Shockline Flex Fence Electric Coated Wire

Many people wonder if they will get hurt by touching an electric horse fence. RAMM’s fence chargers are low-amperage and high-voltage, which produces a shock that is not harmful to humans or animals. Home electrical outlets inside your home are opposite; high-amperage and low-voltage (which is dangerous).

Should someone inadvertently contact an electrified fence, he or she will receive a shock. Always use caution and avoid touching an electrified fence with the head or upper torso. People with heart conditions, children, or elderly should avoid touching electric fences. Children should be shown the fence and given an explanation of why they should never touch the fence. If your facility will see a lot of small children or visitors who are not familiar with horses and electric fence is a concern, talk with our representatives about the other non-electric fence options we offer. We understand that electric fence is not right for every situation; we can help you find a solution that accomplishes what you need.

Always post warning signs on your electric fence to alert others of the electrical presence. Check with your local extension agency for your area’s requirements on how many electric fence warning signs must be posted (and any requirements for the sign itself). It’s also important to alert any visitors who may go near your pasture.

“Is it okay to ride in a horse paddock with electric fence ​turned on?“

While the electric fencing may not be harmful to you, we recommend having a separate area for riding and groundwork that is not surrounded by an electric fence. For example, should your horse contact an electrified fence while you are riding or handling ​it on the ground, the horse could bolt and possibly cause injury to both of you.

Moreover, if budget or space dictates otherwise, we highly advise you to TURN THE POWER OFF while you are riding with cut-off switches. Cut-off switches allow you to turn off the power to your fence rails. Determined by how your fence system is installed, you can have it set up to ​have specific fence rails electrified and others off. When you are ​finished, remember to turn the power back on.

Unlike the kick from actual horses, the ”bite” horses feel from an electric fence is short-lived and doesn’t physically harm your horse. The electric current acts as the Alpha in the pecking order, so your horses are safely contained within their boundaries! In the wild, horses are herd animals, meaning there is a hierarchy among them. Horses will respect the bite, nudge, nip, or kick from the alpha/dominant horse. Electric fencing provides that ”nip” and helps teach horses to respect the barrier. It makes perfect sense to our horses; the fence is saying ”stay away”.
We offer many of the best electric horse fence options on the market available here: https://www.rammfence.com/fence/electric-horse-fence/

“How is your electric fence different than what I find at my local farm store?”

• Ask about the number of electrical wires in the farm store fence. You’ll probably find that RAMM’s electric fence contains more wires and has a stronger break strength. ​This could mean the difference between your horses staying in their pasture or getting loose.
• Find out what type of plastics the rail is constructed from. Plastic that is not UV-protected will fray from the sun’s damaging UV rays.
• Don’t forget about the warranties. You may find you are getting more bang for the buck by installing your pastures with RAMM’s time-proven electric fence solutions. When you purchase an electric fencing system from RAMM, you’re getting a higher quality product. Our products are farm-tested to ensure performance.
• You’re also getting customer support from a dedicated staff ​that will help you through your entire project, from planning-to-completion. Our representatives care about your horses and will spend time finding out about your animals and their needs and how they can help you stay within your budget. We’ll help you choose a fence system that will do the job it should.

*Please be aware, the best way to use any electric horse fence is according to manufacturer’s recommendations.

How Often Should I Turn on My Electric Horse Fence?

We recommend electric fencing be ​turned on at all times; they are designed to be electrified. Electric fences work because horses learn that when they contact the fence, they receive a shock. This teaches the horse to stay away from the fence line.
Electric horse fence rails are not as strong as most non-electric options because they are not designed to withstand constant contact from horses. If you don’t keep the fence electrified, your horse will be more likely to contact the fence. If your horse has some experiences with the fence when it is not electrified, it may lose respect for the fence and ​could become tempted to go through it. This produces unnecessary wear-and-tear or abuse to the fence and ​puts your horse ​at risk of an accident.
The cost to keep an electric fence on 24 hours a day is quite minimal and is well worth the extra costs per month to keep your animals safe! If you’re unsure whether your electric fencing is operating adequately, we offer electric fence testers.

