A commonly asked question is, “Does an electric fence have to make a complete loop?”
The answer is no, an electric fence DOES NOT have to make a complete loop. However, there are advantages and disadvantages to completing the fence loop.
Creating a continuous loop will increase voltage on the fence line, because power is pushed in both directions. Essentially, with a continuous loop, voltage only has to travel half the distance.
Even though more voltage is better, creating a continuous loop causes difficulty when fault finding a fence line. Due to the voltage traveling in two directions, a digital fault finder cannot distinguish right from left to signify where the amperage drop is located.
In conclusion, only create a complete loop if it is a necessity and if you are trying to increase voltage on the fence line.