Blanket > Electric Fence

[cardinale]

It’s become clear once I started blanketing that the blankets act as insulators against electric fencing. Mayhem ensues. Blankets are 100g Rambos with hoods.

At this time there’s only a strand of hotwire along the top wooden board. Clearly there needs to be more–yesterday I watched as the 2-yo leaned on the wire while craning his neck over the fence. I immediately tested the wire in that exact spot–5.2 kV.

Would running 1.5" tape ~2/3 of the way down (between bottom and middle boards) keep horses from challenging the fence, because their legs would contact the tape? Or, what about running a strand of wire along the top that sticks up (vertical insulators) so that they hit it with their nose? I can’t run tape on top because of deer.

And/or, should I up the zapping power? The Gallagher solar unit on there now maxes out at ~5-5.4 kV. To get anything stronger I’d have to run an extension cord out from the barn to use a plug-in. Would increasing the kV to 7-8 solve the problem (go through the blanket)?

I also saw in an old thread the suggestion to hang a piece of electric tape on both sides of the blanket in the chest area so that when horses lean on the fence current is carried to the other side of the blanket.

[StormyDay]

They sell blanket bibs that have electric fence attached to them for this reason. However, I find my horses aren’t smart enough to know it’s the blanket that’s stopping the fence… so every few days the ones that will test just go blanketless for a few hours.

[cardinale]

@StormyDay

They sell blanket bibs that have electric fence attached to them for this reason.

Thanks. Do you have a link? I found these these but they are the whole blanket and/or hood. Something that could be added to the Rambos would be preferable. And, I’m definitely trying the “tie piece of electric fence tape to front of blanket and chest” trick.

[StormyDay]

@cardinale

@StormyDay

They sell blanket bibs that have electric fence attached to them for this reason.

Thanks. Do you have a link? I found these these but they are the whole blanket and/or hood. Something that could be added to the Rambos would be preferable. And, I’m definitely trying the “tie piece of electric fence tape to front of blanket and chest” trick.

Unfortunately I don’t; I know there’s a vendor who sells them on Facebook. I see them advertise.

[mht]

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GUj5k1sBE/
This is a Canadian source.

[JB]

@cardinale

I can’t run tape on top because of deer.

Why? We have deer and have electric tape as the whole fence. Occasionally a deer takes out an insulator or 3, stretching the tape, and we just repair it.

I think I might check the Horseguard fence site and look at the offset arms for holding a strand of electric tape off to the inside of the fence. You can probably do the same thing some someone else’s offset arm and run a strange of low tensile wire inside the main fence

[cardinale]

@JB

Why? We have deer and have electric tape as the whole fence. Occasionally a deer takes out an insulator or 3, stretching the tape, and we just repair it.

There have been long stretches of wire taken down multiple times in the <year I’ve been here, in unused pastures; no current; decrepit insulators and wire, so I figured it was a bad idea. Fence is 3-board that must have electric added to keep horses off. Do you have your tape in closed insulators (deer can’t pull the tape out)? In my case, the wire can be pulled free from the insulators through gaps in front, hence the long pulls. Very thick, stiff, heavy gauge steel wire (one of many questionable decisions made by previous owner). I’m replacing with 17g aluminum wire for the top strand, figuring it’s better to have it break, on 4-5" offset insulators running along the top board. Was going to add tape between the bottom and middle boards. Which would be optimum: tape both on top and lower down, or wire on top, then tape lower down? 4" offset wire on top, 12" offset tape lower? Is there a problem offsetting the lower tape more than the top wire? If I offset the top more there will be more deer impingement.

I have an order of the Horseguard extenders (~12" total offset, I believe) on the way for tape, plus these 9" offset insulators for wood posts for wire on the side of one pasture with a mix of wood and T-posts. Horseguard has the only extenders for tape I’ve found that offset >2". If anyone knows of other tape insulators that offset >2", please let me know.

Definitely open to suggestions because I’m learning the whole electric fence thing.

Also, I was told by a rep for one of the big nationwide fencing supplies companies that if run along boards, the wire or tape needed to be offset at least 4" to allow the electric field around the conductor to function. Has anyone else heard this? Is that true? I ran some wire temporarily in the existing old, decrepit short insulators along boards with <1" gap and my fence tester showed the same kV as wire that was not along the boards.

Sorry if the above description of my planned setup is hard to follow. There are multiple possibilities and I’m…confused as to which would be best.

[JB]

@cardinale

Do you have your tape in closed insulators (deer can’t pull the tape out)?

Yes, the insulators are “closed”, though tape can, and has VERY occasionally, come out of the insulators if there was a big enough hit close enough to a tensioner. I think that’s maybe twice in 21 years that’s happened. Otherwise, the tape just stretches. It’s never actually broken, other than the one time my big WB rolled, got tangled, got up and ran, and then it broke at the tensioner, as the insulators along the way broke

@cardinale

Which would be optimum: tape both on top and lower down, or wire on top, then tape lower down? 4" offset wire on top, 12" offset tape lower? Is there a problem offsetting the lower tape more than the top wire? If I offset the top more there will be more deer impingement.

Offsetting tape or wire down low will interfere with mowing or weed eating grass down at that level, so take that into account. If you offset it enough to zap legs before their chest or neck can get close enough, you also risk having feet end up between the extension and the main fence, and just pulling it.

@cardinale

I was told by a rep for one of the big nationwide fencing supplies companies that if run along boards, the wire or tape needed to be offset at least 4" to allow the electric field around the conductor to function. Has anyone else heard this? Is that true?

that doesn’t make sense at all, and the fact that you’ve seen no difference proves it. My own situation proves it as well . We fenced in a portion of our back yard, which was already “fenced” via the horse fencing. Our new fence was to keep dogs in, so was picket fencing, and run on the inside of the fence posts used for the horse fencing. So, around 3-31/2" inches difference between the pickets and the e-fencing, and the voltage on the fence is just the same