There are so many electric fence insulators available; ​many customers are unsure what insulators are compatible with the fence or posts they have or are purchasing. This guide will help you determine what solution will work best for your property! 
What electric fence system do you have?

Shockline Flex Fence Electric Coated Wire
Shockline is a high-tensile coated wire fence system so we recommend CCA pressure-treated wood posts. However, t-posts are acceptable for line posts, but do not use t-posts for your corners, ends, or gate posts; the tension will collapse the fence system inward. Shockline also has the option to be added to pipe fencing. So what insulators will you need for Shockline?

Wood Posts

• End/Gate Posts – For all end/gate posts, Shockline’s rail starts and stops with an end loop assembly (slips right over the post) that connects to the Shockline rail with an in-line rail tensioner. The in-line rail tensioner is then tightened with a rail tensioner handle.
• Corner Posts – If you’re running your Shockline fence rail to the outside of your corner posts, you can either ​cut corner insulator tubing to the length needed, use two corner pin-lock insulators, or three claw insulators. However, if you’re running the Shockline rail on the inside of your corner post, you will need inside corner lag insulators.
• Line Posts – There are quite a few different options you can choose from for line post insulators – based on your preference and horse’s personality. Choose from claw insulators, corner pin-lock insulators, wood pin-lock insulators, 5″ insulator tubing, and all of the ring insulators (ring insulators, heavy-duty ring insulators, 6″ ring insulators, 6″ angle ring insulators).

T-Posts

• End/Gate & Corner Posts – *N/A; wood posts are needed.
• Line Posts – If you decide to use t-posts for your line posts on your Shockline fence system, there are a few different insulator solutions. You can use t-post line insulators, t-post toppers (top rail only; it caps the t-post), pin-lock t-post insulators, or extended pin-lock t-post insulators.

Pipe

• End/Gate Posts – For all end/gate posts, Shockline’s rail starts and stops with an end loop assembly (slips right over the post) that connects to the Shockline rail with an in-line rail tensioner. The in-line rail tensioner is then tightened with a rail tensioner handle.
• Corner & Line Posts – If you’re adding an electric rail to pipe fence, ring insulator clamps can be used to attach Shockline to the outside of ​a pipe rail.

Pro-Tek 1.5″ Electric Tape
With Pro-Tek Tape, ​all end/gate and corner posts need wood posts and insulators are not used. Pro-Tek Tape’s rail starts and stops with a tape end tensioner and when two rails meet in a corner you will need a tape corner tensioner instead of insulators.

Wood Posts

• Line Posts – Choose from universal post tape insulators or 3.5″ extended tape insulators.

T-Posts

• Line Posts – If you’re using t-posts with your Pro-Tek Tape you can use t-post tape insulators, t-post toppers (top rail only; it caps the t-post), or 3.5″ extended t-post tape insulators.

Round Rod Posts

• Line Posts – If you’re installing Pro-Tek Tape on fiberglass or steel round rod posts, you will need to use round rod tape insulators.

Pro-Tek Braided Electric, Pro-Tek Electric Rope, & ElectroBraid™
All of the braided/rope electric fence options on the market can use the same insulators – regardless of being stainless steel or copper (which is only different with electric connections and grounding).

Wood Posts

• End/Gate Posts – For all end/gate posts, you will need roller insulators.
• Corner Posts – If you’re running your braided/rope fence rail to the outside of your corner posts, you can either use two corner pin-lock insulators, three roller insulators, or three claw insulators. However, if you’re running the the rail on the inside of your corner post, you will need inside corner lag insulators.
• Line Posts – There are quite a few different options you can choose from for line post insulators – based on your preference and horse’s personality. Choose from claw insulators, corner pin-lock insulators, universal pin-lock insulators, wood pin-lock insulators, 5″ offset insulators, and all of the ring insulators (ring insulators, heavy-duty ring insulators, 6″ ring insulators, 6″ angle ring insulators).

