Escape Artists

One of my biggest challenges so far with the horses is their lack of respect for the wire fence. Zazu, the Thoroughbred, has figured out that the fence isn't hot. You know that old saying "the grass is always greener on the other side" - well, in this case it literally is, and Zazu will push her chest against the wire until it snaps. She just can't resist that luscious green back yard. And as heard horses will do, Laney follows. We have found them in our backyard, in the neighbor's backyard and down the street. One morning they were escorted back to the barn by a nice man down the road.


And so started my challenge: Why isn't the fence hot?

- The wire makes a continuous, unobstructed loop around the pasture
- All of the insulators are in place
- There are no weeds or tall grass creating a ground
- Purchased a new 8-mile radius charger
- Pounded a new grounding rod into the frozen Vermont ground (that was not an easy feat)
- Saturated the ground with water at the ground site (you know, it froze though, so may not have made much of a difference!)
- Bought a new ground clamp
- Walked the entire perimeter of the fence line listening for "snaps" (found one and fixed it)

The fence is still not hot. The only things left that I can think of:

- Replace the grounding rod with a longer, copper rod
- Replace the hot and ground wires

Any other advice out there is appreciated. The only thing keeping the horses from escaping again is the big round roll of hay that I placed in the middle of the pasture!