 |
RE: [RC] Securing Horses... - heidiThis is an interesting thread. Over the years I've seen horses hurt and loose that have been tied to the trailer, on hi ties, on picket lines, in metal pens, in the roll up vinyl pens, and in electric pens. Horses are always going to be horses and Murphy's law applies. I agree. But that said, I've had to patch up more horses (and managers at rides I've vetted have had to stage more searches for horses) that have been enclosed in electric fences than every other confinement or securing system combined. And as the original poster found out, it isn't due to lack of homework--it's due to lack of somebody else's homework. In general, horses owned by folks who don't do their homework and who hurt themselves on trailers or panels tend to only hurt themselves--not a whole host of horses from throughout camp. (I know that there are exceptions to this--but that's been a pretty standard observation over several years.) And when horses do get loose, for whatever reason, it is the horses in electric fencing who tend to be the ones who fall victim to them. My best suggestion, regardless of your choice, is to practice at home and or camping before you come to a ride. *Most* of the time I've found the problems start when a novice horse becomes untied during the night or has never seen the electric pen he's been placed in. At some point he ends up loose and goes visiting. Absolutely. But again, if your horse is secured in something that doesn't break when the loose horse that doesn't see it as a barrier runs into it, the chances of YOUR horse getting loose and injured are much lower. Likewise, if you have done your homework and taught your horse to tie, odds of him getting loose just because someone else's horse did are a lot lower than if he is in an electric fence. We may yet get the ride off the ground that we've been working on for a couple of years now--and I am very seriously considering disallowing electric fencing as a containment system in our camp, because we will be out in the middle of rough country, and I do NOT want to have to mount a search for a bunch of loose horses. (Just another perspective...) I normally use Truman's method of using the trailer, truck and if possible a fence line or other trailer to provide barriers between my horses and others. The muddy conditions in base camp didn't allow for normal trailer parking, so my horses ended up *exposed* and subject to the stampede. Even after this happening I still prefer the electric fence, though mine is always double strung, and on at night. This is the first time mine have been out of the fence when it's double strung, though as I said they had some help as did my immediate neighbors. I agree that using barriers is a good safety measure, but your experience points up precisely why as an RM I don't want electric fences in my camp (at least not as an overnight containment)--it just takes one horse loose and then a WHOLE BUNCH are "liberated." If your horse had been tied (either directly to a trailer or on a hi-tie) or in solid panels, odds are a loose horse would not have gotten your horse loose. Like Barbara, I carry medium-weight 12' livestock panels--they are a bear to put up alone (but I can do it if I have to). They aren't much different than the fencing we have at home for stallion runs and catch pens. It would take a pretty dire situation for a horse to get out of them (provided we close the gate). Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|