Permanent electric fencing - tape/rope pros/cons please

[Turks]

I'd be v. grateful if you could steer me with pros/cons of tape or rope for permanent electric fencing.

I'm considering the wide strong tape that looks like plastic(?) some 40 - 60mm wide. I think it looks smarter than a lot and the fence is for established horses where it shouldn't be tested much. I'll be mounting it on wooden stakes.

What do you think?

Does it get weakened and buffeted by the wind as its wide? Thanks

 

[Pinkvboots]

I have used the rope and tape both did the job, I do find either the wooden or metal poles to be much more stable than the plastic ones as they dont bend, so you should be fine as you have wooden posts, I dont think the width makes much difference in the wind and you will see the wider tape much better.

 

[Costypop]

It works brilliantly but you need to get the best you can afford. Buying cheap will mean it will get wind ragged and lose the connectivity, which in turn means that some horses will go through it. Buy the right joining connectors don't just try it together, it may add a few extra £'s but you will see the difference in the long run. Also I've found that having the fence fairly high works better then lower ones as horses aren't tempted to jump it. And if possible get it running off the mains, again more expensive but you won't be replacing batteries (there are a lot going walk about at the min) and then replacing tape if a horse goes though because the power ran out.

 

[YasandCrystal]

I have used both and found the tape to wear quite quickly in the wind. I prefer the rope, but make sure you add the metal joiners at regular intervals to prevent injuries. I have a horse who kicks out and regularly catches the rope, but thankfully due to my joiners he has sustaiined no more than a belt from the electric fencer.
For the internal division of paddocks we used 3 strands of rope and rope gates too. For the external we have half rounds at the the top ot the posts and 2 lines of rope.

 

[hayinamanger]

Wind resistance on the wide tape causes rocking/bending of the posts and wrecks the wire in the tape.

 

[honetpot]

.I have rope with wooden posts for my permanent fencing, it has a 500kg breaking strain so if they try to go through it they will bounce, the down side of this is if they get tangled they will break. If you are using rope it has to be well maintained and I would put it on the biggest out energiser you can afford and check the out output so its always above 5000,then they will never be tempted to go any where near it, I can separate colts any mares with a single fence.
I use tape for dividing paddocks, the thinnest possible with the most amount of wires, it catches less in the wind but you do get more wind rock and lose more voltage when it snows.

 

[Honey08]

I use rope and wooden posts too. I find it stays tight and strong much more than the tape used to (and I found the thicker tape worse than the thinner tape). It also looks less obtrusive and is less noticeably an electric fence, so less visable to energiser thieves (we had one taken a couple of years ago, so are wary nowadays..)

 

[Fjord]

I always worry about the safety of rope, in that if the horse gets tangled in it they can injure themselves more than with tape. I'm not using fixed posts though. Am I just worrying too much? I'd love fixed posts, sadly it's not my choice!

 

[mel_s]

I find rope too heavy on plastic posts and it pulls them over.

I do have rope on wooden posts though and thats fine. i bought decent rope (as mentioned above) to make sure it lasts and connects ok. Mine (touch wood) have not been through the rope, but i too was concerned about it not breaking. Especially if they just get a leg in it or whatever. I have actually got 4 strands around my field because i had a foal this year. So what i did - i put rope as the top 2 strands and then cheap 20mm tape on the bottom. I used the cheap tape purely because it breaks far easier than good quality tape and if my foal got tangled i'd rather it have broke!

I do have 40mm tape on one fence line that was put up by someone else. I think it looks good as a barrier but i'm forever putting it back in the connectors and the connectors are rubbish! And more expensive than the ones i use for rope.

 

[YasandCrystal]

I always worry about the safety of rope, in that if the horse gets tangled in it they can injure themselves more than with tape. I'm not using fixed posts though. Am I just worrying too much? I'd love fixed posts, sadly it's not my choice!

If you take a look at some of the horrific injuries rope can inflict in Veterinary - you can never worry too much imo! The use of the joiners at frequent intervals is imperitive imo. It means the rope will pull apart rather than pare a horses leg to the bone. Rather an escapee than a degloved leg. This is why I have a top rail around my perimeter and just rope for the internal paddocks. A well charged battery is also a must imo. I use a solar charger and it works a trea to keep the battery fully charged. I have had this system successfully in place for some 4 years now.

 

[Fjord]

I use a solar charger and it works a trea to keep the battery fully charged. I have had this system successfully in place for some 4 years now.

I hadn't realised about the joiners, I'll look into them, thanks. What solar charger do you use? I want to get one but could do with recommendations!

 

[hayinamanger]

If you take a look at some of the horrific injuries rope can inflict in Veterinary - you can never worry too much imo! The use of the joiners at frequent intervals is imperitive imo. It means the rope will pull apart rather than pare a horses leg to the bone. Rather an escapee than a degloved leg. This is why I have a top rail around my perimeter and just rope for the internal paddocks. A well charged battery is also a must imo. I use a solar charger and it works a trea to keep the battery fully charged. I have had this system successfully in place for some 4 years now.

