l have 3 horses all between the age of 4-6 2 mares 1 gelding

They are always busting through the fence or stretching the wire to get out

Right now l cant afford to much but eventually ide like to get electric wire on top the fence

We are adding on to the pasture today in hopes of them maybe having more room to run so they wont wanna get out so bad

We also have a mineral block and round bail of hay for them in hopes to keep them occupied...?

Any other suggestions?

Also they have a walk in barn shelter area to block them from wind and rain and thick coats is that okay for temperate at the lowest 10 degrees
Anything else to keep them warm, only have one blanket.
And as for exercise they get riden allot over the weekend, if weather isnt bad, Usually during the week l try and ride some but its hard when its just me here so l at least walk them around nd let them graze outside the pen or lunge them.

Tie Them up OR fatten them up ALOT

They sounds like my one girl l currently have, she loves the game of escape:) money or not your gonna have to get a electric fence and not only due the top but between the height of the chest and knees, and third if you can, they wo not quit until one is in place. electric fencers at TSC for a cheap one is $25.00, and of course much higher and also solar power ones. Sorry not that much help but you really do not have another choice. Best of luck

if they liked you they would not run away! meany!!!!!

l need to see what your fencing actually looks like.

If fencing is properly put up.. unless the animal is a jumper, this should not be an issue.

Any poor job of fencing will cause them to leave.

If you have a wire fence, then you do not need to buy fencing, just attach an electric fence box too it, they are very cheap and once the horse gets a taste of what an electric fence will do, it will not try to escape anymore lol.
you need to look at this from a money perspective also, what costs more? buying a box for an electric fence, or constantly buying things to patch up the fence with. im going to say the latter is more expensive.

l bought a three year old wonderful horse CHEAP because her owner got sick of chasing her around the neighborhood & she had finally run through a barbed wire fence & hurt herself. Anyway, l used plain old fashioned galvanized wire (the cheapest form of elec fencing u can get), get a nice HOT charger, or borrow one if u can. Two weeks was all it took & she stopped testing the fence & has not escaped for 6 months (fence off the whole time). Horses r smart animals, once they learn it hurts they will stay away from it! We did two strands, one at 2 ft tall & one at 4ft. Good luck!

On ur other questions, as long as a horse has a nice thick coat & plenty of hay they will stay warm, only on occasion does a horse not keep itself warm. l personally do not like round bales of hay but some love it. They r more dusty & set u up for greater chance of colic. Will they free lunge together? l have two three year old rambunctious horses now, when we do not have time to take them out & work them we free lunge them together & at least get out some energy.

l would find some way to make the investment in electric fencing. It is a lot cheaper than wood and really does not have to be that much.

Here is a search.

http://google.com/search?q=electric+fence+for+horses&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7GGLD_en

and a place with price lists

http://electrobraid.com/order.html

Good luck!

Hi! l feel ur frustrations - having lose horses is always such a terrible feeling - ur heart just sinks when u hear the words ''the horses r out''.

Anyway - there r two things that l see as problems. First - 99.9% of the horses in the world will stay in their fence as long as they're happy. How do u make a horse happy? FOOD!! They think with their stomach. That means that if they have enough hay (round bale should be plenty) - that the problem is probably the quality of the round bale. If they do not spend most of their day standing around the round bale eating - they may dislike something about it. Is it moldy? Have weeds? Is it just not palatable (taste good).maybe it was cut too late & the stems r just too thick?

Now - the other very small percentage of horses just do not respect fences. l doubt that all three of yours would fall into this category, but if u have one that is knocking down the fence - it is no doubt that the others will follow him out of the pasture. In this case, u must reinforce the fence some how. Bigger is not necessarily better. Electric fence can be very cheap if u already have the fence posts up. The fence posts r the most expensive part of the whole fencing job! Electric fence is typically the most successful way of doing it, however, l did know of one warmblood that would still run through an electric fence. He ended up being put in a small padock (like 20x20) made of very solid wood. It had to be small so he could not get a running start. It worked very well. He was well exercise daily. Hopefully ur horses r not that bad. If at all possible keep ur horses out on pasture - just fix the fence.

l know $$ can be a huge issue in this economy, but u really do not have a choice. If the horses were to damage someone else is property or were to get hit by a car (even if there r no main roads by ur house, a startled horse can run for miles) u would be responsible for the damages - which l know of one horse owner that was sued for 1 million dollars after their horse was hit by a car & a person was killed. Electric fence is much cheaper.

Best wishes.and good luck!

Put extra latches & clips on gates. Lunge them for minimum of 10 minutes per day. Warm water is great in winter. Maybe consider expanding the shelter & putting a gate across it so u can lock them in so they will stay warm. Put up post & rail fences so they can not break it easily. Electric wire is very expensive! Maybe feed them grain in the paddock so they r happier & maybe even groom them out there! make it a good experience for them to be in so they wo not want to escape all the time. Try getting them a blanket. Also Maybe put some toys in the field! Good Luck just keep them busier!

You will have to upgrade your fence. Electric tape and poles and a charger are not all that expensive.

A solar electric fence is the best to keep them from pushing the wire.I've got 2 one l bought new with a 3 mile range for 135.00 the other with a 10 mile range l got for 20.00 at auction. They both work great. You will also need insulators for your fence posts and a light gauge wire. Check on e- bay and see if you can pick one up cheap. Horses who have a winter coat do not need blankets. We get temps here to 30 below zero at night and the horses are fine.

l had the same problem with my gelding. he would jump the fence a ton! we found him about a mile away from home & it was getting really frustrating having to fetch him so many times. l think the reason he was leaving was cause he was lonely..so we got another horse. l do not think that is the problem with u tho cause u have 3 horses..

We also got the electric tape & strung it everywhere on the top of the fence & it works WONDERS! he has not gotten out once since we put that up. Before u spend the money getting more pasture added on, try the electric tape. It is inexpensive & it is really fast to put up. l highly recommend that!

The first time ur horses get zapped on the nose with it, they will respect the boundaries & they wo not go near the fence again. then u can turn it off.

l hope this helps! Good luck!