Rac, Haf - talk to me about your electric fencing...

[spotti]

Please

What are those metal poles that you use? How tall are they? How far apart do you have them? How many strands of tape do you use? And also, roughly what size would you say makes a good strip-grazing paddock?

I'm having grass-issues again...

[haffyfan]

rac uses metal posts, i just use plastic ones. Tip - Do not buy those ones with the kinda stirrup thing at the bottom, they are foul smelling poopy and snap real easily!

It's a brilliant and flexible way to manage your grazing IF your ponio respects it! Sadly of course harry doesn't and spends most of his time limboing through or just plain wrecking it.

Everywhere i go i see horses held in by short post and one or at the most two strands of often sagging tape. I run tall posts with 5 strands and he still squeezes his tank like figure through it...it's physically not possible but somehow he manages...i will catch it on camera one day as it's quite a sight to behold! It's better than when he wrecks it mind as much easier tom put back.

If she is respectful, give it a whirl, it can only help your situation i'd say.

[racaille]

Spots I use metal posts - or more recently fibreglass ones, but I think the metal ones are better.

I buy them from a builders; merchant. They are steel reinforcing rods, 6m log and I get them cut into four, ie 1.5 m each. I bash them in with a lump hammer 3m apart. I used to use three strands of tape or wire but then reduced it to two as Dr Evil gave up escaping. I put 'pigs' tails' isolators on the rods but you can get plastic things which are easier and can hold the tape more firmly but they are much more expensive.

For five years I've never had a single problem but the horses did break out a couple of times during storms recently. I only found out recently why this was: the wind had buffeted the tape against a couple of isolators so much that it had rubbed away and broken many of the metal strands so that the current was not passing very well. Because the tape hadn't broken I was not aware of the problem but now I know it is something to keep an eye out for.

Although I am having 'big guns' permanent leccy fencing around the perimeter of my land, I am keeping the metal rods system within that as it is easy to move around but the horses respect it.

I have an area of lush grass where I restrict access: I move the fence only one metre at a time.

Hope this helps.

[spotti]

That is exactly what I wanted to know, Thankies

I know prices will be different over there in France, but just as a ball park figure, roughly how much was it to set up a basic paddock?

[racaille]

The price of steel has rocketed but I used to pay 6€ per rod, so each one cost 1.50€ - the fibreglass ones cost about that now but are not as sturdy. I HAVE found a difference in leccy tape - you may wonder why one is more expensive than another when they all look the same on the reel. The heavier ones are definitely worth the extra: they carry the current better and are more robust, less likely to break (it was a thinner one that had rubbed away).

I also tend to go for white as the horses can see it better at night, this may be silly on my part but they broke out of my new thin brown tape not the white. White is less pleasing visually for humans because it is more visible.

Re isolators: buy what suits you. The pigs' tails are much cheaper but more of a faff to get on - make sure you get the exact same size as your rods, ie don;t try to put at 12cm pig's tail on a 14cm diameter rod aas I have done, it is ruddy hard work. The plastic screw type are easier to apply and hold the tape more firmly but are a lot more expensive. Your call.

You'll need a battery (about 30€) and the 'electrificateur' (dunno the english) in which it sits and turns the charge into a pulse. The cheapest I found was at Decathlon (about a hundred quid) and it does the job even though the on/off button is sticky in damp weather which is a pain. You'll need a couple of handles for the gateway and some connector clips for joining tape ends - I use these

www.decathlon.co.uk/connector-for-10-20-tape-x5-id_8112366.html

as the small indent at the end is a perfect size for connecting a handle to, to make a cheapo opening. If you need help to use the connectors I'll take a pic or find a link.

Impossible to say what a paddock will cost as it depends on the size of your paddock. But all in you are probably looking at a minimum couple of hundred quid, all in.

[spotti]

You're a star Rac - Thankies