of a good energiser. Have you looked at McVeigh Parker for fencing? They used to do stud rail at a reasonable price, I'm not sure if they still do but I think it was only last summer when I looked.

 

[yhanni]

I used to have electric tape above stock fence. I can't remember what it was called but it was wide, brown and had an open weave so the wind didn't loosen it. It looked really smart.

 

[piffapie]

Thanks for all the advice. I always thought that electric was not a good option for larger fields but it appears I’m mistaken! I’m now thinking that high tensile wire above the stock fencing and a run of electric above that is the way forwards.