Electric fence not quite foolproof

I don’t know what most people think during their first visit to Clovis, but my reaction was pure joy when I looked out the car window and realized this was horse country.

Since moving here last year I’ve been plotting, planning, and saving to turn my wild land into a safe pasture for my horse.

But one thing about horses is no matter how safe you think your pasture is, a horse will find something to hurt himself on.

It’s kind of like Murphy’s Law, but I call it Woofy’s Law after my accident-prone equine.

I spent months of blood, sweat, and some tears constructing a Woofy-proof fence. It is made up of tall landscape timbers and a specialty horse fence called electrobraid, which is a soft yachting rope that is not only electric but when properly installed will stop a galloping horse and spring it back into the pasture like a boxing ring.

When it was finished, I thought to myself that it would be impossible for anyone to hurt themself on this fence.

When Woofy arrived off the trailer last week I showed him the fence line and let him loose, confident he would get through our time in Clovis without any significant scrapes or scars.

But within 24 hours I was cold-hosing his heel and buying out my local ranch supply store of antiseptic ointment and wound dressing.

While I was tending his wounds, I lectured him on flirting with the neighbor’s mare over the fence line, but he is a bad listener.

Apparently so am I, because just minutes later my poor dog hit the electric fence and ran crying back to the house.

Later that afternoon, just when I thought the fence drama was over, my partner grabbed onto the rope and shot backward 10 feet after the electric fence made a loud snapping sound.

At this point I am about to resort to hiring a platoon of guards to walk the perimeter of my fence line to contain the wayward creatures that I am responsible for.

But then again, I’m sure the guards would find a way to hurt themselves too.

Aubry Buzek is a staff writer for Clovis Media Inc. Contact her at:

[email protected]