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  Discussion on Seeking more fencing opinions
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Posted on Friday, Dec 21, 2001 - 3:12 pm:

Hi, all!

I value everyone's opinion and since we all have one here's what I would like to know.

I will be putting up fencing this spring at my new farm (finally!!) and am thinking about purchasing a vinyl coated wire from Ramm Fence.

The coated wire is 5/16ths inch thick and I am thinking about using a five wire fence on wood posts with the top wire being hot.

I currently have two geldings aged 7 and 10 and they are pretty easy on fences except for eating the wood ones. However, I am still a little leary about wire in general even though I know accidents can happen with any type of fencing. I have heard horror stories about virtually all types of fencing, so I am trying to put up the safest, best looking fence I can afford.

This wire is pretty thick, and the Ramm fence people say that it is very strong so a horse should "bounce" off it (I can't decide whether that's good or bad since I am more worried about legs getting caught in it).

Does anyone use this type fencing and/or have any comments on it? I would certainly appreciate any comments or suggestions.

Happy Horsey Holidays to All!

Lisa

Posted on Friday, Dec 21, 2001 - 11:16 pm:

Hi Lisa,
We use HorseGuard electric tape, and I can't say enough good things about it. We've had ours up 3 years, it's a snap to install (just hand tighten, doesn't need any braced corner posts, etc.), still seems brand new, it's very reasonably priced, and it's attractive. The manufacturer claims horses see wider tapes better than the wire, and they see brown/green better than yellow or white, so we felt good about using their brown tape on posts (looks very nice on square wood posts, though we just used T stakes). We fenced with 2 strands, and no problem keeping our horses in. Our 23yr old used to just walk right through the wood post and rail like a bulldozer when he wanted to switch pastures; he respects the tape, and these days we only turn on the charger once or twice a month.
You can read more about their products at https://www.horseguardfence.com/
Melissa

Posted on Saturday, Dec 22, 2001 - 9:21 am:

Hi Lisa,

We used Centuar(sp) coated wire fence which is similar to the Ramm. We also used Horseguard fence as a top line on the fence that ran along our property line that the neighbors already had up because of his cattle. Both have worked well. If you decide to go with the coated wire fence you may want to add at least one line of "hot wire". We did not use anything on our cross fencing initially and the horses used the top wire to scratch the back their necks which caused a loosening of the tension. We added the electric top line (the Horseguard) and we haven't had a problem since.

If you decide to go with the Horseguard you can use other line post insulators made for tape that are cheaper than those from Horseguard but the corner and end post insulators from Hofseguard are probably best. For the post insulators we used some from the company but on following fences we used the small yellow ones and they seem to work just as well and are much cheaper.

Good luck with the new property,

Chris

Posted on Saturday, Dec 22, 2001 - 11:20 am:

just wanted to add my praises on the horse guard fencing... i breed warmbloods., thus i have a pasture full of 'crazy' baby horses.. all have done well on this fence.. NO INJURIES, they bounce off one actually got through with no scraps... when i say get through that happened one time when i put mare and filly into the pasture with just 3 ribbons of tape.. i would recommend 4 for the youngsters as it gives the illusion of a bigger barrier...
the hot fence is the way to do... no chewing, no rubbing, complete respect..

have fun..

Posted on Saturday, Dec 22, 2001 - 12:19 pm:

We have the ramm fence for 3 years now with a Arab quarter cross, paint mare and a donkey. WE have four strand all "hot". It was a breeze to put up and looks great. I would highly recommend keeping all strands hot at least until horses recognize and respect it. The bottom strand is essential for when they are grazing and top for when other horses are around. The bottom hot also keeps dogs from coming into pasture, which the donkey will go after. We have it as a divider fence between the neighbors horses and have never had a problem. I like the rammm fence better than the single wire because of it's visibility and if they should get into it, it will not hurt them as bad as barbed wire or rip their legs off like high tinsel wire. Of course my philosophy is, I'd rather go to the neighbors and bring back my horses than have to call a vet to repair damage from a fence or worse yet have to put one down. My wife was afraid of the horses rolling and getting caught in it but that is a potential problem with all fencing, but horses will soon respect the ramm fence

Posted on Sunday, Dec 23, 2001 - 3:53 pm:

Thanks, everyone for your input.

I have been driving around my area looking for some different fencing options.

There are several local farms that use a 2 strand tape similar to (or it may be) the horseguard. Maybe their installation lacked perfection or something, because it looks saggy.

I think I am going to stick with the coated wire with a hot top strand and possibly on the bottom to keep out any wildlife (if that's possible)and hope for the best.

