# Solar electric fence, will this work?



## secuono (May 27, 2011)

I need a strand of hot wire to keep my pony in, he has a very bad habit of busting wires. He is very good at it and it needs to stop. We also have a Paint mare, but she never bothers the fence, not even to nibble on the grass. 

So will it be fore to have just one strand at his nose height and not another for her's?
Does the kit need special wire? We have a roll of 14 gauge electric wire, it doesn't say what the metal is. 
Thanks!
http://www.premier1supplies.com/detail.php?prod_id=51617&cat_id=159


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## patandchickens (May 27, 2011)

What is the actual FENCE made of?

If it is something solid like wood or smallish woven wire, then it is USUALLY sufficient to have a single hotwire at the height of the animal's chest, on standoff insulators of course. 

If however this fence is some sort of straight wire that he can bust through, which is what it sounds like (which is incidentally an EXTREMELY DANGEROUS type of fence, and horrendous injuries just waiting to happen) then really you either need to replace the WHOLE ENTIRE fence with wood or smallish woven wire, or electrify at least every other wire of the fence (with the wires no more than 12" apart, and the highest one no lower than the horse's withers)

Repeat, a straight (not woven) regular wire fence that is unelectrified is quite dangerous (in addition to, as you've seen, pretty ineffective); or if this is mesh that the horse is breaking thru, it is not livestock-quality mesh.

I notice you have the word "solar" in your thread title. Most solar chargers do not put out much current and you may well not be able to get a stiff enough charge on your fence to deter a determined fence-leaner or fence-breaker-through-er. If it is a new purchase and can still be exchanged, a plug-in charger would be an awfully big lot better idea in most cases, even if you have to run a long leadout to get from the charger (at a building) to the fence itself.

You need at least 2,000 v to keep casual horses off a fence; occasional individuals may require up to 4,000v, and horses who have learned to RUN THROUGH (and thus break) electric fences may not be able to be contained in that sort of fence at all. (They may require physical i.e. wood/wire-mesh/stud-rail/etc fences with an electric wire added to prevent leaning; or relatively unbreakable electrified fence i.e eletrobraid or electric rope or electrified hi-tensile, all of which have substantially higher rates of injury especially if you try to skimp on the number of strands)

Good luck, have fun,

Pat


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## secuono (May 27, 2011)

It's 4 wire strands on 5in wood posts. He pushes through the fence slowly as he nibbles the grass on the other side. 
The only other thing is to add wood boards along the top and then another 1-1.5ft lower.


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## patandchickens (May 27, 2011)

OMG, well of COURSE the pony is going thru it -- the mare will too as soon as she figures it out or the grass gets thin in August.

For sure you need to *electrify that whole fence*. 

I would suggest also adding a 2x6 board at the level of the pony's chest. This will almost-completely prevent him from even TRYING to do the "run real fast so you break the fence before you notice the electric zap" tactic, which he may already know and if he doesn't you really, really don't want him discovering it.

And get a good fence tester, and try to keep at least 3,000v on your four wires.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat


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## secuono (Jun 5, 2011)

I bought boards and we will put them up this weekend. He hasn't strayed into the yard since last time. If he continues to mess with the fence once the boards are up, I'll add the hot wire to it.


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