Mishap with electric fence spring style gate (funny)

[Plainandtall]

OK- I included funny in the title just because the word mishap can be so alarming…

and I also want to say that I LOVE these gates- and still do.

But funny is certainly a matter of opinion depending on who you ask. I’m sure if the incident had been caught on tape it would go viral.

So my giant 18hh Shire horse has come in from the pasture for a sip at the water tank near the gate. I can see he’s being pestered by two flys- a giant horse fly on the top of his rump- and a bot fly at his knee- poor guy is getting really mad. So I tell him to hang on while I retreat to the barn to grab a fly swatter (because yes- he lets me hit him with a fly swatter- AND if I have the swatter I can kill a bot fly hovering near a leg on the opposite side. )

He sees me coming with the fly swatter and scoots over to the gate (the electric fence spring style gate that I usually can just duck under without undoing) and he swings his big apple bottom around - shows me right where that big fat horsefly is … well that fly must have really gotten his jaws in there good right as I got to the gate because poor Sprocket starts to hop his butt up in the air to buck that bug off. He’s not actually bucking- he’s just pogoing with his hind end and I can’t duck under the fence because he’s bouncing around right where I need to be…

and then- while he’s bouncing and wringing his tail in circles- it happened- has tail came down on top of the spring gate!!

Poor guy! I jumped at him and yelled to “get up get up!!” before he would be shocked in that most sensitive place! And he ran forward… but his tail had settled between the coils of the spring like a comb so when he retreated into the pasture- the gate followed behind him without coming undone like he was pulling a slingshot! OMG- thankfully either his tail was well groomed or it hadn’t caught super tight- but it did finally spring free from his tail without tearing anything out- but BOIIIINGGGGG!!! of course that big coil of spring comes snapping back straight for me! the spring did get pulled wacky on the initial trip out - so it was much more slack when it came back and continued to snap back and forth at me like a crazy slinky jumprope.

Anyway- It turns out I’d left the fence unplugged - so neither of us got shocked but we sure had a funny scare! I can imagine it might not have been so funny if that wire had stuck in his tail and was shocking at the same time!! It was enough of a fluke accident that it doesn’t change my positive feelings for this style of gate at all.

[kookicat]

Sounds good for a few grey hairs! I’ve often wondered why those gates don’t have a sleeve over the spring.

[ReSomething]

Mine do have a sleeve, the spring is inside the handle, but that doesn’t stop the handle from cracking and breaking.

I’ve been there when they are doing that hop hop and you can’t get at the fly to smack it, it must have been funny as heck, in hindsight. Very glad the power was off!

[merrygoround]

This sort of thing is exactly why I haven’t any more on the property.

[Plainandtall]

Resomething- I think you don’t know the style of gate I’m talking about- the entire span of the gate opening (which of course is variable because it’s a coiled spring) is made of a large very stretchy spring- with an insulated plastic handle on one end- very much like a slinky- except has a tighter rebound. They are nice because you can just let got of the gate handle if you want (gently- without letting it go like a slingshot of course) and the whole spring contracts to about a foot long schnozzle… you don’t have to deal with it touching the ground or tangling up when it gets slack- I find it’s much easier when I have to take one horse out of the gate and leave others behind because I can open up just as much as I want and the remainder between my hand and post- is still taught in it’s position to function I maintains an even tension.

The problem with a sleeve is that it would act as an insulator defeating the purpose- unless it was made out of some electrobraid material- but them I’m afraid you’d lose the adjustability and it might not recoil as much. I have two of these gates- one on a 4 foot gap and one on a 10… both the same product- both work great.

[ReSomething]

No I haven’t ever seen something like that you are right. We make our electric gates out of the rope even if the rest of it is wire but having a gate that stays up/is taut while you maneuver one horse out would be convenient (except for getting the horses tail stuck in it and turning it into a slingshot).

[UrbanHennery]

I’ve got electric gates made out of stretchy bungee rope (Gallagher sells a kit). Bets of both worlds - adjustable but nothing to catch tails.

[kalidascope]

I felt sick when I saw your title. I have had a horse get her tail stuck in a spring gate - a fluke mishap, but what a disaster (even without it being electrified). One of the worst experiences of my life.

I was on my own and it was a dreadful couple of minutes while we were in limbo. She would stand still if I stood at her shoulder and held her, but that meant I could hardly reach back (she’s big Warmblood) to try to pull handfuls of her thick tail out - she had caught the gate right in the thickest part of her tail. I felt so helpless as there was no-one else around to help. The mare was nervous but a good girl until the gate made a slight twang sound… then all hell broke loose. She jumped the fence next to me, ripping the spring gate off both fenceposts, and galloped laps around the paddock with the spring gate stuck in her tail “chasing” her. I don’t know how I didn’t get hurt when she jumped past me. After a couple of frantic laps she jumped the fence back in to her original paddock, taking out the top wire, and took off at a blind gallop over some steep terrain out of sight, with her paddockmates following her.

I was absolutely certain I was going to find her dead or badly injured, but somehow she had only a scratch on her forearm from hitting the wire and had lost the spring gate somewhere along the way.

I will never, ever, ever use them around horses again.

[Plainandtall]

Wow kalidascope! Your story is exactly what I imagined the worst case scenario would be and shows just how lucky we were- and it also goes to show that our mishap might not be as much of a fluke as I’d originally assumed if it happened to two of us!! So glad that you and your mare were OK when it was all over.

I need to replace the gate now that the spring got all overstretched- and I think I will look into the bungee gate that urbanhennery mentioned! Thanks for that tip!!

[Plainandtall]

Here is a link to the bungee gate- but I’m concerned that it may be too long for the size opening I have- but I’ll share for other interested people:

http://www.gallagherusa.com/electric-fencing/permanent.component.aspx?mktprodid=1841

[UrbanHennery]

You can shorten the bungee by cutting it at the handle and using a replacement clamp. I got the clamp at the farm store. I’ve got 9? Of them in action on various width gates on my cross fencing and paddocks. 1 of them I had to shorten. Easy peasy.

[merrygoround]

kalidascope- After a similar but not quite so devastating incident I got rid of mine and put up gates.

[chicamux]

Yeah well, those gates are not suggested for use in horse fencing. I had a horse loose a big chunk of her tail to one of those gates, bleeding and everything, then ruan thru the electric tape cross fence tearing part of it down. No serious damage done but I was pissed at myself for not realizing the potential of mishap from tails and springs. Later I noticed on a packaged gate at the feed store that “Not for use with horses” or something like that was printed on the package.

I do use electric bungee gates. Can a horse run thru them? Yes, probably only once, but I’ve not had one do itself harm as I only use them on interior cross fences. Yes, I do like a simple, low cost gate that stretches and carries electricity. Bungee.

chicamuxen

[JeanM]

Yup, I’ve had an almost-experience with one of those spring gates + my mare’s tail. Several "Thank God"s in there. first, that my mare has had many ridiculous things flapped/tossed/stepped-on thrown at her in groundwork, and second that the gate wasn’t actually electrified!

I am able to ride my mare to the spring gate, unhook it, hook it on the opposite fencepost, and then when I’m done, going back through, and re-hooking the thing back on the stretched-to fencepost. Well one time a few years ago, I was on my mare re-hooking it up, and she switched her tail at a fly. She got her tail well-tangled into the spring gate! I was oh-so grateful for all that groundwork, because instead of disastrously freaking out, she stood there while I hopped off, untangled her tail, and got the spring gate hooked up again. I do love my mare.

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

Wow.

I must be thankful for my solid-handle HorseGuard bipolar (stretchy tape) gate I think! Glad it didn’t go badly OP!