Thanks again, Lisa

Posted on Monday, Dec 24, 2001 - 12:22 am:

Lisa,

If in fact the tape you saw was Horseguard then there must be a problem with the installation. Mine has stayed tight and even if it did become slack in is easy to tighten. I have seen some narrower tapes that did sag and vibrated in the wind but haven't noticed it with the wider Horseguard. Another option you could consider is a polyrope electric fence.

Chris

Posted on Monday, Dec 24, 2001 - 9:06 am:

My horseguard doesn't sag either. If a branch falls on it, you just need to hand tighten -- very easy. Also, for what it's worth, the horseguard folks say horses see and respect tapes much better than wire -- tape looks more like a branch, wire looks more like a twig, and they can see the tape from farther away so have more time to stop before running into it. Also, tape won't cut them if they do run into it.

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 26, 2001 - 11:27 pm:

I know you were looking at the wire fencing,but I just wanted to add that the electro-braid fencing is an excellent fencing system.The soft rope is intertwined with copper.The horses respect it,the rope can withstand 10,000 lbs of pressure and I use 4 strands. I have used it for four years now and love it.Also, the manufacturers' information stated that horses will not walk the fence line with this because they can see thru it.It stated that horses tend to wear a path along the fence line at the point of their encapturement(the typical fence) but because they see thru the rope fence, they don't walk the fence line. Absolutely true, I have never seen any fence line pacing in four years.Looks great and is very economical.

Posted on Thursday, Dec 27, 2001 - 10:02 am:

Teresa,

I have given serious thought to Electrobraid as well. It is economical (uses fewer fence posts) and it looks good too.

Thanks. Lisa

Posted on Thursday, Dec 27, 2001 - 10:45 am:

I would be interested in how large an area everyone has fenced with these materials. I will be fencing 40-45 acres in a few months and even though like all the products mentioned have figured they may be out of my budget for that area.

Jim

Posted on Thursday, Dec 27, 2001 - 10:55 am:

5 acres....(horseguard tape) but i have to say that it all went up very quickly.. sometimes convenience is worth something..

interesting thought on just electrifying only two stands.. we put up 4 stands for the 'kid' pasture all hot.. and 3 on the others.. all hot...

dres

Posted on Monday, Dec 31, 2001 - 4:55 pm:

I wish I could put in a vote for Electrobraid (or things similar) but after too many stories like this, I can't :( https://chronofhorse.infopop.net/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=691099205&f=1970907951&m=9313022853

Posted on Monday, Dec 31, 2001 - 6:01 pm:

Oh! How horrible!
I don't know for sure that there's zero risk with the Horseguard tape we use, but fear of the fence cutting a running horse is the reason we went with tape rather than wire.

Posted on Monday, Dec 31, 2001 - 10:28 pm:

What a horrible experience for the owner. Stories like this are why our place is fenced in 5 foot no climb horse fencing with electric around the top. It cost a lot more that just about any other fencing, but my horses are safe, not to mention my dogs. It's also great for keeping unwanted animals out, both wild and domestic.

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 1, 2002 - 3:57 pm:

I've had horses for over 30 years, and worked in stables for 10 years before that. All I can say is, you name a type of fence and I can probably give you an accident involving it. I swear that I can't think of an animal more accident-prone than horses. Back in the seventies, there was a lovely man who imported a rare breed from Russia. Akel-Tekke ( I know I spelled that wrong ). He wanted the "perfect" fence for his high-priced beautiful animals. It was eight feet tall and made of telephone poles - instead of slats, they put up huge industrial conveyer belts - six "strands". You guessed it - one of them managed to injure themselves on it. By the way, does anyone know whatever happened to that breed?

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 1, 2002 - 9:28 pm:

Russia, Akel-Tekke ... don't know if you spelled it right but i recognized it... there is a new farm up here, northern calif. that has now imported this horse.. i believe he has 2 stallions...

and i will agree nothing is safe around horses... but we can keep trying and warning each other of mistakes made..

dres

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 1, 2002 - 9:49 pm:

Akel-Teke - center in Ashkabad. Typically used as a race horse and also dressage and jumping disciplines by Russians.

I have round aluminum/steel pipe fencing and still have my horses knocking into it with their legs. I've got to admit, it has been the one with least amount of injuries so far - but then I've only been through wire and wood slatted fencing so far.

Dawn :)

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 2, 2002 - 2:43 pm:

Can't beat good old fashioned stone-faced ditches (banks) with plenty of brambles to discourage the explorers... (I realise this is not practical if you don't live in an area where people have been making their field boundaries this way for hundreds of years!)

... and I have a personal hatred of the sharp round narrow cord electric wire. You know, with nylon and metal strands. I think it cuts very badly and sooner or later some horse will try to go through any form of tape or wire you use with an electric fence.

All the best

Imogen

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 2, 2002 - 9:30 pm:

I knew someone on this site would know about Akel-Teke. Thanks. I remember thinking they resembled ballet dancers.
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