Black Electric Horse Cable — 8mm Coated Fence Wire

The fence that defined the category

McNamara Fencing installed the very first electric horse cable in Ireland in 1999. In the years since, this fence type has become the standard for permanent equine containment on Irish stud farms, livery yards and private paddocks — and Electric Horse Cable remains the benchmark against which the rest are measured. It was designed from a blank sheet by the engineer who developed this style of fence, with the specific failure points of earlier coated wires in mind. Every element of its construction exists for a reason.

Three carbon strips — and why not more

Electric Horse Cable carries three carbon strips within the coating, giving 360° of shock delivery around the full circumference of the cable. An animal makes contact with a live surface from any angle. Three is a deliberate figure, not a compromise. Carbon is what makes a polymer coating conductive, but carbon is also black — and the more of it you load into a coating, the darker and duller that coating becomes. On a white fence, that is the difference between a rail your horse sees clearly at dusk and a grey one it does not. We engineered the cable to carry exactly enough carbon for reliable, even conductivity along the entire fence line, and not one strip more, so that visibility is never traded away for shock.

The coating protects the carbon, not just the steel

This is the part most coated wires get wrong. Carbon black is not UV stable. Where carbon is left exposed at the surface of a coating, sunlight degrades it — the conductive path breaks down, the surface chalks and fades, and conductivity falls away over the years exactly as the fence is meant to be settling into its working life. Electric Horse Cable is built the other way around. The carbon strips are held beneath a UV-stable polymer coating that shields them, so the conductive element is protected from the one thing that destroys it. The result is a fence that conducts as well in year fifteen as it did in year one, and a coating that keeps its colour rather than greying out.

Bonded to the core — no bare wire, ever

The polymer coating is bonded to the steel core, not merely extruded around it. On unbonded cables the coating can creep, slip or split back along the wire under tension, temperature movement or a hard impact, leaving lengths of bare steel exposed — the precise hazard a coated fence exists to eliminate. Bonding removes that failure mode. Cut the cable and the coating stays exactly where it was placed.

Safe by design

The 2.5mm high-tensile steel core gives the fence its strength, but it is the way that core behaves that keeps horses sound. Under impact the cable holds its line and returns to tension rather than collapsing and wrapping around a leg, and the smooth 8mm polymer surface will not abrade or graze skin the way bare high-tensile wire or barbed wire does. With a minimum break strength of 635kg per strand, it takes the weight of a horse hitting it at speed.

Strong enough to change how you build the fence

Because the core is genuine high-tensile steel galvanised to BS 10244 Class A, the cable holds tension over long spans. That means wider post spacing, fewer posts, and a lower installed cost per metre than the fence's price per roll suggests — before you account for a working life measured in decades.

A stand-alone fence, or the fence that saves your post and rail

Electric Horse Cable works as a complete permanent fence in its own right, run at one or more strands to suit the stock. It is equally at home added to an existing fence: a single live strand along the inside of a post and rail line stops crib-biting, leaning, chewing and reaching over, and will extend the life of expensive timber by years. Black is the colour of choice for this — it reads as part of the fence rather than an addition to it, and disappears against creosoted timber. The cable is fully conductive and works with any low-impedance energiser, so it holds cattle as readily as horses. Because the fence carries a charge, animals learn to respect it and stop testing it, which is what makes an electrified fence last.

Supported here, not just shipped here

Electric Horse Cable is held in stock in Ireland at our Co. Cork depot and delivered nationwide by parcel or pallet. It is supplied in 200m and 350m rolls — sizes we specify for the way Irish paddocks are actually fenced, so you are not left paying for a part-used roll in the shed. Every accessory the system needs, from insulated ratchet strainers to torpedo joiners and claw insulators, is stocked alongside it, and there is someone on the end of the phone who has been specifying and fitting this fence since 1999.

