# Disaster (almost) #2 for 2015



## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

GAAAH! Almost disaster #2 for 2015 already ... deer (apparently) got tangled in the hotwire pasture fence last night, took it down and ALL the broodmares were down in the barn/house lot/ driveway this morning ... and in the hay shelter! Everyone accounted for, back in the corrals until the fence can get repaired and then go get another load of hay! None of the neighbors have horses so they don't wander out onto the road ... at least as long as there is hay left in the hay shed! 

I am SO not pleased with 2015 so far! :badmood:

I'm calling the G & F to find out if you can shoot destructive wildlife out of season here in KY like you can in MT. First thing on my list for today ... right after fixing fence and hauling another load of hay in!


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Deer were always hitting the wire in my pasture. I put caps on all the posts in the area they liked to not see the wire and put white tape there. They can see the tape/ribbon and will jump over instead of blindly running into it. No more problems.


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## fordy (Sep 13, 2003)

................I learned , just yesterday , that Deer have Poor vision.......they make up for this with extremely good hearing and sense of smell ! So , long flag material flopping in the breeze should get their attention , maybe put outside speakers playing coyote howls and puma sceams would enhance their reluctance to jump your fence . , fordy


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## nosqrls (Jun 9, 2012)

SFM in KY said:


> GAAAH! Almost disaster #2 for 2015 already ... deer (apparently) got tangled in the hotwire pasture fence last night, took it down and ALL the broodmares were down in the barn/house lot/ driveway this morning ... and in the hay shelter! Everyone accounted for, back in the corrals until the fence can get repaired and then go get another load of hay! None of the neighbors have horses so they don't wander out onto the road ... at least as long as there is hay left in the hay shed!
> 
> I am SO not pleased with 2015 so far! :badmood:
> 
> I'm calling the G & F to find out if you can shoot destructive wildlife out of season here in KY like you can in MT. First thing on my list for today ... right after fixing fence and hauling another load of hay in!


Yes, You can in the state of KY.


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

We've tried every possible combination of fencing we can think of other than barbed wire and 5' woven wire. Wide white tape on top, flagging, alternate strands of twisted 'hard' wire and hot wire. Nothing seems to work well. They've been getting worse the last few years and last summer/fall it seemed like we were rebuilding fence almost daily. 

For awhile this fall, during hunting season, we didn't have any problems, I guess they were all hiding out somewhere, but they are definitely back again ... the barn dogs bark all night at them ... so we've got to do something that actually works or at least get them to move somewhere else.


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

Dang, difficult start to the new year for you! here's hoping for a better rest of the year!

We avoided a catastrophe a couple of weeks ago when my hubby, tired and ready for sleep, dropped a round bale at the barn and then forgot to close the barn driveway gate when he left. Thankfully my herd (I had 13 out that night) did not notice the open gate. They are runners, will head for the freedom every chance they see an open gate or fence line down. That night was rainy and bad, they would have been on the road with no visibility for drivers on our small highway, and we could have lost one or more horses that night. I am so thankful the bottom pastures called them that night, otherwise it could have been very bad.

My WHOLE herd (21 strong with 2 Mustangs and several racehorses and QH youngsters who love running as well) plus 5 small donkeys got out our open barn driveway gate one morning while I was taking a shower, one of our employees had left the gate open for whatever reason. I was all dressed up and wearing my really good Old ****** boots and on the way out when my neighbor caught me in the drive and asked if my horses were out. I laughed and said no, then glanced to the gate below...then my heart stopped and I yelled "WHERE ARE THEY"?!! She headed me in the right direction and off I went as fast as I could go. I have great neighbors, let me just say that right now. They had rounded my horses off the main highway and into a neighbors double gates into his pasture. The sheriffs arrived about that time, and with their help stopping traffic, I caught my lead gelding, hopped on him with a bridle I keep in my truck, and proceeded to have my own little parade back to my house, with all horses and donkeys either meandering or racing, as was custom in my herd, and we all got back safely. Needless to say, that was one of my more awesomely proud moments with my horses, every single one came right on along behind the lead gelding, untethered by anything but my voice and that gelding, for the 1/2 mile tromp back up the highway to our little road, then up our little road to my barn gate and back to safety That must have been a sight


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

Deer are not welcome here. I had to exercise real control in not posting to a thread with all the 'special' deer pictures.

You might try a double hot wire like PremierOne shows. It does work.

Anyway sorry about your hay. Here hay is gold.


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## Teej (Jan 14, 2012)

My disaster struck on Dec. 8th when my old guy had to be euthed. I'm hoping 2015 is event free.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

If they are entering from the same place, you can put a second fence parallel to the first. They don&#8217;t want to jump across two fences, even if they can. This is due to their eyesight, they just can&#8217;t tell. I&#8217;ve used this when I&#8217;ve had rams adjacent to ewes. They will jump one fence, but not two.


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## tamarackreg (Mar 13, 2006)

fordy said:


> ................I learned , just yesterday , that Deer have Poor vision.......they make up for this with extremely good hearing and sense of smell ! So , long flag material flopping in the breeze should get their attention , maybe put outside speakers playing coyote howls and puma sceams would enhance their reluctance to jump your fence . , fordy


So would a Core-Lokt!


