[QUOTE=YankeeLawyer;8143009]
Just had a very bad pasture accident yesterday with White Lightening. One of my mares put a hind leg through it and severely injured her hock (nasty gash across the joint.) Also has “rope” burns from the coated wire (though it is smooth). My vet said that with White Lightening injuries it is common to see the skin in such areas slough off or the wound to enlarge after a couple of days. Something to do with the chafing from the product. She did confirm it is much safer than high tensile (which would cut tendons like butter in the same accident), but it did not prove as safe as I had hoped. FWIW, the accident occurred in a large (15 acre) pasture with a laid back horse.[/QUOTE]
I’m really sorry that your mare was hurt to this extent. I have white lightening and this is the first ‘horror’ story I’ve ever heard about it. Can I ask about how it was installed? How far apart and how many wires are there? How far apart are the post spacing? What kind of post are up?
YL you mentioned that it was not electrified. While I understand that you’re upset about the injury I also wonder if it would have been worse with any other kind of wire strung? What would the leg have looked like with high tensile? Barbed wire? Or Electric rope?
As a PSA I’d like to throw it out there that any hot wire can be dangerous if it’s not kept hot. It’s safe with the assumption that horses know it ‘bites’ and they stay away from it. I’ve got white lightening on my whole farm (some places it’s just the wire, others it’s used with the flex rail) and have had a foal hit it running wide open, she bounced off it without a hair out of place. It broke insulators and knocked a T-post crooked but the way it was installed kept it safe.
