How to Install Electric Horse Fencing
If you have decided to stable your horse at your home, you will need a pasture. An electric fence can be used to keep your horses from wandering off in search of "greener pastures." After you have set your wooden fence posts, installing the electric fence is a fairly straightforward process.
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Things You'll Need
- Porcelain or plastic insulators
- Fasteners (double-headed nails or galvanized screws)
- Hammer
- Drill driver
- Wire cutters
- Wire tighteners
- Aluminum fencing wire or polywire
- Fence energizer
- Grounding rod
- Continuity tester
Instructions
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The Installation
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1
Install porcelain insulators onto wooden posts using double-headed nails or screws. If using metal posts, attach plastic insulators according to the manufacturer's instructions. With either post type, locate the lower insulators at the same height above the ground and the upper set equidistant from the lower one: 18 inches to 2 feet is a good distance.
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2
Begin uncoiling/straightening the aluminum wire or polywire. Over the free end slip on as many wire tighteners as you will be using.
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3
Beginning at the bottom insulator on the gate post, secure the aluminum wire and begin uncoiling it, laying it across the top of each lower insulator. Prior to reaching the corner, be sure to leave a wire tightener somewhere along in that stretch. Do the same if using polywire.
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4
At the corner, wrap the wire around the pordelian insulator, applying as much hand tension into the wrap as possible. Make certain the other wire tighteners have been pushed beyond the corner post and are still free to "travel" forward. Do the same with polywire. Don't begin tightening the wire yet.
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5
Repeat step 4 on each side of the pasture until the entire bottom strand of wire/polywire has been laid out. You should then be at the gate post opposite to where you began.
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6
String the wire/polywire to the upper set of insulators and repeat step 4 as you work back around the pasture until you reach the gate post where you began.
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7
When you reach your starting point and have wrapped the wire around the top insulator, bring it down to the lower insulator and wrap it securely around it as well. If using polywire, do the same. The end result is a continuous loop of wire encircling the entire pasture.
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8
Install the electric fence energizer, grounding rod and grounding wire according to the manufacturer's directions.
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9
Begin adding tension to each fence section using the wire tighteners. Add stiffeners to the porcelain insulators to hold the wire securely in place. Wire stiffeners should be about 18 inches in length. Wrap them across the fence wire and around the insulator, crossing the ends underneath, then wrap the ends around the fence wire to stiffen it.
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10
Activate the electric fence energizer and test the fence with the continuity tester.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Consider tying streamers or ribbons to the wire at periodic intervals. If the pasture is close to a roadway, consider attaching some sight boards across a few of the posts. This is particularly important if your horse has never been in an electrified enclosure before. Based on your local laws and the proximity to passersby, consider mounting some warning signs on the pasture posts closest to the road explaining that the fence is electrified.
Be mindful that an electrified fence doesn't care who it zaps: you or your horse. Keep small children away from an electrified fence at all times. Double check that the fence energizer is turned off before performing any maintenance on the insulators or fence wire/polywire.
References
- Photo Credit All photos by Rich Finzer
