Electric Fence Basics

Government baselines put the minimum at 2,000 V for cattle, 3,000 V for wooled sheep and 1,500 V for horses. For wholesale buyers, the task is specifying an energizer that still reads above those figures at the far end.

Energizer and charger are the same device. The difference that costs money is stored versus output joules, and our own range shows a 40% gap between the two figures.

IEC 60335-2-76 caps fence pulses at 5 J, 10 ms and 1 Hz. We compare that with published physiological thresholds, cattle learning data and field studies on predation losses to show where the real risks sit.

An electric fence stays open until an animal touches it. Follow the pulse from capacitor to ground rod, and learn why voltage alone will not stop livestock.

An electric fence is a psychological barrier, not a physical one. Learn how the energizer, fence line, insulators and ground rod work together, which type suits your animals, and how to size your first energizer.