Question for you Horse People...

[Queso]

I think the really the only way to solve your problem is to change/ modify your fencing. I'm with Tani, I don't like having electric fencing as the only barrier. What if the power goes out or your powerbox (or whatever charges your fence) breaks? Would it be possible to run a few strands of horse wire (not barbed wire! It's not horse safe at all) around her pen in addition to the electric fence? I don't know how big your pasture is, but it's not very expensive. Then she wouldn't be able to crawl under your fence.

Some horses just like to escape, I know some that think letting themselves out is just hilarious. Honestly I think the only thing you can really do is improve your fencing. There's not really any way to train them to not to escape, and there is no fair way to "punish" them once they get out.

[Bratterratt]

Me and my mom actually were discussing that today, because Borie managed to escape again last night. The problem with wire, is if she did get tangled trying to escape, is it would still cut her up... It's just not really that safe for her...

[wolfgirl159357]

what about just plain ol'wood fence?

[Cocodri]

We use field wire with a top strand of barbed wire for our escape artist. The field wire is welded wire in 4" x 4" squares and the top wire is to keep her from just leaning on the fence wire until she pushes it down. Last year I started taking a bit of bailing wire and tieing the top wire to the field fence with about a 4" gap because she started putting her neck under the barb wire, lifting it up, putting a foot on the field wire and squashing it down and then squeezing through. Now and then she'd get the front half of herself through and get stuck when she got to the back half. Being a rope horse she's been trained not to freak out about things touching her or holding her, so she just stops and paws with her front feet to show impatience but she doesn't panic and thrash around. Even if she did, I don't think she'd really be able to get hurt - but famous last words when it comes to horses.

And Suzy definately does it because she thinks it is fun. She wanders around the house - she likes to watch TV through the windows and often gives it away that she is out by staring in a window at you... She goes right off and leaves her pasture buddies, another horse and a mule. She has toys in the pasture but quickly gets bored with them. You can see she is a long way from being hungry - and the pen means alfalfa hay and grain while out means dry desert bunch grass that hasn't had enough water to actually turn green in three years. Suzy likes stuff to WATCH - she was watching the Pronghorn Antelope on the BLM land behind us tonight and prancing and dancing around like she'd like to run free with them.

In fact, our worst problem now is her pasture buddy the Massive Mule gets upset and tries to follow her. If Suzy squashes a fence I can usually tug it straight and reattach it. If SAMSON goes through a fence - he just lowers that moosehead of his and plows through. THEN I have to replace the whole thing - new wire and often new fence posts because that big bruiser breaks them off at ground level.

Lemme look - I probably have a photo of our fence. I also used to work for a trainer who used the field wire with an electrified top wire instead of barb wire.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/foovay/4698351305/

pic here