Opinions on wire fence type pretty please

mrmac

mrmac

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 November 2011
Messages
52
Location
devon
Visit site
Hi all, just need some help and advice really. New yard owner is thinking of replacing all the field fences with tornado wire horse fencing which is basically a wire fence with 3 inch square holes. It will be fixed onto 5 inch round wooden posts an be sunk 2 ft into the ground, leaving it 5ft high above ground. Initially we were OK with this but have recently seen some awful injuries to horses who became caught on this type of fence. The yard owner is not a horse owner but is sensible and really wants to make improvements for the better. The current fencing is a mish msh of post and rail and electric tape. All of the existing fence needs to come out as is loose, due to only being sunk into the ground by 12 inches.
If they do use the wire there will be 2 lines of electric tape along the fence on both sides and one along the top.
Would just like some reviews from some of you who may have used this type of fencing before so that they can make an informed decision.
Thanks in advance
Mr Mac X
 
I haven't used it for horses - I have something similar in my garden to keep dogs in. I believe it has to be well tensioned on the posts to be effective and stable.

If they have to have posts sturdy enough for this kind of fence under tension, they might as well use something like Fieldguard electric fencing tape along them, which is much less dangerous than the wire with holes. Although it is likely that the electric tape they are proposing will prevent horses coming near the fencing, it is quite possible to get a leg caught in holes this size. Horses are easily stupid enough to manage this. Like you I have known of horrible injuries from this kind of wire fencing.

For horses you don't need wire to the ground, and this is more dangerous as it risks trapped legs. Hopefully the new owner will see this. I am sure there are more cost-effective options that are safer.

http://www.fieldguard.com/product-category/electric-fencing-shop/

http://www.peterperksltd.com/studrail-horse-fencing/
 
I have tornado fence.
Ideally it should have rails at the top,but I have it with electric tape and it's great. No issues and easy to replace the odd post that rots without having to take whole fence down.
 
Hi, we have Tornado for our perimeter fencing with a single, wide rail on the top. We've had it for 4 years now and I'm really happy with it. There are lots of different sizes and widths of holes. Ours is 13/122/8 which means that there are 13 horizontal wires, it's 122cm tall, and there is 8cm between each vertical wire. The spaces between the horizontal wires are not uniform, the first 8 wires are only 8.3cm apart, and the remaining ones graduate to a 15.2cm top gap. With the rail our fence is 4.5ft tall. I was told that unless you have foals under 3 months, or I guess miniature horses, this would be fine. The studs use the triangle version but it's much more expensive. We have some X-net (cheaper version of tornado) and it's definitely not as good. We have had tree branches fall on both kind and the tornado crumpled but was able to be made upright again and nothing broken, whereas the X-net had crumpled but with broken wires sticking out.
Your post diameter sizes and lengths don't sound very big for the straining posts. Ours are huge, I think about 20cm, and I'm fairly sure that they went in about 3ft. Every time the fence changes direction, even a little bit, there is a huge post to tension it off and then smaller posts between, about 10cm diameter, that it's pegged to and hold the top rails. I think that the tensioning is really important as when tensioned everything, horses included, should bounce off it if they do run in to it. Touch wood, mine haven't so far, but it sounds like a better fencing than you have now.
We also have pressure creasoted posts and rails as the new wood preservatives just don't last.
If it's any use, we had All Seasons Fencing do ours. They are based near Newmarket but work all over the country on larger jobs, they did about 1200m for us and the guys were great.
Sorry, that's a massive essay but I hope it helps!
 
I agree it's not suitable for horses to have fixed wire to the ground the 2 links above are much safer, I have used similar to the field guard system and it works well especially with the really wide electric tape.
 
Nope nope nope. I personally won't keep horses in wire fencing. The last yard I was at had well maintained, properly tensioned, built in weak points, etc wire fencing next to some of the perimeter hedges. My friends 2yo rolled next to it and got her leg caught. The wire broke at the weak point but not before cutting her leg to the bone resulting in the poor filly having to be pts then and there. :(

My new place's perimeter fence was originally stock fencing, again well built and tensioned but I put in this:
https://am.gallagher.com/global/pro...ncing/permanent-fencing/wire-and-cable/G91200

before putting any horses out there (left stock fencing up though as an external perimeter to keep dog in and sheep out!)
 
I was at a place for about 4 years with this type of fencing between some of the fields with no issues or injuries. They had big railway sleeper style fence posts and also had similar size posts on top laid horizontally. Only real issues were that the shetland could squeeze his way under it and that the top posts sometimes had to be put back on after a horse had been scratching on them. If they go for something like this I'd recommend going for holes too small for a foot to fit through though as I DO know of issues that people have had with this sort of fencing with the larger holes meant to be used for cattle.
 
