What is ElectroBraid® Horse Fence?
ElectroBraid® is a permanent electric fence designed especially for horses. It is both a physical barrier and a psychological deterrent. It is highly visible to horses, strong, durable and resilient.
What does it look like? ElectroBraid® looks and feels like high-quality braided yachting rope. A double helix of copper wire conductors is braided into the outer jacket of the rope. Three or four strands of ElectroBraid® are mounted with insulators on fence posts. Fence posts can be wood, vinyl, or steel, spaced between 30 feet apart. ElectroBraid® comes in white, black, or checkered. (See PICTURES).
Why is it different?
Traditional electric cattle fencing uses small-diameter steel wires which are hard for horses to see. The ropes of ElectroBraid® are highly visible. ElectroBraid® can absorb the energy of a panicked horse and will typically bounce the horse back into its pasture with no harm to horse or fence.
How durable is ElectroBraid® Horse Fence?
The high-grade polyester fiber is the same fiber used in automotive seat belts and parachute harnesses. Polyester resists attack by ultraviolet light, salt, manure, and most farm chemicals. The copper develops an oxidized outer layer or 'patina' that protects the copper wire from corrosion. As a result, ElectroBraid® has stood behind a 25-year warranty since 1998.
How does it work?
ElectroBraid® Fence is both a physical barrier and a psychological deterrent. Once a horse receives a shock they will not get close to the fence again. They won't rub against the fence. They won't crib on it. They won't try to jump it. They won't go through or under it. The horse doesn't want to get shocked again.
Is the electric shock harmless?
The electric shock from a UL or CSA-approved fence energizer is completely harmless. The shock is extremely low amperage for just 3/10,000 of a second, once a second, but it is an immediate, unpleasant psychological deterrent. Once shocked, your horse will not want to touch the fence again.
How can an electric shock be painful to a stallion but not harmful to a baby horse?
The brief electric shock causes a painful muscle contraction, but there is not enough current to harm your physiology, heart, or nervous system. The safety of a two-year-old child is the standard used by national testing laboratories such as UL and CSA. UL reports that there has never been a serious injury from a UL-approved electric fence energizer since UL started safety testing in 1940.
What makes ElectroBraid® a safe horse fence?
There are no impact injuries. There are no sharp points or hard edges. There are no boards to break or splinter. There are no wires to cut or puncture. Horses crib on board fences and rub against them. Even minor cuts can become seriously infected. The worst potential injury with ElectroBraid® is if a horse is able to wrap a strand of ElectroBraid® completely around a leg. The prospect of such an accident can be virtually eliminated by grounding the fence correctly, keeping ElectroBraid® taut, and following the installation manual's recommendations.
Why is it so secure?
ElectroBraid® has the resilience and the strength to resist the impact of a stallion - - it just stretches, then springs back. It is secure because, unlike conventional board fencing, ElectroBraid® shocks a horse. The horse doesn't understand what happened - - it just knows it wants to stay clear in the future.
How do horses feel about ElectroBraid®?
Our customers tell us "Horses love ElectroBraid!". Horses are herd animals born to roam free in wide open spaces. With ElectroBraid®, all the horses can see each other and stallions can see their mares. There are no places for predators to hide. Horses don't pace up and down their fence line. Owners say horses are more relaxed. They can see you, and you can see them!
Why is the installation cost low?
ElectroBraid® can be self-installed with hand tools, by almost anyone...like stringing a clothesline. A professional fence installer is not required. The ElectroBraid® costs 20 cents a foot. Fence posts can be set 25 to 40 feet apart depending on terrain and local snow conditions. By contrast, conventional horse fences require a post every 8 or 10 feet.
Why is maintenance cost low?
If you properly install your corner and end posts, they won't move. Brass and copper components won't corrode. Occasionally an insulator might break and need replacement. Little else will need repair. ElectroBraid® stands up to lightning strikes remarkably well. The double helix of copper in the ElectroBraid® functions like a lightning arrestor, often preventing damage to the energizer. Typically, only a few hundred feet of ElectroBraid® may need to be replaced. If a tree falls on the fence, cut it off and the ElectroBraid® should spring right back. Horses don't crib on ElectroBraid® or rub against it. The fence is seldom, if ever, damaged by storms, including ice storms and tornadoes. Repairs are quick and easily done by hand.
What maintenance is required?
Walk the fence line to confirm your fence has not been damaged. Check the voltage regularly. Mow weeds from under your fence as needed. In the spring, ensure no fence posts have been heaved by frost.
How can ElectroBraid® protect an existing fence?
Mount ElectroBraid® as a single strand on top of almost any fence. The psychological deterrence to horses is dramatic. Dell Hendricks, Top 10 Reining Champion, had a stallion that regularly jumped his pipe and cable fence to visit the neighbor's mares. When a single strand of ElectroBraid® was added, the stallion never jumped the fence again.
How does ElectroBraid® Fence compare to other electric fence systems?
- Stranded electric rope "unravels" under tension and needs constant tightening. By contrast, ElectroBraid® is dimensionally stable because of its braided-over-inner-core construction. Provided the ElectroBraid® is properly tensioned when installed, it will maintain its tautness with only occasional re-tensioning.
- Woven electrical horse tape contains parallel electrical conductors. These wires take much of the strain and tension. The wires tend to break under windy conditions. By contrast the copper wire conductors in ElectroBraid® are formed in helical coils like springs. This allows bend and stretch. All tension is taken by the fiber strands. The copper wires won't break under tension.
- Conventional high tensile wire (HTW) electric fence is good for cattle but not for horses. Unlike cattle, horses are excitable, high-strung animals. Horses often don't see the steel fence wires. The wires can break under impact and wrap and cut and puncture flesh.
- Certain electric fence rail systems are especially made for horses. These are worth considering but tend to be expensive to install and may not be as safe as ElectroBraid® .
Why does ElectroBraid® specify accessories of copper, brass and glass-filled nylon?
Quality. Quality. Quality. It costs a little more but saves a fortune in performance and durability.
- Brass is an alloy of copper. Glass filled nylon is the strongest available commercial plastic material for insulator construction.
- Because copper and brass are compatible together, they don't suffer the natural electrolytic corrosion that occurs when dissimilar metals come in contact with each other. Copper does not rust. It develops an oxidized protective coating called a "patina". Next to silver, copper is the best natural conductor of electricity. It's 40 times more conductive than stainless steel, so its much more efficient with your energizer.
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