The recently formed Worcestershire business will demonstrate its gate contact kit during the British Equestrian Trade Association’s international fair at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, on February 18-20, 2007.

The contact kit means electric fencing can safely and simply be connected across gates because the circuit breaks automatically when the gate is opened, then reconnects when it is closed. With this clever system in place, the gate is secured with a traditional latch and there's no need to touch the electric fencing when operating the gate.

The insulator created for the gate contact is made of high quality ABS plastic and can be used as a universal insulator for the whole electric fence system – complete with a seven-year guarantee against weather damage.

The system offers huge advantages over the two cumbersome conventional alternatives. The first of these methods involves burying electrical tape underground, which means the gate is unprotected and may need to be reinforced with barbed wire. The second involves up to three sets of special handles – one for each electrical tape. These handles have to be removed and placed on the floor before the gate can be opened, and then put back in place when it is closed again. Worse still, the electrical system may be damaged as it continues to pump out jolts of up to 4,000 volts while the handles are on the floor.

Trevor Honor, electrician and proprietor of Gatetrix, says: “People often say the best ideas are the simplest ones, and I’d like to think our gate contact system is a classic example of that old adage. My wife and I have two horses, and I reached a point where I thought there must be an easier method than fiddling around with all those annoying handles. The whole Gatetrix idea developed from this realisation. I believe our system is a godsend for people who own livestock and encounter gates all the time."

TheCattleSite News Desk