I put up permanent electric fencing with a mains energiser to replace rotten stock proof fencing about 20 years ago and it was the best thing I did. The wire is 2.5mm high tensile steel with a post every 30m and a dropper every 10m, depending on the topography. I cable tie old white tape to the top wire for visibility. With 5,000 volts going through the fence, the ponies never go near it, whether it is off or on (nor do I!). I have a standard stock proof ring fence as a physical barrier as it is possible for horses to go through the electric fence, though that happens only about once every few years.

Once you have the mains energiser paid for, mains electric fencing is very cheap and you can take power off it to fence off a smaller area with temporary white tape and plastic posts anywhere. It is also not difficult to erect as DIY, except the strainer posts which don't need to be as substantial as for stock fencing. I once counted up how much fencing I had put up and it is three miles on 30 acres as I have a lot of shelter belts and ditches double fenced.

Whatever type of fencing you erect, it is important to have good strainers at the end of each run, at corners, and changes of direction. Do it right and you only need to do it once. It does pay to get a professional to put the fence up, but that needs to be someone who understands that electric fencing is quite different to "normal" stock proof fencing. It should be tensioned so that it gives slightly when an animal pushes against it so the wre stays in contact with the animal and delivers a good strong shock. It is primarily a psycholoical barrier rather than a physical one. They won't come back for a second try! I've only had one injury and that was from a slack wire that got caught around a foal's foot. Wire should always be properly tensioned.
 
I have tornado horse fencing small holes at bottom working up to larger at top about 4ft high ith single strand slape wire on top. We graze cattle as well and they don't rub and make the wire sag. Its very strong fencing and needs to be put up by an experienced person to get the tension right. The Tornado horse wire is not like stock fencing ie for sheep which I would not like to have for grazing horses. At the end of the day horses can have accidents with post and rail and electric fencing and wire fencing, but we try our bests to make a safe environement
 
Permanent electric fencing is the optimum. Kept clear of vegetation and well earthed.

I have rylock on the bottom and plain electrified wire in tubes on the top. Mains energiser. No horse touches it so no danger of being caught in it whatsoever. You can use normal fencing wire for the electric wire and egg insulators at the corners. I wouldn't use tape or thin wire as it's rubbish.

I have sheep so I need the rylock, otherwise you could have 5 strands of plain wire with the bottom, middle and top electrified.
 
Thanks guys, much appreciated. I understand that with wire accidents happen and when they do they're horrific. Just wanted to see if, done correctly, this type of fencing minimises that risk. I'll take these back to my yard owner, I'm sure she'll be grateful too xxxx
 
TBF the yard owner is not going for the cheap option, the Tornado horse fencing is a lot more expensive than ordinary stock fence. We put up 800m of this years ago for a breeder and she has never had any problems with it.
 
My retired horse is on grass livery at a large cheap and cheerful DIY yard where they run herds in bigger fields.

All the fields have this type of fencing, not sure if it's tornado but similar - like stock fence but holes are smaller and generally more robust and horse friendly. They run electric strip above it.

There are a lot of horses and no fencing injuries that I have heard of. I reckon it's a good option, lower maintainance than P&R and obviously better than wire strands.
 
Thank you. Its not the cost just the viability and safety. The new owners are awesome. They've just laid £10,000 worth of hardcore, sand and grids into all the gateways and are in the process of building 10 new 14ft square stables.
It's been Really helpful of you and once again thanks for the info xx
 
I don't think the type of fencing is vitally important but where it is not electrified, I'd want to have a singe electric wire running on posts a metre or so away from the existing fence, if only to stop rubbing. The posts for that wire could be a fair distance apart (50m?) depending on the undulations in the ground. Horses could still reach underneath to graze. That's what I have in what I call my foaling paddock. It has a square mesh fence and I want to keep the horses away from that because of the danger of feet getting caught.
 
We use heavy duty post and rail fencing (treated) with equi-fencing on it so that the horses can not kick through the fence line and it will hold the rails in place if they are ever broken.
(Every third post is concreted in).
We also use Paxton plastic field water troughs rather than metal water troughs because if a hors kicks a metal water trough it can fracture it's leg.
Also use Paxton automatic corner stable drinkers because they hold a lot of water and can be easily drained for cleaning. (We fit each one with a stop cock so that the water supply can be turned off when cleaning them out.
Best of luck.
 
I have it in some of my fields and have never had a problem. I had to put it up as my neighbours 'kindly' put sheep fencing up (the stuff with the much bigger holes that is not so high) right up against our boundary and I was worried about one of my horses putting a foot through it.
 
Spottyappy said:
I have tornado fence.
Ideally it should have rails at the top,but I have it with electric tape and it's great. No issues and easy to replace the odd post that rots without having to take whole fence down.
Click to expand...

I too have the 5ft Tornado (horse version, with very tiny holes at bottom) on much of the boundary, Has a running rail along the top (is over 6ft to top of rail) for 2 sides of 1 paddock, and wide tape over the top for the rest of it.

