Hello everyone, I need to fence in about 3.5 acres for a horse and a cow. My husband is insisting on barbed wire but I really don’t like that idea (he doesn’t understand how dangerous it can be). He doesn’t seem to want an electric fence. Would flexrail fence without electric work? Looking for something inexpensive, as I will probably need to get a credit card just for the materials. If I have to do electric, I’m leaning towards horseguard based on the reviews. I just worry about them escaping.
It will be much more difficult to keep the cow in, than it would the horse.
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Definitely use elec charger - easy to set up. and this http://www.rammfence.com/fence/electric-horse-fence/shockline-electric-fence/shockline-1320-foot-rolls
You will need strong electric added to the flex fence. One of our cows pushed through the flex fence when we had a weak (electric tape) electric between the two flex panels. that was fixed by using electric fence wire w/ a much stronger fencer. Then a calf pushed through into the horse paddock - again where there was only electric tape plus the flex panels. Since the horses use that fence, we are adding in the plastic coated wire to that fence line. I like the coated wire for electric fence. It keeps its ability to conduct (so far) and doesn’t coil or wrap like other electric fence options. The horses have never really even tested the flex panels w/ tape… A strong electric wire between the flex panels would likely work best for the cows - add a top strand to keep the horses (we call them the long necks) from reaching over the fence to graze and pushing down the panels…
from someone who’s been there…
You’re right to insist on no barbed wire. Don’t give in on that.
If you use flex fencing, at the very least you’d need to run a really hot wire inside it at cow height. Horses like to push on things, and when those things give, they like to push even more. There are exceptions of course, but you don’t want to find out the hard way, since getting that resolved won’t be an instantaneous fix.
Horseguard is really pretty economical compared to a lot of options. You can use a solar charger, but I can’t tell you if a 12v is enough juice to deter a cow, or whether you really need regular electricity. If you do the latter, you’ll want a way to have a backup power source as some horses (and I’d assume cows too) will know when the power is off and take full advantage of it.
The word “flex fence” to me means something like this: http://centaurhorsefence.com/
It does not need to be electrified. It’s also not cheap though.
Electric tape fence definitely needs to be electrified.
My experience with horses is that they might push through one barrier by accident or design, but not usually two (before you find them), so a second layer of fence, even if both are electric, may be the solution you need.
If you have pushy animals, you need more strands of fence than if you have animals that will learn. You should also consider if you have situations where an animal might be panicked and running at a fence, or if your fenced area is quite small and likely to create situations where the animals are pushed into them.
This is a great catalog to get: https://www.premier1supplies.com
They don’t have all the horse options but they do provide an excellent primer on electric fencing and how it works and doesn’t. They talk some about different choices for different species, including cattle, and why to make certain choices in energizers, fence type, and height of strands.
I didn’t really want to put in electric fence, but I’ve had pretty good luck with the horseguard. I’m not keeping in cows though.
Thanks guys, I will probably just suck it up and go full electric. That shockline flex fence looks nice. Hope it would work on a cow. Would it need to be braced with corner posts? [h=1][/h]
I do have the corners braced, but super cheap. I have posts every 20-25’. If a giant oak tree fall on it, cut the tree off, and your fence will pop back up to perfect. Maint is tighten once or twice a year. Mine keeps my stallion away from the mares, but it does need to be hot
