Horse Guard fencing for permanent pastures & perimeter?

[Pocket_Pony]

I’ve used Horse Guard fencing for over 10 years now. Some of the original cross-fencing we put up at our last place is still there - it is a great product that I’m now installing in our new place.

I’m just setting up a new drylot pasture that we can put the horses on while we get our other pastures under irrigation (well, they are irrigated, we just want to put the lines underground versus using hand lines that are a PITA). I should be done with it this weekend.

My horses are very respectful of the tape fence, moreso than any other type of fencing I’ve used (last place had vinyl and this place has wood), where they for some reason feel the need to stick their heads through the fence to get the grass on the other side even though they are standing in an acre or more pasture full of grass!

I foresee new fencing in our future - maybe next year. The posts are in good shape but the people who put in the fencing used round posts not square posts so the boards don’t have as much flat space to be nailed or bolted in and they look like they’ll need replacing soon. Which got me to thinking about different types of fencing. I’m considering either no-climb or Horse Guard. Does anyone use HG fencing for permanent pastures and/or for pastures that have road frontage?

[Frog_Pond]

I live in a very rocky area and many people use electric fence exclusively because it’s so difficult to install wood posts. I am about to put up a few thousand feet of HorseGuard and it will be my permanent fence, including the perimeter. I’m using a combo of fiberglass and t-posts, and paying a fencer to put in a few wooden posts for hanging gates.

My dream fence would be HorseGuard on wooden posts. I love the stuff and think it’s very safe, very durable, and very economical. The key is to use 3-4 strands so that it performs consistently as a visual barrier, whether the power is on or not. I’m going for 4 strands this time, and am going to get their t-post covers, too.

[Cruiser12]

I have Horse Guard and I LOVE it! We use 3 strand for perimeter fencing and two to cross fence different areas. Horses are very respectful of it. It looks nice. Very durable. We live in an area that gets a lot of Tornadoes and strong wind storms and it has held up great. The odd time a deer jumps in or out and catches a hoof and stretches it a bit, but it’s easy to tighten back up and doesn’t break or hurt the deer. We even use it as back yard fencing for our dogs, because one is a jumper and one is a climber. We use 4 strand and start it really close to the ground. Dogs stay in. It looks nice and we can see the woods on the two sides of the back yard. I like it better than looking at a bunch of boards.

[King_s_Ransom]

I am getting ready to fence a pasture with HG and question to those of you who are using it – mono or bi polar? Which do you prefer and why?

I’ll be using a solar charger, too.

[pandorasboxx]

Our pastures are partially fenced in vinyl and partially fenced with horseguard.

[pandorasboxx]

Our pastures are partially fenced in vinyl and partially fenced with horseguard tape. We used square posts for the horseguard, painted them white and used bipolar three strands so it mimics the vinyl portion from a distance and is very neat and tidy. We absolutely love it and the horses stay well away from it. The bipolar doesn’t need grounding and works with dry or frozen ground.

[Cruiser12]

As we generally have a dry season here we went with Bipolar. It works great. I think that we got our charger from Valley Vet. It was less expensive than HG one.
Also HG customer service is phenomenal. Sometimes just a little slow, but very personable and helpful. I think it is still a relatively small company.

[poltroon]

I would recommend a double layer - that is, make it so they have to break through two horseguard fences to get to the road.

That said, we don’t always get the ideal. If the horses are respectful, your charger is reliably hot, they have a lot of room, if the insulators are firmly on posts, if you add an extra strand, all those are good ways to make the barrier more formidable.

[Cruiser12]

HG fencing doesn’t really “break”, as much as it stretches, so even if they run into it, they are likely to bounce back rather than go forward. It is very safe.

