New pony and electric fence problems

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Neburu

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Looking for some advice/idea's about my new girl.

Recently bought a 17 month old sec a Filly, she's a fab little girl in every way other than with the electric fencing! Doesn't matter what I do she keep's going through the fence. :(

It is working fine but she doesn't seem to mind getting shocks? She's turned out naked and is with another pony. The fencing is about 4ft5 high and has around 8 strands of electric wire on with 1 inch gaps from top to bottom. Not sure what to do now as we have soo much grass she's getting huge and will make herself very poorly if I don't find a way of getting her to respect the fence.


Any ideas? really do not want to have to sell her.
 
Have a look at some of the electric fencing manufacturer's sites (Gallagher, Rutland, Hotline, etc) and make sure you have the fence set up correctly.

"Eight strands of electric wire" doesn't sound right to me! Either you have a permanent electric fence with high tensile galvanized steel wire or you use electrified white tape. In either case, two strands should be sufficient for horses but most will respect one strand.

The pony sounds as if it ought to go into a special training paddock for a spell. That is a smallish paddock with a LOT of power through the fence. Once horses get a powerful shock off a fence, they don't usually go back for a second try.

Do you have any means of measuring what voltage is going through the fence? I would want a minimum of 1,000 volts and preferably >3,000.
 
I think you have to check on the energiser that's being used to power the fence. It may only be designed to power a fence of up to a certain length. Some energisers only power a relatively short length. Remember if the energiser powers up to a kilometer of fence then with you having an 8 strand fence then the fence length cannot exceed 125 metres. My energiser will power up to 12 miles of fence (18 km). Each time I set it up I check the fence is working & always get a minimun of 5000v. Buy yourself a fence tester, they aren't expensive & chek the fence is working correctly. To be honest having 8 strands of tape/rope in a fence seems excessive whatever the horse is like.
 
I have 4 strands as my fences have to contain from a Falabella X to a 12hh stallion, but the electric only ever goes through two strands at a time with the energiser connected according to what needs to be contained at the time. A single strand will not work for all ponies as they will go under/over. The ponies all check whether the fence is working before attempting escape and I know it hurts from the many times I've zapped myself. Maybe the electric isn't going through the strands she is going through. Definitely get yourself a tester though, electricity is magic and always does the unexpected!
 
Each of our 'strands' of fencing has 2 wires in it. This multiplies the length of the fence & means with 2 strands the charger has to work twice as hard as you might expect.
We use a fencer connected to the mains and horses will not take the chance of a zap from that, you need to review the charge & set up of your fence OP I suspect.
 
is it sagging in the wind and then she's jumping it? can you get some of the 6ft posts to try?

suspect its shorting out somewhere or there is too much fence for one energiser, you might need another energiser and another battery at the half way point (i have to do this as have to electrify 4 sets of fencing which divide up the field in to 4 individual turnout paddocks)
 
Agree with everything already said. My pony was a complete b o gger with fencing when I first got him. He'd go through, under, over and shocks did not phase him. I bought a very high powered energiser and fences a small area. The first time he touched it he literally hit the sky in shock. He is now in a different paddock with the normal yard fencing and has a LOT of respect for it.

I agree 8 strands is too many and may be weakening the fence.

I learned a lot about fencing from google. My biggest surprise was how much power you can lose by shorting the fence. Even vegetation touching it can dramatically reduce the shock.
 
The most important thing with electric fencing in my experience, is tensioning it correctly. Most ponies that don't respect electric fencing will roll it over their backs because its too baggy/loose. If it is tensioned at either end so it is really, really tight then they can't roll it.
I use electric fencing for my shetlands and only need one strand at their chest height.
Obviously it goes without saying that you need to check everything is working correctly
 
Hi,
Get your self a tester they are £9.75 inc delivery on ebay.
Then you can check the voltages you are looking for 3000v as a minimum .
As has been said above I doubt you need more than three strands of fence.
Look at the model of energiser you have you need to know the amount of joules it puts out ( not stored value )
The manufactures it can power " 2 miles " type claims are not that useful as there is no defined minimum value at the end of the "2 miles " ie at the end of the fence it could have 300v not a lot of use.

If you get stuck please give me a call advise is free and we are happy to help.

Tks
nick
 
Nick is right - 3,000 volts is a minimum for horses (especially foals!) who haven't learned to respect electric fence. I had two little so-and-so's who were ducking through a fence with only 1.500 - so moved them to a small field which tested at a minimum of 6,000 v all the way round (only two strands of tape - much more is a waste of time and trebles the chances of a foal getting caught up!)

My voltage tester lives in my pocket and all fences are tested at random points every day - hopefully I find a short before horses end up everywhere. I have invested in a slightly more expensive one that doesn't need an earthing cable - makes it that bit quicker and easier to use routinely.
 
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