T-Posts

• End/Gate & Corner Posts – *N/A; wood posts are needed
• Line Posts – If you​’re using t-posts for your line posts, you can use t-post line insulators, t-post toppers (top rail only; it caps the t-post), pin-lock t-post insulators, or extended pin-lock t-post insulators.

Electricity actually travels around the outside of a wire, as opposed to through the wire. When copper wires are out in the elements, they eventually corrode and oxidize. Aesthetically, this is not desirable because the wires and fence can turn green. Moreover, the damage is greater than just aesthetics. Electricity has a harder time traveling over wires that are corroded, rusted, and bumpy. This means fence utilizing copper wires, such as ElectroBraid™, will have less voltage over time, causing your fence ​to be less effective at containing your horses.
Stainless wires will not corrode over time like copper. Therefore, stainless steel electric fenc​ing ​will provide added life to your fence system. Choose from any of RAMM’s exclusive Pro-Tek electric fencing options or RAMM’s patented Shockline Flex Fence electric coated wire (the strongest and most effective electrical horse containment system available on the market!).

Grounding

Grounding your electric horse fence system is a very important step you cannot overlook when installing your fenc​e. The grounding system works as an alternative route for electrical current to follow back to the ground, in case something should go wrong with the wiring. Never run an electric fence parallel to telephone wires.
If you have Shockline or a Pro-Tek electric fence series, we have a ground rod kit that includes everything you need to ground your electric fencing. Should you have a copper-based fence system (like ElectroBraid™), you will need copper fencing supplies, not stainless steel. When installing a stainless steel electric fence system, the 5′ ground rods should be spaced 10′ apart and at least 50′ away from any water source.

Electric Connections

Electricity travels around the outside of a wire, as opposed to through the wire, so to determine what connectors you will need is based on the metal used to conduct the electricity (stainless steel ​or copper). Understanding the difference is important before installing your fence system. You can read more about the difference between fence conductors here.
For both stainless steel and copper fence systems, it’s important you run your burial wire from the top rail on-down. The reasoning behind this is because if a bottom rail is shorting out (touching high grass/weeds, snow, etc.) it will cut the electric current out for the whole fence system. You’re going to need to run the burial wire from the ground all the way up to the top rail, then downwards.

A really underrated electric fence product is the cut-off switch. It’s used to either open or cut-off the electrical current to your fence rail. If a rail is being shorted by touching tall grass, snow build-up, or anything else it will disrupt your electric current; ​consider installing a cut-off switch to prevent an outage. You can either install one at the top rail to cut the electric current to the whole fence system or you can install multiple switches on specific rails. Many customers whose property accumulates heavy snowfall in the winter or has tall grass and weeds put them on a couple of the bottom rails so they can cut the electric if there’s a disruption.

Electric Fence Chargers

To determine what electric fence charger to use for your electric fence system you will need to figure: length x width = square footage. The square footage divided by 43,560 = the number of acres covered. Acre listings are given for each electric fence charger. When installing your electric fence charger, it’s important you keep it covered; we recommend installing plug-in chargers within 50′ of your fence system.

Additionally, if you’re ​installing an electric fence system, we always recommend you protect your investment from lightning. If you have a lot of lightning in your area, you can add a lightning arrester to protect your electric fence system should a lightning bolt strike.

Electric Fence Insulators

Insulators are used to keep the electric current running down the fence rail. ​RAMM insulators feature simplified installation methods and have been field-tested. If you have horses that are coming in contact with your fence or like the other side (where the grass is always greener), extended insulators may be best. If you’re unsure what insulators are compatible with your fence and/or posts be sure to check this electric fence insulators guide or we have friendly account managers who can walk you through everything – call 800-434-8456 to get started today!