Permanent Electric Horse Fence
Permanent electric horse fences that serve as the outer fence for an equine area typically stand 5 or 6 feet high and have 4 to 6 runs of conductors. Some permanent electric horse fences are only 4 feet tall with as few as 3 runs of conductor, but these electric fences generally serve to divide pastures or perform some other function within a larger fenced-in area.
Kits: We offer five-foot permanent horse fence kits of variable length that serve well to provide this sort of fence (see Permanent Outer Horse Fence Kits).
The Fiberglass Option: We are great fans of permanent horse fences that use only fiberglass posts properly braced at corners, gates, and ends. Such fences do cost a little more; but they are far less expensive than barrier horse fence; and they are also remarkably durable, movable, permanent, and elegant. To read more about them visit Complete Fiberglass Fences.
Barrier, Electric, and High-Tensile Fences: Those who favor barrier fence over electric fence never tire of pointing out that the electric fence barrier is psychological, and can therefore be overcome. It should also be noted, however, that under certain circumstances horses are notorious for smashing, leaping over, or otherwise escaping from areas fenced with barrier horse fence. So the barrier fence also seems to present a barrier that is at least partly psychological, and the real point is not that one type is better than the other but rather that if no consideration is given to the specific horses enclosed or other circumstances, few if any horse fences can claim to be truly perfect.
It seems clear, however, that any really effective permanent stand-alone electric horse fence needs to present more than a purely electrical barrier. It needs to use multiple visible conductors that will be seen and can resist significant animal impacts. And it needs to have posts strong enough to support the conductors in the face of storm, wind, and animal contact.
At one time it was thought that high-tensile fence wire (electrified or unelectrified) was suitable for fencing horses, and horse fence using this conductor is still put up today. However, horses have a hard time seeing ahead of themselves because their eyes are on the sides of their heads. So they can strike this wire without seeing it; and high-tensile wire is strong enough and thin enough to slice into them like a knife slicing into butter. There is thus increasing recognition that high-tensile fence wire is ill-suited to containing horses, and that those with such horse fences would do well to consider replacing at least the top run of wire with a broad 1.5-inch polytape that will greatly increase the fence’s visibility.
Parts for Permanent Electric Horse Fences
Chargers: The choice of the charger used to power a permanent electric horse fence should be based on various factors–including the weed burden on the fence, the length of the fence, the number and height of the conductors, the quality and number of conductor connections, the nature of the horses to be contained, and the existence of good or poor grounding conditions. If the fence is short, the weed burden is nil, connections are good, grounding is adequate, and the horses to be contained are docile or accustomed to the system, relatively mild 1 to 2 joule chargers like products 01-25, 01-04, 01-09, or 01-15 may be the best choice. Of course, if the opposite is true and various of these factors are highly adverse, the best solution (if possible) is to correct the adverse factors. Barring that, one can correct the situation to a degree by choosing a more powerful charger such as AC-powered products 01-06A, 01-11A, or 01-22, the battery-powered 01-28, or the solar-powered 01-29. One can also choose one of the Dare chargers (such as 01-25A or 01-27) because they are especially good at compensating for the power drains that happen when the fence contacts weeds and brush. In any case, it is a very good idea to have a digital fence tester (see products 04-05 thru 04-07) and use it periodically to ensure that you have 4,000 volts on all parts of the line. In cases where weed control is an issue and (for esthetic or other reasons) you want to have a low run of conductor within a foot of the ground, it may be worth getting one or more energy limiters (product 16-04) so that weeds contacting the lowest line cannot neutralize the rest of the fence.
Conductors: The conductors best-suited to permanent electric horse fences are wide polytape, polyrope, polybraid, and polycoated wire. The small stainless steel wires in most of these polyconductors do not conduct electricity as well as ordinary 12.5 or 14 gauge electric fence wire. Therefore, if you have a long electric fence (say a mile or more around) it’s worth getting a polyconductor (see especially products 02-35, 02-62A, 02-63, 02-64, and 02-66 that will pass current at least a mile and also arranging for all the conductor runs to be strongly connected to each other (see products 02-90 thru 02-91A) at one or more points near the charger. 1.5 to 2 inch wide polytape (see products 02-20 and 02-33 thru 02-41) is plenty visible and long-lasting (one brand comes with a limited 20-year warranty); but it is also more expensive and so prone to catch the wind that its supporting posts must be spaced quite close together (15 to 20 feet apart compared to 35 feet apart for the other products). In cases where weed control is an issue and (for esthetic or other reasons) you want to have a low run of conductor within a foot of the ground, it may be worth getting one or more energy limiters (product 16-04) so that weeds contacting the lowest line cannot neutralize the rest of the fence.
It is common to see permanent horse fences that are strung entirely with polytape or entirely with polyrope/polybraid. However, it is also possible to use combinations, like having one run of wide polytape at the top of the fence for visibility and using polyrope/polybraid for the remaining runs.
Regarding the choice between polyrope (products 02-56 thru 02-60) and polybraid (products 02-61 thru 02-64), there is no doubt that polybraid is the more-resilient, longer-lasting, and better-looking product. It is also more expensive, but the difference in the price of our standard polyrope and standard polybraid is not enormous, and polybraid is also available in a 3/8-inch wide form that is stronger and more visible. The last item in this class, 5/16-inch polycoated 12.5-gauge wire, comes in both electrifiable and non-electrifiable forms (see products 02-65 and 02-66). These “Poly Coat” (non-electrifiable) and “Hot Coat” (electrifiable) products are made for horses, can conduct a charge great distances (because they have a 12.5 gauge high-tensile wire at their core), and are suited to high-tensile use (see High-Tensile Electric Fence for Horses).