Have had a couple 'bing' into it & no bad effects at all.

I do have to add a low tape on plastic posts inside when 33inch tall TF is in any of those paddocks, as otherwise she does a 'Baloo' and adores scrubbing herself on this eminently shetland friendly-itching fence :D

Big bonus is that it keeps deer, foxes, dogs etc out. Even the phesants have to flap to clear it :)
 
When I moved to this property last year this is what I put in on advice as it will keep anybody else's dogs etc out! I have the extra tall tornado (think it's 5ft) and this has a line of electric along top too to stop them leaning on it wired to mains electric. This is around the perimeter. I am happy with it. Maybe you should ask them if they are using the horse wire which is more expensive or the old sheep wire which horses can get a foot through.
 
Oh it will be the one with the smallest holes possible. The one made specifically for horse paddocks with holes 2" square. Would it be advisable to erect it with the wire 1ft off the ground with a rail and electric fence on top all around? Does the tornado fence have smaller holes at the bottom than at the top?
Would it be possible to post some pictures?
Many thanks x
 
not sure what make it was but a yard I was on had what they called stud fencing, the wire squares were about hoof size and another horse(belonging toYO) got loose and was sniffing my mares nose over the fence, she struck out , as mares do, and her foot went right through the fence, she then panicked and ended with a really bad injury behind her pastern and a damaged tendon . cost me a lot of money for vets bills so I would never use this type of fencing for mine. and YO didn't help with bills!!!!!!!!
 
OP, i will take some photos tomorrow for you.
I wouldn't advise the fence is raised off the ground, its designed to be 'to the floor'.

splashgirl, the equine tornado fence is that small holed at the bottom that my mini cannot get her dainty tootsies in it :)
 
The Fuzzy Furry said:
OP, i will take some photos tomorrow for you.
I wouldn't advise the fence is raised off the ground, its designed to be 'to the floor'.

splashgirl, the equine tornado fence is that small holed at the bottom that my mini cannot get her dainty tootsies in it :)
Click to expand...
much better than the fence my YO installed then....luckily I am not there any more, and the fence was one of the reasons
 
Thank you fuzzy furry, that would be awesome. It looks like it's a good alternative to post and rail. It isn't any cheaper but should last longer. I think yard owner also realises that no fence will last if it doesn't have effective electric fence running as well. 👍
 
the proper tornado horsewire is super. if its tensionsed properly with an electric run along top, with proper fence posts and support then i think its the safest wire out there. I've seen a few of mine give it good kicks and skid into it and it didn't move an inch. The small hole size stops any hooves etc getting caught. I love the stuff we have here, it was crazy expensive to buy, but long term it looks like the best option
 
I have tornado wire fence with an electric strand above it. This is the external boundary fence on two sides of my 3 acre field. It's been in 8 years and I have had no issues with it. The post and rail on the other two sides takes much more maintenance and also has to have an electric strand to prevent rubbing.
 
Thank you everyone. I am really grateful for your experiences. It looks as though Tornado 5' taken to the ground will be the thing. My fencing contractor is well used to putting it up but most of his clients will not be as fussy as me! I do have youngstock, but they are large horses and do not go on this field until the summer of their yearling year so they are normally over 15 hands by then.

Electric is not an option as the nearest mains supply is 1/2 mile away and batteries are too time consuming and too far to carry what would be needed for a long run of power.

Assuming I go for the 5' fence rather than using a top rail which would mean putting extra posts in the fence as well, I think the best suggestion is of weaving broad electric tape into the top of the fence to provide a good visual for the horses. However I have no idea what slape wire is, so off to chat with Google!
 
I am slightly wary of any wire fencing after a friends horse had to be PTS after rolling next to a wire fence (looked like the Tornado wire fencing with smaller holes at the bottom) and getting the wire caught between her shoe and foot (at the heel) and then panicking. I had thought that wire fencing should be relatively safe as long as the holes were too small for the horses to put their feet through (and had envied the friend's lovely fencing!), but unfortunately this horse showed otherwise. I appreciate that the chance of this type of injury is probably very small though.
 
Use the best posts you can get . Conventional pressure treated posts do not last .The Formula was changed 8 years ago and all fencing after this is subject to rapid decay. To my mind ,the creosote treated Octopost with its expected life of 35/40 years and its factory backed guarantee of 25 years are the best .They come in a full range of sizes including rails .The rails area clever idea too. They have a lap joint on each end so do not have to meet at a post .(It is also stronger). This means that it is possible to have posts at 3 metre spacing without having to cut rails down. Tornado wire is only as good as the strainer posts .Telegraph pole sections are good (if sound)but not always easy to get hold of . Again Octopost do produce larger posts for this job . The vital thing with strainers is how you fit the diagonal brace.Most problems occur by having it at too steep an angle which lifts the strainer post out of the ground if the fence is anywhere tight enough. I hope this helps .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top