Y&C, I have never used rope for the reasons you describe, how far apart do you put the joiners?

 

[YasandCrystal]

Y&C, I have never used rope for the reasons you describe, how far apart do you put the joiners?

I must confess mine are probably every 50 metres or so but you should probably do them every 30 m. Here's the type I bought - it's also very important to ONLY hand tighten the nuts =- don't use a spanner as that defeats the object

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-X-WING...438?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2a2419515e

 

[YasandCrystal]

I hadn't realised about the joiners, I'll look into them, thanks. What solar charger do you use? I want to get one but could do with recommendations!

We bought a marine leisure solar charger via ebay - new around £50. IWe have 2 now they have been totally brill - I still swear if I get caught by the rope. It really hurts.

 

[hayinamanger]

Great, thanks for that

 

[TigerTail]

Im looking at hippo safety fencing for around my school rather than electric, but id always use rope over tape for neatness and durability. At the end of the day anything electric has wire in it which will cheese wire a horse if it gets in it - only way to prevent that is proper breakers as has been said.

 

[Dry Rot]

95% of my fencing is permanent electric using 2.5mm high tensile galvanized steel wire powered by a mains energiser. For visibility, I cable tie white tape to the top wire. Works for me.

 

[Turks]

Thanks all for the advice.

I didn't know about the breakers which I'll certainly use (rope or tape). I know a friend was in the way when his horse dragged his electric rope. It swept him clean off his feet which was slightly amusing for the rest of us! Thankfully no other harm done.

Am busy costing it out and funnily enough it isn't that cheap. Those connectors mount up.

I'd be interested to know what type of connectors were a waste of time.

 

[NikkiC88]

Honey08 and mel_s where did you purchase your rope from? Am wanting to put 1 strand in front or rails to stop the young ones nibbling the wood! Xx

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

After having used battery powered energisers for years and years, I've just had a mains energiser put in.

I use this with plastic poles and tape.

My reasoning for the mains powering was that I was sick and tired of shelling out for batteries; also mains eliminates the need for constant current checking. Also I've got quite a lot of distance to cover and mains was the best option for this reason alone.

I did have some wooden poles put in a few years ago, unfortunately the bottom bits of them (the bit that goes in the ground) rotted out and had to be replaced; so now I use plastic horse-high ones (i.e. not the smaller/shorter ones used for sheep), and use two strands of tape.

The only disadvantage with the tape is that because we're high up here, the wind catches it and the only thing to do really is to (a) buy plenty of poles so there's not too much of a distance between poles: I find about 7 paces is a good distance (b) turn every other pole around so that you're not all hitching the same way: hope this makes sense!! - so that if the wind does change direction you've got something to hold the tape with against the prevailing wind.

There are, IME, TWO fundamental rules with electric fencing. The first is to keep a good current going through at ALL times. The second is to keep the wire TIGHT and never let it go slack.

 

[Dunpony]

My fields were 2 line wide tape on wooden posts and were a pain to keep the electricity flowing as the tiny connective wires broke easily. I now have 1 or 2 strands of tape and 1 or 2 strands of plain galvanized wire. I only electrify the wire.

That way I don't need as big an energizer, I don't get shorting of the wires and I don't need insulators for the tape. I would never use tread in posts for perimeter fencing, but they are useful for strip grazing. I agree about tight and on but also a really good earth is an essential

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

any kind of tape or rope on fixed posts makes me nervous.

at least on the plastic stakes the whole lot just falls over and no one gets de-gloved.

i wouldnt do it personally, either post and rail or temp plastic posts and tape to divide it up.

 

[eggs]

We inherited an internal fence line of approx 500 m that divided two of our paddocks. It was two strands of Fieldguard electric tape on wooden posts. The posts are about five feet high above ground level with a thin electric string along the top. The top line of tape is about 2 inches deep and the lower line of tape is about 1 inch deep. The posts are about 5 meters apart. I can honestly say that in 13 years I have not had a problem with it. The tape is much more robust though than standard electric tape and is fairly rigid.

 

[Dunpony]

I agree with Eggs, I inherited the fencing 20 years ago and have replaced most of it over that time. The only time I've had problems with electric fencing is with plastic posts being blown or knocked over. I have had a horse go through Post and rail - he was big and strong and broke the top rail just by grazing over it!

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

the fieldguard wide tape i can just about stomach but it would have to be a lot higher, like 5'9-6ft so that nothing was ever going to try and jump it and i would want 4 strands to stop heads being poked through etc.

perhaps its just having had several friends have horses really badly de-glove on tape/wooden posts but it gives me the willies!