The “BEST thing”, you did for his electric fence burns WAS NOT to put anything on them! (Cold water though, was fine, except for the bacteria if it was the stream water!?) Salves, and the old wives’s tale of “Put butter on a burn”, only serves to make the hurt last longer and give rise to an easier infection, later on. Place a VERY LOOSE, bandage, over the burn until you can reach proper medical care! (IF, that burn is that severe!)
ANY kind of ointment, and/or, salve, (or, butter!), “holds the heat, of the burn in”, not allowing it to escape the effected area, prolonging the pain of the burn itself.
It’s ‘funny’, in the “farm story way” about the electric fences but they honestly CAN cause serious injury, under the right circumstances and conditions! Electric fences are measured for effectiveness, by labeling them in “Miles of wire-they can conduct an electrical pulse through”.
In other words, like on our ranch, one of our electric fences is a “21 mile rated fence”, meaning it can run an electrical charge, through 21 miles of steel wire. BUT, (and here’s where one can get “the thrill of their lives”, if not careful around them!). but, IF… that “21 mile fence”, ISN’T connected up to “21 miles of wire”, it STILL puts out the same electrical force, of course, but it begins to basically “back up” all of that amperage and voltage, in the amount of wire IT DOES HAVE to distribute it’s charge!
About, the same theory as over inflating an inner tube, until it explodes. All of that “21 miles of electrical juice”, MAY BE contained in say… “1 mile of fence wire”, thus building it’s charge abut 20 times its normal amount. And, THAT’S when “pace makers shut down”, “people like your friend, get burned”, (a "properly installed electric fence should NOT burn, a human’s skin!), and “the tips of fishing rods, get blown to pieces”, and ESPECIALLY GRAPHITE ones! Graphite is every bit as good, really, at conducting electricity as carbon is.
Someone asked about “graphite fly rods, conducting electricty”, I think and YES, they certainly WILL! I’ve seen IDIOTS, standing in the middle of a stream, waving their “personal lightening rod”, around in the air, casting, when a T & L stor m is fast approaching. I guess, they’re into some sort of “death wish”, or, whatever because that’s sure a great way to ruin one’s day on the water! Also, ruins it, for his buddy, or buddies, that have to carry his charred remains, 2 miles back to the truck!
Lastly, for those “Great Beginner’s Hints”, that have been listed so far… " RULE #7,45… DO NOT EVER, assemble, play with, or, otherwise “wave around”, ANY section of your favorite fly rod, (ESPECIALLY THE TIP!!)… when in a low ceilinged motel room, when the overhead PADDLE FAN is set on “high”!! OF COURSE, this is something that I PERSONALLY have only “heard about” and would have NEVER done such a thing myself!! Well, I never would do something that stupid, TWICE, then, let’s say!?! It was a VERY low ceiling and paddle fans SHOULDN’T be allowed to rotate that fast!