Eligible for TAMS 3 equine fencing grant aid

Electric Horse Cable is built to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine specification for Electrified High Visibility Plastic Covered Horse Wire — one of the six horse fencing types covered by DAFM specification S148 — so a fence built with it can form part of a TAMS 3 equine fencing application. The core specification matters here: S148 requires a minimum 2.5mm high-tensile line wire galvanised to I.S. EN 10244-2 Class A, which is exactly what sits inside this cable. The fence itself needs at least two strands, the top wire at least 1,100mm above ground with no more than 600mm between strands, intermediate posts at least 1,800mm long and 100mm in diameter set 600mm into the ground at up to 5m centres, and strainers at least 2,100mm long and 175mm in diameter. Note that DAFM grant-aids mains and solar energisers only — battery units are not eligible. Grant aid runs at 40% of the DAFM reference cost, or 60% for eligible young farmers and women farmers, under the Animal Welfare and Nutrient Storage Scheme, the Young Farmers Capital Investment Scheme, the Women Farmers Capital Investment Scheme or the Organic Capital Investment Scheme. Equine applicants need an equine premises number, a minimum of five hectares declared under BISS, at least three equines on the most recent Equine Census, and full approval before work starts — there are no retrospective claims. Minimum eligible investment is €2,000. We supply TAMS-spec equine fencing every year and can quote your fence line to the specification. Talk to your advisor about which equine fencing category your application should be costed under, and call us on +353 22 40723 for a specification-compliant quote. Also available in white, where maximum visibility is the priority. See the complete Electric Horse Cable fencing system for layout guidance, strand spacing and energiser sizing.    

Electric Horse Cable: common questions

How many strands of electric horse cable do I need for horses?

Three strands suit most adult horses in a permanent paddock. Four or five is the usual specification where foals, ponies or small stock are turned out, or on a boundary fence against a road. A single strand is all that is needed when you are adding a live wire to an existing post and rail fence.

What energiser do I need?

Electric Horse Cable works with any low-impedance energiser. Size the unit to the total length of wire on the fence rather than the area enclosed, and allow headroom for vegetation growth through the season. Aim for a consistent 3,000–4,000 volts along the whole line. If you are unsure, call us with your fence length and strand count and we will specify it.

Should I choose black or white?

Choose white where visibility is the priority — a stand-alone fence in an open field, or a boundary you want horses to read clearly at distance and at dusk. Choose black where the cable is being added to an existing post and rail fence, or where you want the fence line to stay visually quiet. Both share identical construction, strength and warranty.

Can it be used for cattle?

Yes. The cable is fully conductive and holds cattle as effectively as horses. Because the fence carries a charge, cattle stop pushing and rubbing against it, which is what makes it last on a dairy or beef unit.

Why does it have three carbon strips?

Three carbon strips give 360° of shock delivery around the cable, so an animal makes contact with a live surface from any angle. It is a deliberate number: carbon is black, so loading more of it into the coating darkens the cable and reduces how well a horse sees it. Three strips give reliable conductivity along the full fence line without trading away visibility.

Will the coating fade or stop conducting over time?

No. Carbon black is not UV stable, which is why the carbon strips in Electric Horse Cable sit beneath a UV-stable polymer coating that shields them from sunlight. The conductive element is protected rather than exposed, so the cable keeps both its colour and its conductivity over a working life measured in decades. It carries a 20-year limited manufacturer warranty.

What does a bonded coating actually mean?

The polymer is bonded to the steel core rather than simply extruded around it. On unbonded coated wires the coating can slip or split back along the wire under tension or impact and expose bare steel — the exact hazard a coated fence is meant to remove. Bonding eliminates that. Cut the cable and the coating stays put.

Is electric horse cable eligible for a TAMS grant?

Yes. Electric Horse Cable is built to the Department of Agriculture specification for Electrified High Visibility Plastic Covered Horse Wire, one of the six horse fencing types covered by DAFM specification S148, so a fence built with it can form part of a TAMS 3 equine fencing application. Grant aid is paid at 40% of the DAFM reference cost, or 60% for eligible young farmers and women farmers, and is calculated on the lower of the reference cost or your paid invoice net of VAT. You must have full approval before work begins. Ask your advisor which equine fencing category to cost your application under, and we will quote your fence line to the specification.

What is the electrical resistance of electric horse cable?

0.035 ohms per metre, or 35 ohms per kilometre — a function of the 2.5mm high-tensile steel core running through it. In practice that means you can run long fence lines from a single energiser without voltage falling away at the far end, which is why the cable suits stud farm perimeters and long boundary runs as readily as small paddocks.

How much fence does a roll cover?

A 200m roll gives roughly [INSERT] metres of three-strand fence, and a 350m roll roughly [INSERT] metres. Add 5–10% for straining, joining and corner wraps.

How do I join and tension it?

Join with a torpedo wire joiner and tension with an insulated ratchet strainer, which takes the live wire connection directly. Carry the cable on large black claw insulators at each post.

Do you deliver across Ireland?

Yes. Electric Horse Cable is held in stock at our Co. Cork depot and delivered nationwide by parcel or pallet, with delivery calculated at checkout.