I agree, it sounds more complicated than it is. Give yourself time to do it and you’ll be fine. If your trying to rush you may get frustrated though.
Just remember, that a circuit can jump. Avoid running hot lines really close to existing gates, chain link fences, hay feeders or even water troughs. Depending on how strong your current is, will decide how far it can jump. I’ve watched more than one metal gate go ‘live’ without any wires touching it. Not fun, trust me on that. Usually this isn’t an issue unless you have weak connections that are doing a poor job of directing the current. If the current can travel smoothly, it would rather do that than jump.
Make sure the fencing is pretty darn snug or it will snap in the wind and break the tiny wires that carry the current. This can turn your strong fence into ‘for show only’ in a matter of weeks. Very wasteful. If you’re using it to keep horses off the fence and not as a visual barrier, consider the galvanized wire. Its GREAT for running along the tops of board fencing, pretty easy to tighten if you have the right little pinwheelly thing, and it lasts way longer than electrobraid or tape. It carries a super strong jolt too, its what most cattle farmers use. Its not a good idea to use it alone since its hard to see, but its way more cost effective than electrobraid on top of post and rail or pagewire.
Avoid tying the tape or electrobraid in knots as you will break the little wires that are carrying the current. Also avoid bending it sharply or anything else that will break wires, or it will loose all its juice.
If you need to run an extension cord or wires, I think burying it is better than running highlines. No chance of someone taking it out with a tractor bucket, a loose horse etc. But if you bury lines, even as little as 20ft, from a shed to the field, bury it in a PVC conduit pipe. It keeps it in better condition, helps protect it from the ground shifts and from vehicles travelling over it. Protects it from the weather better too. Any pvc pipe will do, you just run the wires through it and lay it in a trench. If you only need it short term, use a shallow trench and its easy to remove after, if you want to run it under the driveway and use it every year, dig a deep trench, about 1-2ft depending on your frosts.
If you get those ‘step in’ plastic posts, then can work really well, you just need to get them in the ground while its soft. They are impossible in hard, clay soil once its dry. They will bend, trust me. If you have soft, not too rocky soil, they are super easy to use.
