What do I need to know about electric fencing?

[Muddy unicorn]

We’ve just moved into our new home which has 3 large paddocks. I’m going to be bringing my retired horse here to live with initially a companion and then I’ll be looking for a horse to ride in the new year (I’m currently recovering from an accident so can’t ride at the moment).

I’m going to use the field nearest the house first. It’s 5.5 acres so there’s going to be far too much grass for two horses to start with so I was thinking of running a track round the outside. There are wooden posts for electric fencing around the perimeter at the moment - a few need replacing but they’re mostly ok. Theres a mix of dry stone wall and thick hedges with the posts set just inside. There’s only one strand of wire now so presumably I’ll need to change that to two strands of tape. For the track I was thinking of the smaller posts rather than wooden poles as they look more portable if I need to change to track setup - does that sound right?

Ideally I’d like to run it off mains electricity rather than faff about with batteries - is that fairly straightforward? Anything else I need to know? This is the first time we’ve had our own land so I’ve only ever used fencing, not been responsible for it!

 

[HappyHollyDays]

I have a track set up round an acre paddock. The corner posts are all wooden, 5ft tall and about 15 feet in from the tree line to allow for vehicle access and so nobody gets stuck in a corner. Ideally you need wooden ones to allow for the tension on the tape, all plastic corners will just bend. You can get metal portable corner posts though which are moveable but I’ve never seen them in real life so don’t know how effective they are. The plastic posts between the corners are a mix of 4 feet tall with two strands of tape and 3 feet tall with another middle layer of tape. My Connie would get in and out of two strands so I added the smaller ones mid summer until I realised the battery had died but it was 5 years old. I now have a new 9v battery set in a watertight box which gives a zap good enough for them to respect it. This was my first year on a track so I’ve learnt along the way. Poo picking twice a day is a 5 minute job with two and I have poo piles either end of the track.

 

[maya2008]

Mains is zappier (hurts spectacularly if you touch it by accident!). I have known horses run through battery powered electric but not mains.

Wooden poles will last longer and be less likely to be run through. The plastic ones bend over time and can snap as you put them in.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Lovely that you can have yours at home; mine are here with me too and there really isn't anything like it!

Like the fact you've decided to go for Track. I am on a "Track System" group on Facebook and it is always good to see how someone else does theirs and get some ideas so you may find joining a group helpful.

We use mains-powered fencing; the only disadvantage is that you need to think carefully about where you locate it - as this will need to be a static point (obviously) rather than an energiser which you can move around.

For grass management - IF you can find a local farmer with a few sheep they'd be willing to put on your pasture then this is a huge bonus. But whatever you do don't go buying your own - they need foot-trimming, dipping & shearing - and are actually huge maintenance, then the pesky things will go sickly and die on you. Much better to let a local farmer sort all that out and you'll benefit from them eating up your grass and sweetening it up! We also keep Guinea Fowls on the place who will not only be excellent security as they kick off if someone they don't know is around, but they'll also quite happily gobble up sheep ticks and diggle around the poo for any "goodies" there. Useful little birds.