# Fencing suggestions for high visibility



## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

I don't like barbed wire, many kinds of electric because it is what it is....wire and it cuts, period.
I use either plank fencing, boards...mine are 1" x 6" x 16' lengths.
I have combinations of fencing on my land.
I have welded wire for livestock with a top board {see above dimensions} now on all my perimeter and on my actual barn paddock I have 4 board board fencing.
I also have actual "horse fencing" in several locations but the _common part to all my fencing_ is a top rail that keeps my guys from seeing what is better tasting by bending the fence down and over...
I own my land not rent so the investment I made is for many years of not having to replace and re-do it again and again.

I have seen electric fencing that has better visibility, not a "bare wire" but a wire covered by various material that may work better for you with a animal with reduced sight capability...
These are on the Tractor Supply website and also easily purchased at most farm stores near your residence.
_https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...portable-electric-fence-polywire?cm_vc=-10005 
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/american-farmworks-poly-rope-656-ft?cm_vc=IOPDP1
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/american-farmworks-2-in-500-ft-152m-poly-tape?cm_vc=-10005_
If you already have high tensile wire in place this would be easy to add and charge into the circuit.

As this is not "your" property but rented/leased I would look to put in that which is affordable, easy to maintain and easy to remove and take with you if the need arises.
You did not specify so will guess that you have either wood posts or steel already...
Hoping wood posts as they are easiest to secure boards to with a few screws in each board at each post makes for a very visible fence. The same ease it would be to add 2 strands more of higher visibility fence wire.
Using a cattle/livestock wire or goat wire fence gives you best $ but not as small a opening space as some like so hooves not get caught...
True horse fence _is _expensive, near double the cost of the others I mentioned and I have found my neighbors horse has broken it where he strikes my fence trying to get attention and food from me when I am feeding my horses and he wants and not gets...spoiled!!
So, although I spent good $$ buying best quality it still is damaged... :frown_color:

Be careful what you electrify if you do and the posting of "electric fence in use" as not all areas allow that kind of fencing especially if it is perimeter.
Make sure all electric fence has a good ground, clean and clear from bushes touching it as it can short out and not be a barrier for long to a testing horse...
Horses feel electric current more than humans...so if your horse acts suddenly skittish and jumpy and you have charged fence do some very fast checking to make sure it is not shocking your animals...what could give us a tingly zap could indeed kill your horse..._beware!_
I have been told that electric fence & chargers attract lightening strikes...IDK that for sure but to many have mentioned it for me not to heed a warning given. :|
Good luck.
 :runninghorse2:....
_jmo..._


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## secuono (Jul 6, 2011)

I used white electrical horse tape to make my bare hot wire fence more visible. Also bought yellow rope and used that for visibility. 
Easy enough to put in Tposts and attach 12g bare wire tightly to it for that bad section. Just get rid of the old junk, you do9want that over grown and hidden when a dumbo runs through the new fence and gets caught up in it. 
I use white step in posts and my horse's learned that a line of them means there is most likely a fence there and to slow down.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

To keep it simple and cheap since this is not your fence:

Go to Lowes, or Home Depot, or Tractor Supply and buy a few rolls of the orange or yellow "CAUTION" tape.

Tear off 2' - 2-1/2' strips and tie them at close intervals on the fence. Then hand walk both horses along the fence so they understand it's there and those pieces of tape aren't just suspended in air

Last month we fenced off part of the main pasture to give my IR horse more acreage. This is the day the posts and T-Posts went in but the fence wasn't up. I wanted the horse in the main pasture to know those posts were there.

Once we strung the fence (barbless wire), I moved the caution tapes onto the fence.


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

Why not invest in electric fencing with step in posts? You can take it with you if you move, it has high visibility. Get the 3 inch tape- that shows up in anything except snow.


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## Owl4273 (Jul 1, 2007)

walkinthewalk said:


> To keep it simple and cheap since this is not your fence:
> 
> Go to Lowes, or Home Depot, or Tractor Supply and buy a few rolls of the orange or yellow "CAUTION" tape.
> 
> ...


 I had tied orange tape at about 2 foot intervals and my horse was trying to run between the ties :icon_rolleyes:


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## Mewlie (Apr 14, 2017)

If budget is tight and the fence that is installed already is adequate, I would go buy some utility/construction string in a bright color and wind that along the top wire. Or if your hay is baled with a bright twine you can use that as well (mine is a bright blue, so I use it instead of utility string).


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

If there is room, , the easiest solution, JMO, would be to run some of that wide white electrical tape all along the top. Very visible, and horses don't get the sense that there are spaces in between flagging, like some horses with poor vision esp do
How many strands of high tensile? Two strands are enough for horses, and if they do happen to hit it, esp if attached with insulators, very UN likely to get hurt
I would not be comfortable, using high tensile fence, with the number of strands used for cattle, with horses


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

Good insulators, proper spacing and the right amount of tension and the electric tape should not come down in even high wind. Mine has stayed put during hurricanes. Is the wire on T-posts? There are caps that have lock in spaces to run the tape through. That and the tape make everything more visible. There are colors other than white that the tape comes in and varying widths. Plenty of choices to work with. If you aren't electrifying it and it is just for visibility then it can be the cheaper stuff. I'd clean up the fence area that they left to see just what is there if it hasn't been kept up. It may be that the ground is rocky making putting posts in difficult or that it was an area they had trouble with animals running through so they kept adding to the fence to keep that from happening. My neighbors have a section that floods and they had to put new fence after after every rain as the posts would come out. Eventually my husband augured holes for posts that were over 4' deep and they cemented them in. They were spaced close and braced similar to a corner post. Now they just have to clean debris but no down fence. Can you post pics?


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## tim62988 (Aug 30, 2012)

as someone else said walk the horses on the fence line.

i'm assuming someone has tested the wire to make sure it's carrying electricity? 

once they know where the fence is they seem to rarely challenge it, my dividing wire came down in the snow which isn't surprising being poly wire but the horses knew where the gate usually is so went through there. the hard wire also came down horses walked the fence line as usual but never set a foot over the wire even though it was under 2' of snow on the ground.... lucky? absolutely. but goes to show that they don't need to "see" the fence to know where it is once they know their pasture


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## evilgreen1 (Mar 15, 2016)

I don't like tape. Use electric rope. It holds up to wind well. I had a tree branch fall on it and it did not break. I got mine from Premier 1. It's fairly well priced.


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

evilgreen1 said:


> I got mine from Premier 1.


I buy most of my fencing supplies from Premier. Go to their web site and order a free catalog. It will give you more information on fencing options than you knew existed.


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