My cows don’t like to break the rules. They respect the polywire even if it is lying on the ground, although that might have something to do with the 6-10 thousand volts we pump through it. If the fence charger goes flat they still sit inside their boundaries. If there ever is a fence down and they end up outside it doesn’t take much to get them back in – they know the rules and like to follow them.
There are rules on my side, too. I have to give them plenty of water and food. If ever one of those is lacking then they start to get fussy, walk around the perimeter and bellow.
Still, the polywire front fence does sometimes go down. This is because our cows have horns and the grass is greener on the other side of the polywire fence.
It doesn’t take much for one of those horns to catch on the wire. Now what we need to breed are cows with horns that conduct electricity.
grasspunk.com 
Tin foil horn protectors. Conducts electricty and keeps the bad thoughts out. At the very least it’ll keep these bad thoughts out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodynamic_agriculture
I think our calves are related to your cows. We watched Siobhan walk right through the middle of two wires today, but then she didn’t want to come back so we had to open the gate. Sara (her mother) respects the wire, and the two horses are terrified even of going through the gate! I figured out that it seems to be the ticking of the charger that scares them, so I did a little desensitization training with one of them, and the other will get her turn. I want them to respect it, but not charge through out of terror, possibly running one of us over in the process.
And aren’t we humans often like cows? Thinking the grass is greener on the other side! Although I will say, life from where we are sitting looks just about right!
Wes, well that is quite a link. I’ll get hold of a cow peritoneum so I can stuff it with dandelions and bury it for the winter.
Susan, I got a 10kV zap on the posterior the other day and my respect for those fences is sky-high. Well, the respect was there once the screaming stopped.