Fence question: mixing braided electric and tape together?

[Exmasonite]

Hey everybody… this is my first post although I have been a frequent reader of all the wonderful info here on the site.

I think I have exhausted the search function so hopefully this isn’t old news but had a question about electric fencing.

Is is possible to combine different types of electric fence? We are looking at a new fence for our new property and are torn between the electrobraid and horseguard.

We are wondering about what it would take to do 3 strands of Electrobraid (2 live and a ground) with a top strand of Horseguard or some other tape product for added visibility.

I imagine the resistance of the two products is different enough that you would need 2 charging systems but to be honest, that’s such a small cost that it wouldn’t be an issue. Might even do one solar and one plug in for redundancy during a power outage. Looking to do a 3-4 acre area and

Just wonder if that’s something that can be done, has been done, and any pros/cons to the idea?

Thanks in advance and sorry if this topic has already been discussed.

-Matt

[moving_to_dc]

I think you should be fine, as long as you use the proper connections from one type of fencing to the other and DO NOT simply “tie” them together in knots. I have electrified mesh, tape, smooth wire and poly wire all on 1 charger and it pegs out the voltimeter.

All my connections and ends/corners are done with the proper hardware so the charge “flows” smoothly from one to the other. I probably have several thousand feet of tape/polywire spread over almost 3 acres as cross-fencing into rotational paddocks.

[mmeqcenter]

Just fine if connected properly, as “moving to dc” said

[Simkie]

I asked this question awhile ago and was told NOPE–because the electrobraid is copper and tape usually isn’t, and mixing metals is a no-go.

If you can find stuff so it’s all the same metal type, I hear it works fine.

[Exmasonite]

But should i be fine if i run them separately? Essentially, i am doing a 3 line Electro braid system on one charger and a separate single line of Horseguard on the top of the fence with a separate charger. Granted, a little more work but I think worth it to get the best of both worlds.

Thanks.

[Leather]

Electrobraid has a Neutral Plate Connector designed to allow you to connect Electrobraid to a non-copper fence system.

Might be worth talking to the Electrobraid folks to get their take on it?

http://www.rammfence.com/fence/horse-fencing-accessories/electric-fence-accessories/connectors-and-tensioners/neutral-plate-connector

[Gloria]

If I remember correctly, Electrobraid recommends the top strand to be minimum of certain height, so if a horse runs into it, the horse will be bounced back into the pasture instead of flipping/rotating over the fence. Electrobraid is not designed to break like wood fence does, so keep that in mind.

[Exmasonite]

Gloria-

Hmmm… that’s an excellent point. Maybe I do a 4 strand with the Horseguard as the 2nd from the top and the remaining 3 electrobraid.

Just want a little extra visibility but also very icy and windy at times here in Michigan so electrobraid has some appeal.

Something to ponder. Keep the advice coming!

[Guilherme]

Having used Electrobraid for several years and not yet having any issues (even though we’ve had a mixture of old, young, retired, working, etc. horses) I don’t see the need for Horseguard or any other more “visual” material. We have some of the black Electrobraid but most is the light/dark strands and it’s never been an issue. Given the respect horses have for it once they figure out what it is the “visibility” issue becomes a non-issue.

That said, I don’t see why there would be an issue with running a strand of Horseguard as the top strand and Electrobraid below and charging them with the same charger. Using them on the same strand might be a problem but that’s because the materials are quite different and getting a good connection would be tough.

G.

[Gloria]

Another option is to tie some ribbon to each strand of the Electrobraid if visibility is your concern. That is probably cheaper than adding Horseguard. I have never had with visibility issue with my electrobraid though. We have had it for close to 10 years. The only issue I have had with them is when we were using solar panel to charge the fence, and the strand became loose (you need to tighten them as needed, something like every other year?), I have one ornery fart that had learnt to step on the strand and helped himself in and out the pasture. It took us awhile to figure out the cause of the strange report from neighbors, “your horse was grazing outside,” when I always found them happily inside when I got home from work:rolleyes:.

[lifeishorsesarelove]

The electrobraid is plenty visible. I have white& green electric rope up right now and keep it hot, hot hot and they don’t even consider touching it. The tape is complicating this for yourself for no reason, really.

[Interstellar]

We have two strands of braided wire on 5ft t posts (with caps). The top wire is at the top of the t post height via the fence caps and the next is about half of the way down the post. The horses have a very healthy respect for the fence and even when running around like yahoos, they never run into it. I too was worried about visibility but once they learn that it’s hot, they give it room.

[JB]

@Exmasonite

But should i be fine if i run them separately? Essentially, i am doing a 3 line Electro braid system on one charger and a separate single line of Horseguard on the top of the fence with a separate charger. Granted, a little more work but I think worth it to get the best of both worlds.

Thanks.

Yes, if you are running a charger onto each type of electric fence, then there is no problem. I’m sure you could properly connect the 2 and run a single charger, but the cost of an additional charger is negligible in the grand scheme of things, and you have the bonus of still having something hot in case of the failure of 1 or the other.