Hi, y'all.    New to the board.  Have been reading for some months now and y'all seem like a good group of folks with a broad range of knowledge.  I'd sure like some input on fencing.  I've grown up around the traditional T-post/barb wire fences all my life and I'm resigned to the fact that this isn't the best for my horses (I'm getting back into horses after a 20 yr absence).  However, like many of you, $$ is an issue, so I need the best bang for the buck.  I've been doing some researching and reading     and, frankly, I'm more confused that ever about what I want.

I have two horses (a recently retired racehorse who knows NOTHING about barbwire fences, and a yearling QH colt) and three cows.  My neighbors have horses, cows, and goats.  One neighbor has a bull which he can't keep in on his side (hence, my 3 cows INSTEAD of 1).  We have coyotes to the hilt and the neighbor with the bull has dogs he doesn't keep on his side either.  I thought I had decided on a high-tensile, electrified possibly with a top wire made of the "hotcote" by RAMM for visibility.  Then I hear all the bad stuff.... and now I'm not too sure WHAT to do! 

Unfortunately, I'll be doing most of the installation myself, ONCE I get my single-person posthole auger.  The manual digger will KILL me, THAT I know.     Thanks for any help you can give.

Lo and behold, as I was finishing my post, I looked out the window and noticed Mama cow was not there with her two other kids.  We now have FOUR cows!  What a cutie!  Maybe in a few weeks she'll let me get close enough to see what it is!  Four cows..... makes it a herd, doesn't it..... 

Wow, what an assortment to try and control.

I installed the vinyl coated Hi tensil fence. For me I was only trying to control my horses. So I put the post every 25 feet and threaded the wire through holes I drilled in the post. It worked fine for the horses. I had a neighbor move in who complained about the horses reaching through and eating his lawn. Also the horses had started to scratch their butts against the fence post. So I ran two strands of electric around the enclosure. That stopped the horses from reaching through or rubbing on the post.

I have no idea if this would be sufficient to keep a love sick bull out.

Painted Horse, what brand of vinyl covered high tensile wire did you use?  Your fence sounds like one of my options I liked.  I really would like to put in wood posts (the rascals can't bend them over and I had a horse impaled on a T-post once - I prefer to NEVER have to live through that again).  I like the idea of the drilled holes as it addresses "pressure" from both sides of the fence.  I also wondered if the barb-less wire could be electrified?  I was thinking that would be strong enough to hold up to some pressure.  However, I haven't come across an answer to insulating the holes through the post.  I'm wondering if just electrifying the bottom two strands of a five strand fence could really keep out the coyotes.  I really dread going the woven wire way since I remember how hard it was keeping the big'uns from walking it down.  I guess I'll really just keeping the coyotes from making "Happy Meals"-to-go of my cats.

Robdnorm, um... it just occurred to me.... big bull, electric fence, power outtage.... um, what kind of charger do you use and any suggested back up plan if it's an AC?

I was just thinking.... we have outtages here quite regularly.  Gee, what could I do if the power went out and there was no one to help until I got home from work (an hour away).... other than pray, that is?  Horses seem to instinctively know when the fences are powered down. 

I guess no-climb is out of your budget?

If your neighbor can't keep his bull on his side of the fence sounds like he needs to pitch-in some cash to fix the problem.  You could just pen his bull, haul it to the auction house, sell it and then pay someone to fence your place...it would solve both your problems!