Horse jumping out of paddocks-invisible fence?

We have an imported

well-bred 3 yo jumper. He is an exceptionally happy horse & lovely to ride. He has been jumping all over our farm, appears to be for the shear joy of jumping. Our paddocks run along the cul de sac of a fancy neighborhood so the 6ft Hotwire fence he had in Europe is not a great option. Has anyone trained a horse to an invisible fence? My one concern is that my dog won’t walk past our invisible fence line & that would definitely not work as this one is out during the day and in at night. I know they are working on gps fencing in Norway for cattle and we’ve sent an inquiry, but I think that only works in huge pasture situations.

I had one who could jump a standard fence from a standstill. To keep him in, we added 2x2 inch poles, each about 4 feet long, to the tops of the main fence posts. we then strung electric fence at the middle and top of each of the these poles. Stopped him from jumping without being terribly unsightly. The only problem we had with this arrangement was with the deer … they could not see the wires and would jump through them, usually pulling down wires and sometimes the poles. A nuisance but not a show-stopper. After that horse died, we left the poles up to deter a Very Large Hannoverian mare from leaning over the fences. Now that we have smaller, more sensible horses, we just have electric fencing running along the tops of the main fence posts to remind them not to fuss with neighbor’s geldings.

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we had one who was jumping into a paddock to be with the mare he liked so we just putt he two together… that stopped the fence clearing

But he knew where his food was coming from so never attempted to jump out of the pastures

but he could easily clear five feet

pi big jump

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My big horse used to do this. From a lazy trot. “I laugh at your 5’ fences!” The solution for him was paddock size. He would stay in a field with practically knee high fencing. Would not stay in a paddock of any type.

Only time he’d ever leave his field was when he thought you were late getting him in for dinner. “Oh, no worries, I’ll save you the walk to fetch me.” He’d jump the gate and then calmly walk himself into his stall, turn around and wait at the door for someone to feed him and close his stall door.

So, two thoughts - bigger field might be worth a try if available, or maybe he’s not on your daily routine yet and has a different schedule in mind.

Third thought would be company - does he want more, less, older, younger or time of turnout - more, less, morning or afternoon, etc?

Good luck!

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Is he bored or looking for companionship? Figure out WHY he’s jumping out then address that.

I had to keep my tall ASB in a small paddock 50X100 by himself, with hot wire up to about his knees. Yes he could step over it. But during the day I put him in a pasture with about 30 brood mares
for companionship which suited him to a tee. By evening he’d had his socializing fix and happily stayed in his overnight paddock by himself.
I wonder if your boy is seeking a buddy and just looking to interact with a friend. ??

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Thanks so much! We have tried everything, turning them out together, separately, big field, paddock, he just very casually jumps out and often jumps back in. He will leave hay, and there have been numerous times he’s jumped in or out of a paddock right next to an open gate.

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No advice. But wow… what a lovely, carefree and easy jump your horse has :heart_eyes: … Nice!

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Want a few chuckles? Get a copy of “Fergus and the Greener Grass” by Jean Abernathy. People think she writes kids’ books, but it says right on them for kids from 5 to 95. I’ve read it to kids, 2 of whom know about Pegasus.

In his younger years my gelding was regularly grazing in the neighbor’s yard. We couldn’t figure out where he was escaping because the electric fence was intact. He got caught in the act when somebody looked out a living room window. He got down deep on his hind end and launched himself over the fence. He was in jail behind the little barn for a while but behaved himself when he went back out with his herd.

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Thanks, he is really special and the most happy-go-lucky horse I’ve ever met. It is impossible to get mad at him. My husband turned him out one morning and was opening another stall door when he felt hot breath on his neck… he had jumped out very quietly and tiptoed behind him back to the barn :rofl:.

It is still funny now. It will not be funny if he takes to running through the neighbor’s lawns! Someone suggested tying him to a donkey but I’ve only seen that done with weanlings, and he’s a solid 16.2.

I will read the book!

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Update on my paddock jumper… we bought the same type of polyrope that they used in Ireland and put it up on top of our wooden posts on 5” extenders. He took one look at it, knew exactly what it was, and hasn’t jumped out since.that’s saying something since he and my 2 yo have been playing pretty hard.

They have 4 board fencing at WEC in Ocala but the electricity must be key because he made his intentions clear the minute they turned him out (they stayed with him… the minute he pricked his ears and started trotting toward the fence they grabbed him. All of his Florida turnout time was spent at the end of a lungeline held by someone sitting in a chair :rofl:

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