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

Teej said:


> My disaster struck on Dec. 8th when my old guy had to be euthed. I'm hoping 2015 is event free.


I do hope 2015 is uneventful. Losing an old friend is heartbreaking.


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## Lady89 (Feb 22, 2014)

One thing that works is a noise canon/ bull horn or other loud something on a random timer, a few days of loud scary noise will keep them away for up to a mouth. But it might also spook the horses


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

Years ago, the owner of the farm where I have my horses had someone working on her barn roof. They left the gate into the field opened and all her horses got out. They were heading for a major road, then for some reason, turned around and went back home. 

A few weeks ago, someone left a gate opened and a mini mule and 3 minis got out. She wasn't home, and we couldn't round them up. They were enjoying their freedom. Problem being, they were in people's backyards, and an unharvested corn field. We were finally able to get them into another field that had been harvested. At this point in time, I said enough is enough. I had ridden my motorcycle, so I jumped on it and went after them. I got them rounded up in just a short period of time.


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## Teej (Jan 14, 2012)

SFM in KY said:


> I do hope 2015 is uneventful. Losing an old friend is heartbreaking.


 Thank you and yes it is.

About the deer. We have electrified high tensile fencing that we leave just a little slack in. Not drooping by any means but it has some play in it. The fact that it is an electric fence doesn't keep the deer off of it but that little bit of give seems to allow them to get through it without breaking the wires. Insulators need replaced quite often but the fence remains intact enough to keep the horses where they belong. Knock on wood we don't have a problem with the horses getting hurt on it either, at least in recent history. Back in the mid 90's hubby's thoroughbred did put a leg through the high tensile at our old place and took all the skin off of the front of a rear leg but he was one of the most accident prone horses I've ever known.


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

Teej said:


> My disaster struck on Dec. 8th when my old guy had to be euthed. I'm hoping 2015 is event free.


I'm sorry for you loss. Losing one is never easy.


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## Teej (Jan 14, 2012)

Thanks Irish Pixie.


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## mulemom (Feb 17, 2013)

Sorry for your loss Teej, four for us this past year. It just never gets easier. Sympathies for SFM too. We have ht wire-the deer don't break it but do break the insulators which shorts out the fence, amazing how hard it can be to find a short in one of the finned slide on insulators when it's shorted on the staple. We haul water to the group away from the barn. Standing there one day when three young deer came bucking and play fighting across the pasture. They totally ignored us until they were only about 300 feet away. It was so neat watching them and funny to see when the first one tried to go between the wires and got zapped. Then they decided to jump-pretty cool to see how high they can jump-except the second one didn't quite make it and then we heard the 'pop' as the post closest to them broke. Grrr-not quite so much fun then!


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## secuono (Sep 28, 2011)

Ignorance and poor planning doesn't make for destructive wildlife. Killing the one will do nothing, they will keep running into it.

OWNER of fence needs to make it visible! 

Add flagging tape roughly every 4 feet so that they can SEE it. Even horses need the tape until they learn where the wires are.


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

secuono said:


> Ignorance and poor planning doesn't make for destructive wildlife. Killing the one will do nothing, they will keep running into it.
> 
> OWNER of fence needs to make it visible!
> 
> Add flagging tape roughly every 4 feet so that they can SEE it. Even horses need the tape until they learn where the wires are.


Go back and re-read OPs post a few down from the top....they have tried all of the things deer would normally spook away from, to no avail. I don't think this is a case of the OWNER not doing their part to make the fence visible.


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## Teej (Jan 14, 2012)

secuono said:


> Ignorance and poor planning doesn't make for destructive wildlife. Killing the one will do nothing, they will keep running into it.
> 
> OWNER of fence needs to make it visible!
> 
> Add flagging tape roughly every 4 feet so that they can SEE it. Even horses need the tape until they learn where the wires are.


 Flagging tape works for a couple of days until they get used to it. Playing a radio in the garden works for a couple of days until they get used to. Putting aluminum pie tins on a string and letting them flap around in the breeze works a couple of days until they get used to it. Got any other ideas for us ignorant people?


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

secuono said:


> Ignorance and poor planning doesn't make for destructive wildlife. Killing the one will do nothing, they will keep running into it.
> 
> OWNER of fence needs to make it visible!
> 
> Add flagging tape roughly every 4 feet so that they can SEE it. Even horses need the tape until they learn where the wires are.


Before you accuse someone of ignorance and poor planning, perhaps you should READ the previous posts ... especially #5 where I specified the things we have tried, including flagging, which is not working.


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## Solar Geek (Mar 14, 2014)

We found the mylar spinners the kind that little kids put on their bikes also called "pinwheels" work great when attached to the top part of the fence. They make noise when they spin, catch the sunlight, catch the moonlight or the snow --we had no problem with deer trying to ram or jump the fence. 
We put them about every 4-5 feet. Got them at the dollar store and Walmart.


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## Allen W (Aug 2, 2008)

We've had the same trouble with deer taking down a hot wire. It seems like they eventually learn to avoid it, but it takes a long time. 

I've also watched a herd of deer go down a four wire barb wire fence through it, over it and under it for a quarter of a mile just for fun.


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