Daddy and Electric Fences

In a series that I could call “Everything I Ever Needed to Know I Learned on the Farm” I would start with one of my earliest memories. It happened when we were living way, way out of Brownfield on the Tahoka highway. I remember the tiny house and the terrible water, the front porch and several dogs that we played with.

It was during this time that I learned about electric fences and how they could bite you hard. There was a barn with a stable yard on one side of it. For some reason dad had erected a electric fence on the pens that were already there. I can remember it being lower than a single wire that would normally be used for a horse so I assume we might have had some goats or sheep or something smaller. I really don’t remember the animals but I do remember dad kneeling with a “tester” to see if the fence was hot.

Without knowing the consequences I walked up to dad and touched him just enough to get him off balance and he came into contact with the fence. Well, to make the story short dad yelled as he jumped backwards and I not only got knocked down by his movement but got a “double-dose” of the fence current.

After the shock wore off dad was on the ground beside me laughing. I was on the ground crying and everybody else was standing over us starting to understand what had just happened. Since that time, while I have had several run-ins with electric fences I developed a strong respect for that little shiny wire!