# Best fencing for Irish Cobs



## Merlins Mum (1 February 2018)

Hi, so I hope this is the best place to put this.

New to owning a cob (not horses). Little guy is approx 11.3 (withers)- 12hh(on bum) And is not yet 2 years old. Will climb over my 4ft gate and fencing (pony paddock) and does the same with the sheep hurdles or just trashes them and hops over them like they were nothing (also 4ft and laying flat).
He also has no problem trashing the bramble bushes to make a path out as well. Ouch! 
So I'm going to be putting in a bigger paddock for him. My options are 6ft post and rail with 3-4ft established hawthorn hedges on the perimeter of the field and post and rail on the inside 5ft high. With the option of putting an 'overhang' to put him off seeing the actual height/distance. 

Or stud rail - centaur fencing which I really like the look and sound of. However since if something is too high for him he climbs it by throwing up his feet and heaving his body over I wonder if this would work. 

I do have a budget to consider, but don't want to stint on quality so would prefer to only do this once. Obviously the perimeter fence along the road is where I plan to spend most of my budget. Electric is out as the smaller pony just lays down and goes under (even if it's just inches off the ground) or through it if he's feeling lucky so he has the aforementioned sheep hurdles and 4ft post and boards. 

I'd really like some persona experience, pros and cons from those who use the above fencing or open to other ideas. 
Ty in advance.


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## D66 (2 February 2018)

I'd go for normal height post and rail with a line of electric on the top rail, (and one a foot off the ground if necessary for the smaller one). 
Sounds like a fraught life!


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## Merlins Mum (2 February 2018)

I'm not sure I'd call it fraught life lol more a few teething problems. Really not wanting to use electric as I don't fancy carting batteries uphill a quarter/half mile &#128565; And he'd just tangle - just not a fan of leccy fencing. 

The wee guy won't go through post and rail, his entire paddock is post and rail thankfully.


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## cobgoblin (2 February 2018)

I've always found my cobs consider any form of post and rail as a good opportunity for scratching their bums... The only parts that have ever survived for any length of time have been the 6-8" corner posts and gate posts, though they have managed to knock the odd one of those down with little effort!  A cob leaning over a rail to snitch a few blades of tasty grass can snap the rail easily and saunter off with an air of innocence.
We use small energisers that take two D batteries on our wooden fences, and run the electric fence either as a single line in front of the post and rail, or as a strand on the top inside. There's no lugging of large batteries, or recharging and they deliver quite a belt... All our cobs have been extremely respectful of them and have never got tangled up.


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## Mrs B (3 February 2018)

cobgoblin said:



			We use small energisers that take two D batteries on our wooden fences, and run the electric fence either as a single line in front of the post and rail, or as a strand on the top inside. There's no lugging of large batteries, or recharging and they deliver quite a belt... All our cobs have been extremely respectful of them and have never got tangled up.
		
Click to expand...

I have one of these fencers - it does indeed give quite a belt! Mine's been in continuous use for 4 years now and will power nearly a kilometre of fencing. My only criticism is that the leads are quite weedy - so I replaced them with some thicker off-the-shelf ones. I only need to change the batteries about every 3 or 4 months ... Found it on offer at the moment for £81.95 in this link:

https://www.countrystoredirect.com/...b-wEU6tt2jyIZ9KpTDhWqkUHYLfdZDWUaAqHTEALw_wcB


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## honetpot (3 February 2018)

Having had a New Forest that saw every hedge as something to walk through, post and rail to jump over or push over the only effective fence in all situation is electric, either offsets or just inside. A good small car battery swopped every couple of weeks, can be carried in a shopping bag easily, will keep the voltage up, and buy a fence tester.


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## Merlins Mum (3 February 2018)

&#128512; thank  You everyone. Looks like electric is going to be the way to go then. I do have a fencer and batteries and a solar panel - maybe my energiser just isn't up to the job. I like the sound of the Rutland one especially if it packs a good punch and the battery life actually sounds reasonable I had visions of having to change those weekly. 

I will put my 6ft post and rail on the perimeter and the hedging too and then run an offset line around the inside. I think for my peace of mind I like to have the visual look of something solid and it means I can turn out the wee man with him too.


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