My horse keeps getting out of my pasture and i can't seem to find a way to keep her in.?

Question

I have hot wire fencing but she pushes right thru it. It seems as long as i keep mounds of hay in her pasture she doesn't attempt to get out but i'm afraid she's over eating.

Answer 1

get and electric fence

Answer 2

First, check your fence to see how "hot" it is.  You can buy fence testers at most farm stores.  Or, if your fence is on metal T-posts, just get a big screwdriver and touch it to the post then touch it to the fence while its touching the post...you should get a loud pop and spark.

If your fence isn't very hot, check your ground rods, especially if you've had dry weather lately...if the ground rods aren't in damp soil, your fence charge will be weak.  After you check the ground rods, check the fence itself for a break, or a short -- most common when the fence comes out of an insulator and is touching a metal post.  Also make sure no weeds are touching the fence, as lots of weeds can short it out.

If your fence is hot and she's still going through it, there's not much you are going to be able to do.  Electric fences are "mental" barriers, in that the horse can physically get through them if they want, but most horses don't mentally want to.  You'll probably have to re-fence her pen with a physical barrier fence...one she can't physically get through.

Also, 99% of the time, horses will not over-eat hay...there are a very few easy keepers out there that will, but most will only eat what they need.  It is actually ideal if they have hay and/or grass in front of them all the time, as that is how their digestive systems are meant to work.  If she'll stay in with free-choice hay, by all means, give it to her, as it'll help keep her healthier and keep her on the right side of the fence.

Answer 3

some horses don't respond to the hot wire the same as others, i have one who does the same thing, and the only thins i found that worked was building a real fence. you have to remember that she is a huge animal with a very thick skin and horses like people have different levels of pain tolerance. the other concern is that when she pushes through the hot wire she runs the risk of getting the wire tangled around her feet ans smooth wire causes just as much if not more damage as barbed wire when a horse gets stuck in it. i know it's expensive, but i think a solid fence is your best option.