Electric Fencing Training Aid

Red deer were a real problem - eating the leaves off apple trees as fast as they grew. There was loads of grass & shelter on the outside of our fence, but they just seemed to love our patch; concentrated on trashing the cultivated fruit trees. They'd be mooching round the house at all hours of the day & night. We tried the usual deer scarers, large dog, beefed up part of the the fence to 1.7 - 2m plus & watched them sail over, and tried a waist height electric fence with horizonal spreaders 2m apart (easily cleared). In desperation we took advice & put a BAITED electric fence line at waist height around our boundary. It worked a treat.... The trick is in the bait caps, which we made from metal beer bottle tops with a scrap of fabric or cotton wool to hold the bait held onto the electrified wire with twist of scrap of wire. Initially I baited them with apple juice cordial but later switched to peanut butter as it doesn't wash out every time it rains. I should think treacle or golden syrup would work too. The theory is that the deer sniff, get a zap, & learn to stay away. They can't tell how high the shocking part is & so don't try & jump over. Once they have learnt to avoid the fence you don't strictly need to keep replenishing the bait. It's been over two years now since we baited the fence & I'm delighted to say that the deer have stayed out - we still see them, but on the outside of our boundary fence. Our trees have new leaves & side shoots, & even a few apples.

A Shetland was proving a regular pain until I finally tried this - I was a bit worried about hurting him. He did have an enormous reaction when he licked one but he has not broken out since, 3 months down the line. It works a treat and he was not really affected.

This really worked on my horse that seemed to ignore the electric fence and would simply walk through it. The others would stay where they were meant to but he didn't and as he was a liveried horse he was a pain. Saw a comment on a forum and decided to try it. Made my own as described and they worked immediately. He licked it once and that was him fixed. Felt a bit guilty but what ends well is worth it.

I had an awful time with a horse and following advice tried this - it worked immediately. He licked one and leapt a mile flicking his tongue in and out. Did not go near the fence since.