Braided Horse Rope or Electric Bungy

As a seller of both products via NZ Regional Field Days, we have always had a mixture of supporters from both camps. Electric Horse Rope that is braided with Polyethylene or Polyester and wire weaved throughout it has been here in New Zealand for a while. Farmgate Direct used to make it, it was quite popular, but then we stopped making it. Why?

It became apparent that the braided rope which is known for its strength could injure the horse under some circumstances. When the horse is spooked and the adrenaline is flowing, they can run through many many fences. Putting the remaining animals at risk of just wandering out. So we have changed the product. We had played with the idea of flat elastic for gate tapes ie 20-40mm wide as we made a non-elastic product 40mm wide for gates. So we aimed to make a round bungy that was the same or bigger than the previously used 7mm Braided Horse Rope.

So Electric Bungy was made, double sleeved to ensure the rubber does not red line and overstretch. Using 6 s/s wires to ensure it lasts and polyethylene made here in NZ with the maximum UV stabilizers added for the harsh NZ sun. The bungy is now used for gates as well as a replacement for horse rope. One of our lovely customers even ordered 1.5km of it, so she could have 3 fence line heights per post all joined together. This allows a spooked horse at full speed to be able to make contact with the fence, get a tingle, slow them down a bit and the fence/gate to pop back to its regular shape after the horse has gone through it. This customer advised me that it would prevent the horse from injuring themselves and prevented them from running through the next sets of fences. Farmgate Direct also does Hi-Vis Bungy which is Orange as well as Reflective White Bungy. Great for gates or fence lines close to property driveways.

Our aim is always to keep the animals safe within our electric fence products and minimize any potential damage to a spooked animal. Sadly braided horse rope is still sold by many of our competitors.

We now also do a tubular braid 6mm which is visible and has a lot more visibility than regular poly rope, with fewer issues with the wind like polytape. We made it tubular so it retains the 6mm visibility but is weaker than the old poly rope, allowing it to break rather than injure the horse.