He won't stay in the field.... ARGH

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ScarlettLady

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My boy keeps 'escaping' from his paddock. :mad:
He's in a decent sized electric fenced paddock in a field, which is shared with cattle, he also has the pleasure of my neurotic elderly mare, there is plenty of grass!
The problem is he jumps the electric fence, or just canters at it and straight through it!
A friend suggested putting wooden posts in for the electric fence, but unfortunately this isn't really an option, as my uncle who owns the field will not tolerate this... :(
I've tried the high electric fence posts, but found i couldn't afford to keep replacing them, i lost 10 over one night because of the wind :(
The fence is electrified, on a 12v battery at present...
This has been going on for a little while, but hasn't really been a problem as he wears a grazing mask, and he just ambles along with the cattle BUT
my cousin would like to turn her pony out next to my 2 following her elderly mare being pts and gelding feeling a little depressed.
If the boys are together they play fight and come in with kicks etc. I accept that they are horses, but want to try and avoid this if possible, so how do i manage to keep them separate, as mine will just jump and 'trash' fence, and most likely end up with him...

Sorry for the very long post! Lindor chocs for anyone who makes it to the end!!!
Any ideas? thank you!!!!!!!!!!
 
Could you make the fence into a spread - say 5' wide with both bits electrified? Make it too wide to jump, and if he barges through he gets two shocks, which may make him think more!!

Does the horse have a turnout rug on? The only horse that we had here that didn't respect electric fences had a rug on all year round (with neck) so never had any experience of getting a shock...

Why did the taller posts blow away? We've had them for years - they have the same stake in the ground as the smaller ones. We've never lost any, even in the strongest winds.
 
Is he laminitic? does he need to be confined?does he need a grazing mask? if not then i'd be very tempted to remove the electric fence and let all the horses and cattle live together.
Could the horses all live together anyway, but in a much bigger fenced area? could your old mar eand your cousins pony live together and your pony go elsewhere?
 
horsesforever1 said:
Is he laminitic? does he need to be confined?does he need a grazing mask? if not then i'd be very tempted to remove the electric fence and let all the horses and cattle live together. -He's not laminitic but ? metabolic syndrome, if he's out without his mask he get's spasmodic colic symptoms and resps of 40+ also ? got roa and so is turned out for 12 hours a day
Don't want my horsey being kicked to shreds by my cousins pony which is the reason we separated them 2 years ago :(
Could the horses all live together anyway, but in a much bigger fenced area?
could your old mar eand your cousins pony live together and your pony go elsewhere? Can't afford to pay livery elsewhere as i'm a student :(
Click to expand...
But thank you :)


Honey 08, they snapped in the wind :( am thinking the 5ft but think he'd still run through it but maybe worth a try, yup he's always out in TO rug in winter, without in summer :mad:

Thank you
 
I have a pony that climbs hedges taller then me so I know how you feel! I managed to keep her in with tall poles & four strands of fencing. None blew done, maybe the extra strands gave it extra stability? With four strands she couldnt jump it, couldnt go under it or throught the middle. I have to make sure that the battery is always well charged though!! Dont know if it will work for your chap, perhaps electrify the top strand so if he puts his head/nose on it it'll get him!
 
SuperSonicMare said:
I have a pony that climbs hedges taller then me so I know how you feel! I managed to keep her in with tall poles & four strands of fencing. None blew done, maybe the extra strands gave it extra stability? With four strands she couldnt jump it, couldnt go under it or throught the middle. I have to make sure that the battery is always well charged though!! Dont know if it will work for your chap, perhaps electrify the top strand so if he puts his head/nose on it it'll get him!
Click to expand...

I'd try and electrify all of them - make it hard for him to rush through so he can't avoid a shock or two!
 
we have one that we couldn't keep in, he climbed through barbed wire (god knows how but he never had a scratch on him), jumped or barged through electric and generally was a pain in the butt, never where you left him. He is now safely fenced behind 4 strands of electric rope, running from a mains energiser at 10000 volts, he went under the fence the first day he was behind it, got a BIG shock and stood behind the fence for hours, not moving at all, until he was rescued. He has never attempted to cross it since and doesn't go near it. We previously used tape on 3ft plastic posts, we now have 5ft wooden 2" posts with rope, which carries a far better charge and doesn't get as affected by the wind. The posts don't cause a massive mess because they are so narrow so may be worth talking to your uncle about them, they cost about £1 each so are on a par with the plastic posts if not cheaper. The tape is high so he can't get his head over, this is so that once he had a belt from the fence he doesn't know where the shock stops, he has no concept of height and whether the shock continues up above the fence (apparently this is how it works with deer so I decided to try it with him) so he won't attempt to jump it. The mains energiser is in a building away from the field with the power connected through a lead out cable which can be buried for safety. It may just be worth thinking about if it is practical for you, depending on location. I have come to the conclusion that he had just never had a big enough shock from our previous fencing to learn to fear it so it may be worth investing in a more powerful energiser if electric is out of the question and rope if you use tape. If the one you have gives off a good belt then you could try baiting the fence to make sure he gets a 'proper' shock from it and see if that makes a difference.
 
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