Internet mauled by bears

Thu Sep 22 14:58:35 UTC 2011

On 20/09/11 7:15 AM, Jason Baugher wrote:
>
> Horses are okay, but you have to tie things to the wire so they can 
> see it. They're too dumb to remember where it is, apparently.

This has nothing to do with the horse's ability to see or remember where 
the fence it.  It has to do with the value (both financial and 
emotional) the owner places on the animal, and the ensuing costs if it 
breaks the fence.  Horses can get hurt quite easily, vet bills can run 
into hundreds or thousands of dollars quite quickly.  Most horse owners 
will spend far more than the replacement cost of the animal in vet bills 
and husbandry to heal it when it gets injured, because the animal has a 
"member of the household" status in their lives and can't easily be 
replaced by a similar animal.  So they flag wire fences to help the 
horse avoid getting hurt.  Then there's liability.  In many states, if a 
horse gets out on the road and gets hit, the horse owner is liable for 
the damages to the car and occupants.  If someone in the car is injured 
or killed (likely if the horse is hit head-on and comes thru the 
windshield) the liability costs can be significant, run into millions of 
dollars.  For this reason, many equestrian insurance policies require 
that electric fencing be flagged.

Other livestock aren't as likely to cause fatal injuries to car 
occupants if they are hit, because the animal's body is lower to the 
road, less likely to come over the hood.

jc