Should we use electric? We need a few more details on how to hook it up. We are also looking for the most economical way to go.|||the only time i have ever use electric is for one of mine but she can flat tear a fence down, when puttting up a fence just make sure you pull it very tight i have field fence and have the wooden post ,make sure they have plenty of run room to play in good luck oh field fence comes in 330 ft, 4ft high about 150.00 to 200.00 shop around before you buy|||for my 30%26quot;mini i used Tposts ($5 or less each) and the 16foot cattle pannel(anywhere from$15-$25) for a pony make sure thespacinginthe fence is 2x4inchesor less. hog pannels work great as well. it was under $200 to fence in half an acre for her. go to www.tractorsupply.com or a farm store in your area, and they can instruct you on how to build the fence. I dont like using electric, just because i have children... (no matter how many time you tell them no.. they always want to learn the hard way)..|||i personally would not use electric. if your pony is an escape artist then consider it but i would try wood instead. it depends on your climate though. is it rainy, hot, cold...? something like this would be what i would use:
http://www.gardnerfence.com/?gclid=CN3Tw...
it looks nice too. i agree with the first answer, block off things that you do not want him to get at (such as a pond).|||We use 4%26#039; feild fence (holes get smaller the lower down you go so a hoof can%26#039;t be pushed through). It%26#039;s easy to put up and work with, doesn%26#039;t rust. We run one strand of electric fencs ribbon approx. 4%26quot; above this so that it isn%26#039;t pulled down or leant on if horses want to socialize or eat over the fence!!|||no wire what so ever and sturdy steel or wood. if you can curve it so it has no corners thts the best as horses tht are bullied wont get trapped in corners. also research which trees are poisinous and block them off.|||electric fencing|||Ponies need pretty good fencing because they can be real escape artists!
I personally like electric fencing. Even my wood fences I protect with electric. Either get a thin gauge wire that will break if a horse gets hung up (17 gauge is good) or invest in the tubular stuff. Make sure it%26#039;s attached firmly; if the horse gets a leg through he can pull the wire loose and run off with it. This is bad for the horse; the wire can actually act like a saw and slice into a leg badly. It%26#039;s rare, especially with ponies (they%26#039;re just smarter!), but it does happen.
To connect it up:
Make sure everything the wire touches is insulated! Otherwise, it%26#039;ll get grounded out and be useless. Some poles come insulated or with attached insulators; if you use wood poles (the best), you%26#039;ll need to get the nail on insulators.
You don%26#039;t need to electrify every wire. Do the top one and the bottom one, and every other one in between (depends how many you have - with some of my horses I use only one wire total; with the thoroughbreds I use 7)
Make sure you have a really good grounding rod for the charger!! Copper, pounded at least 3 feet into the ground, and properly connected to the ground stud on the charger. If it%26#039;s not well grounded, it will not work, particularly in dry weather. Make sure the ground rod is close to the charger, but not within 50 feet of any underground power lines.
Most chargers should be kept indoors. For the run to the fence outside, use the special insulated wire made for this, not just any old piece you have. There%26#039;s quite a charge in this wire, and you can get a fire if you%26#039;re not careful.
The wire you want to be charged doesn%26#039;t need to be in any particular configuration; that is, it doesn%26#039;t need to be in a continuous circle or anything. Just attach the wires you want charged to another wire that%26#039;s charged (or the initial supply wire) in one place. Make sure the weeds, underbrush, and tree limbs are cut back so none will touch the wire, even when the wind blows. That will ground out the system so it won%26#039;t zap the horse.
I like solar powered chargers best (they also don%26#039;t need to be indoors), but they don%26#039;t last as long as the ones you just plug in. I don%26#039;t like the battery powered ones at all.
I also would invest in a lightning arrester. The fence is in an exposed area and may get zapped. That happened to me; the lightening bolt blew the charger off the wall, melted the nearby wires to my security system in the barn, followed the security system wires to the house, set that off and melted it out so I couldn%26#039;t shut it off, burned out the barn phone, etc., etc., etc. It%26#039;s only happened to me once in 50 years, but it does happen!
Okay. Make sure the charger is turned off!!! Then attach the grounding wire to the ground connector on the charger, and the fence supply line to the live connector on the charger. Turn the charger on.
Test the fence. If the charger has a signal light, that should be on or flashing. You%26#039;ll also want to buy a fence tester - under $5 - because testing the fence with your hand can be painful or inconclusive. (If you have dry rubbersoled shoes, you may not get zapped even if it%26#039;s working). Test it in several places to make sure it works everywhere. If it doesn%26#039;t, it%26#039;s most likely that the charged wire is touching something uninsulated and grounding out, or the charger is not adequately grounded.
One last thing - if you use straight wire, it can be hard to see. Flag it with orange surveyor tape or something similar until the horses know where it is. Introduce the horses to the zap yourself - have them on a loose lead, let them mosey around near the fence till they touch it, and then make sure they don%26#039;t run into it in a panic if they%26#039;re startled. Once you%26#039;ve done that, they%26#039;ll know not to touch it and they%26#039;ll be fine.
Never use straight wire without charging it. Never use barbed wire, charged or uncharged.
Sounds like a lot of work, doesn%26#039;t it? ;) It%26#039;s really the easiest, cheapest fence to build, and works well with the majority of horses. It would be nice if we could all have fancy wood or vinyl fence, but horses get injured on that stuff too.
I would not use electric fence in some places: near a highway or busy street; in small lots with close neighbors; for stallions ever; or for horses that don%26#039;t respect it.
Last: read the instructions. Use at your own risk.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment