Help! My horse has realised how long his legs are...

CBFan

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... and that he can step over / through fencing quite easily!

He's only 2 and is already 16.1hh with lanky long legs! and I've always thought the fencing at our yard is a little on the low side - two lines on electric and the highest is about 3/4 the way up the post (maximum) and in places it's only just above his knee! also although it's on the mains, the current isn't particularly strong due to the amount of fencing and various breaks in it!!

Last week he was found with his front legs over the bottom tape and I didn't really think too much of it as he was in the medical padock and I thought he just wanted company etc which he's had all this week, only yesterday he was found in the next medical padock with the two mares that were turned out in there
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So today I decided he was safer back in his field where we have a pen fenced off for the laminitics. put him in there with plenty of hay to eat... come down tonight and one side of it is demolished
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not sure if he was the culprit on this occasion as he was still where he should be but one of the others was in with him and others were trying to decide whether they should join them...

should add that the only reason he is seperated from the herd at the moment is because he's got a swollen hock from behaving like a bunch of hooligans before christmas...

I feel I should talk to Y/O about the fencing but I don't want them to feel like I'm teaching them to suck eggs. IMO fence needs to be higher (my boy isn't the biggest at the yard - yet!) and the current through it needs to be stronger than the current 'tickle' you get if you touch it. I do have some leccy fencing and some insulators that I would be happy to use in my field in addition to what is there but do you think this is unreasonable?

Other option is for me to move yards but there aren't any (affordable) ones with decent unrestricted turnout local to me...

p.s. My horse isn't the only one to have broken the fencing this winter - We've had a good half dozen incidents involving other horses this year... I just don't want any of them getting hurt - especially as we have a road to cross..
 
I would set up higher fencing asap before something serious happens - although I would actually think thei is the YO's responsibility.

I had electric fencing up (and it gave a good belt) but one of my horses tried to jump it, got her leg caught, panicked and ended up with a cut round her leg that actually went through to the tendon -several weeks in the vet hospital and lots of sleepless nights and she is Ok now but we thought we might loose her for a while :-( Def NOT worth the risk!!
 
I know... I just feel like I'm made to feel overprotective when I make requests like this to YO... but I am really concerned that someone (one of the horses) is going to get hurt!! and I really don't mind doing it myself if it means I dont have to wait til an accident has happened for YO to do something about it...
 
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