How To Build A Hot Wire Fence For Horses
For wire fences especially all wire comes in rolls so you will need to build a contraption that allows the spool of wire to freely spin when you pull it along and unroll a strand of wire along the fence line all without you having to hold the very heavy new spool most new spools of barbed wire weigh around 70 pounds 31 8 kg to 90 pounds.
How to build a hot wire fence for horses. Hey i m louise and these are my. I put them 4 paces apart. Cattle goats sheep get a barbed fort. Deer get horse or orchard fencing.
Determine the type of animal you want to fence. Woven field fence is used in a wide variety of livestock applications and is readily available and inexpensive especially when coupled with metal t posts. If the existing fence is metal metal posts mesh wire or some other type of wire make sure the auxiliary hot wire is far enough away from it to avoid a short circuit. Put the two end posts up and then use the first top wire or a string to line up the holes of the rest of the posts.
Make sure to keep grass and weeds trimmed so they don t touch the wire and short it out horses usually learn quickly and only need to be reprimanded by the hot wire once or twice before learning to respect it. Typically smooth wire fences are coupled with electrical systems to create a deterrent effect as horses soon learn that a smooth wire fence is safe to push against. First time using the earth auger to build a more solid electric fence for the horses than the plastic electric fence posts. This is especially true when horses are confined in small areas or sharing a fence line with horses in adjacent pastures.
Be sure to use polymer coated wires or wires woven into polymer tape or rope. For mares and foals make your fence at least 4 1 2 feet tall to discourage jumping and reaching over. Electricity flows along a path of least resistance. Make sure to use the electric fence tester to make sure hot wire is working.
Use a 5 foot top wire. A four or five wire electric fence will require a few extra materials such as a charger and grounding rods but they are considered to be among the safest options for horse fences and you can build long fences without racking up a huge bill. How to build simple wire fences for horses or pasture. Read more about how to build a horse fence here.
How high should my horse fence be. For stallion pens breaking pens and cool down pens use 5 to 6 feet of fence. Horses are best fenced with conductors that are highly visible such as rope and tape. No matter what type of fence you decide to erect the basic common structural element of any horse fence is the posts.
The most common type of fencing used to contain horses is a wooden board fence or a post and rail fence.