We have lived here two years and never had a horse get into the wire....until the last few months. We bought a great little 3 year old Peppy San Badger mare for a steal and I be darn if she hasn't gotten into the fence twice. Now did I mention this entire place is the old 4 prong barbed wire.....no serious damage yet but I know we have got to do something.

The neighbors old mare and ours try and play over the fence. Then my young one will kick both back leggs into the fence....

I don't have a lot of money for new fences right now. I am looking at  cable fencing. One of my neighbors even has mules in a fences with pipe pole and all cables no pipe on top....I also am thinking of stinging an electric wire a foot or so inside the barb wire until I can replace this....Any ideas would help.

The proplen is I am right in the middle of the barnett shale so pipe is about $1.45 a foot and labor is outrageous....

On the plus side, if they have to tear down your fence to put the pipeline through, the labor to rebuild it is free. 

Don't know if this will work for you-I have had two friends build fences from new used material-they found farms that were being developed and the developers told them they could have the material if they hauled it away.  Talk to developers or people selling their land.  A long shot I know.

i think that the electric wire is your best bet until you can afford the stuff you really want.

I have decided I must hot wire. Now how do I do it? Do I attach to the post already there or should I move it a few feet and add new poles.

After looking at her wounds and the fence I think she reared up and she must have stradled the fence. Thank goodness it was in bad shap and not very high.

Also would you use the horse tape or wire and what about chargers?

I would use Electro-braid btwn the fields but keep the perimeters solid fencing of some type with a strand or two of hotwire to keep them off the fence. Horses go thru electric easily if spooked or aroused and if blanketed well then they won't feel much at all. I've been to too many endurance rides catching others' loose horses in the middle of the night who ran thru hotwire.

Last year stayed overnight w/a friend. We put my mare in the electric field. Next morning, fence is down, horses are gone and a busy four lane road out in front of the farm. Long story short, animal control picked her up grazing in the median at 3 am, tractor trailers etc whizzing by. The minx hopped on willingly to go w/them. Luckily they weren't opportunists........That was the last time I've ever utilized electric alone.

Of course if barbed wire (yowza) is the only alternative then electric doesn't look so bad.

If you have barbed wire...I assume you have wood posts...if so, then use Dares 6" extended tape holders...you can nail them onto the same post just above where the barbed wire is nailed...you will have your hot wire inside the barded wire and hopefully away from your horse...