Winter, Snow and Your Electric Fence

An electric fence can be an invaluable tool for anyone who has a large plot of land that houses animals like horses or cattle. But with winter moving in, it’s important to do preventative maintenance on your electric fence to ensure that it continues working throughout the cold weather.

You should start by doing a visual inspection of your fence, including both the electrical strands and the posts used to hold them up. You will want to make sure that your fence is properly tensioned, that no posts are loose or coming out of the ground. It’s also vital that you make sure nothing is leaning up against your fence as the weight of it – combined with the ground heaving that can occur as the winter freeze sets in – could cause the fence to collapse during the winter.

There are some other more in-depth steps that you should take to solidify your fence and keep it working properly as well. You should take the time to test your fence voltage make sure it is functioning properly before the winter starts. You should also consider installing disconnect switches on the lower electrical strands on your fence, since there’s a good chance they could short out if your area is subjected to lots of wet, heavy snow throughout the course of the winter. You might even want to consider installing backup power to your fence if you don’t already have it installed. This will keep your electric fence up and running regardless of how bad the weather gets during the winter, minimizing the risk of animals trying to make a break for it if the fence is off due to a power outage.

All Around Fence carries a large selection of electric fences from Gallagher and also stocks all of the parts you will need to maintain your fence at any time of year. Snow and cold weather can present many challenges to those who rely on electric fences, but you won’t have to worry about running into any major problems when you work with us. Contact us at 724-439-0331 today to learn about how to properly install and care for an electric fence or to get the materials and parts you need to install or maintain your fence.