[horsepoor]

[QUOTE=Cruiser12;8129614]
HG fencing doesn’t really “break”, as much as it stretches, so even if they run into it, they are likely to bounce back rather than go forward. It is very safe.[/QUOTE]

I’ve had it break. Horse got a foot caught earlier this spring and the tape did break, fortunately (rather than the horse), and he also managed to rip an entire section of fencing down, destroying t-post covers and sending insulators flying off both the t-covers and wood posts. I spent a couple of hours in the dark with a headlamp fixing it…in the cold rain and wind…fun times!

I have HG for my cross fencing and honestly would not want it for perimeter, especially by a road. I just don’t feel it is as secure. I have Centaur HTP on the perimeter and that stuff really does just bounce them off if they hit it. We have one section of our dry paddocks that is currently HG (where we had to move fence when doing the arena) and I plan to add a top wood board there just to make it more secure. I feel something bigger and stronger is necessary as both a mental and physical barrier.

If you are in an area of snow, the HG will sag some, I have found. And if where it is dry or frozen, grounding will be an issue so the bipolar would be a better choice. Wildlife can be hard on it – I had to replace the bottom strand on my cross fencing as it has gotten torn up from the deer going under (while it might initially stretch, eventually it does tear some, and I had places where only a few strands of the wire held it together).

I also am super cautious about the use of electric fence in dry grass, which is something that we do deal with in the summer. I check mine constantly for shorts or any sort of spark that can cause a fire. I like knowing that I can shut down the electric fence if needed but my perimeter fencing is always working as it does not rely on the hot to keep the horses in.

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

I have 3 strands of the bipolar on wood. I also have it on covered t-posts and in combination with coated wire. I have pictures of how it looks in my Blackacre blog. I have a plug-in charger and it gives a wicked zap. I think your zap is the key with tape.

I use HG and coated wire for the perimeter. Except I don’t have some of my perimter done, so actually my drylot is just HG. I did have a donkey bolt through the fence (dog issue) and it didn’t break, the insulators popped off (covered t-post) and the fence got stretched and would have been easy to cross, but they didn’t try.

I also had one strand of the stretchy tape gate break the first week when someone wanted pasture, but they didn’t get through. I think they got drilled by the fence and decided it wasn’t a good idea. Now they just look longingly at the grass when on dry lot.

Nobody tests my fence anymore, but the donkeys were new to electric, so there was a learning curve. I have not had any injuries.

Along the highway I am just using the coated wire on wood posts (for minimalist aesthetics vs. my coated wire/HG fence along the back and side of the property). I do have no-climb on one section, but have decided not to do that on the highway (very up and down hills). Also, the highway is part of a summer pasture, so if I loose a charge on the coated wire in the winter because it’s not bipolar, that’s fine. I know people who use HG for perimeter, but I have an 8 acre farm along a highway, not 100’s of acres on a gravel road, and I need containment.

I have had deer hit the top of the fence three times now and stretch it, but not break it. Does make me wish I would have used different tensioners than the box ends though (I talk about the styles in a blog post). I have a darker fence and it is along a wood, so I don’t think they see it. The other time was when the corn was 2’ away, very high, and I think they burst through the corn and couldn’t make the jump in time. I have LOTS of deer around.

[nappingonthejob]

I have had no issues with 3 strands of HG on t-posts as perimeter fence along a road. I did have a crafty Appaloosa tear down a section and get out along the barn side once…when the grass was gone and I hadn’t put out a round bale yet, and the fence was off. Fence on and food - no problems. In 2+ years that was the most I’ve had to fuss with it (besides retensioning a section once after I knocked a post down while mowing…)

[wildlifer]

I have bipolar on mine too. LOVE it. Have had a horse get tangled in a bottom strand he just didn’t see in the dark (fortunately I don’t keep the bottom strand hot, he would have lost his mind, that thing HURTS!). He stretched the crap out of it (even though it was very well tensioned) broke two insulators & snapped post brackets off…but tape didn’t break, horse was unharmed, & I repaired it all by replacing a few brackets in 15 minutes.

Um, yes, I sort of am addicted to it. I HATE ground rods. I have some lovely soil…but Piedmont NC = rock outcrops all over!