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  Discussion on Fence info please
Author Message
Member:
Horse4u

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 26, 2006 - 6:30 pm:

We board our horses and the owner has agreed to let our 2 horses be in a field by themselves. We asked if we could put up our own electric fence as a test project. We hope to have our own place one day! Right now they have 2 strands of 1/2" electric tape with fiberglass and metal posts to hold it. The posts are mostly step in except for the metal ones.

We want to use the 1 1/2" tape with fiberglass step in posts (since they seem to do well with them). We are going to put our own electric or solar power box in so it will always be on unless we have the horses out. The fence has to be portable since the pastures will be rotated in the spring. There is a permanent perimeter fence around the entire farm. For winter, do you think 1 acre is enough for exercise?

Are there any particular brands you recommend? What about posts? Do any come with the insulators already on them for the wide tape? We are looking for safety, ease and affordability.
Thanks!
Member:
Terrilyn

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 27, 2006 - 9:00 am:

Hi Vicki--
I have been very pleased with Ramm Fence. I always recommend them for their knowledge, availability, good prices and quality, and great customer service. Having said that, I can now say that even though I love Ramm, I wouldn't use their 1.5 electric tape again (not just Ramm's, but any tape at all). It has been a pretty high-maintenance fence. I have mine on metal T-posts with plastic insulators, which it seems I'm constantly replacing. If the horses get rough around it at all, it comes down. I don't like the way it attaches on the corner posts...it is very easy to pull off the ends with a little bit of force. Next time, I am putting up the braid.

This is especially important since you are considering putting two horses on one acre....not a lot of room. It will make the possibility of their being rough on the fence even greater. I once watched a TW gelding get on the ground, kick out the bottom two strands of the fence, and roll out the other side. Wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. I have two acres of this type of fence and my horses are hard on it...and yes, they are respectful of electric.

The type of fence and posts you are describing above (step in fiberglass with two strands) is in my opinion, not going to be enough for two horses on one acre. That is just based on my own experience. If you're just using this area as "sometimes" turnout, that's fine...but probably won't work well for permanent turnout.
Member:
Cheryl

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 27, 2006 - 10:06 am:

We just put up Hot Rope which we got from Country Supply - 660' I think - for around $45. It's 1/4 inch - 1000 pound break strength - It's visible - once tight it stays tight - and carries current really well. I've used tape before and didn't like it at all. The Hot Rope is also easy to take down.
Member:
Trouble

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 27, 2006 - 11:36 am:

I think it depends on your horses. If they are respectful of your current fence, I would see no problem with the 1 1/2 inch tape. I currently use 1" tape from Ramm Fence for a small dry lot for my pony. I use the small fiberglass step-in posts with one strand of the 1" tape. Both my horse and the pony respect the tape, as it separates the drylot and the pasture. They can still visit, but I have had no problems with it. There was a time when my charger was out and the pony discovered it and decided the grass was greener on the other side!! The fence was stretched out somewhat, but there were absolutely no injuries from it. It has been up about 4 years.

Last year, I made my dry lot larger. All I needed was a connector ($2) and about an hour's time. I love the tape as it is very easy to use. I do use metal t-posts with insulators for the corners for strength. Overall, any "repairs" I've had to make I can do myself in a short amount of time. I keep extra insulators on hand for the t-posts, but rarely have to use them.

Regarding the 1 acre for exercise for 2 horses; it would probably work, although larger would be better.
Member:
Terrilyn

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 27, 2006 - 12:10 pm:

I agree with Lisa that everyone's horses are different...maybe I've had worse luck with that than others. If my horses get out and decide to trot up my driveway, they're looking at traffic traveling past at 50-60 mph. If you have a perimeter fence around the farm, that's not a factor. Her fence is definitely more portable!
Member:
Jgordo03

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 27, 2006 - 2:45 pm:

Vicki,
I use the hot rope also. It's to windy where I live for the tape. I've had mine in for over two years and haven't had one problem with it yet. I use three strands and tee posts. I keep the post spacing at 20 to 25 ft between so they wouldn't get caught up in it in case one of them decided to go through it. I also use the tee post top caps that have a build in tape/rope insulator built in. This keeps horses from injuring themselves on the tee posts. This keeps the fence high enough about five foot. Unless you live in a fairly mild area I caution you about the solar power supply they do not stand up as will as the electric ones. Just make sure you check them often and keep the snow and dirt off the solar panel.
Member:
Tipper

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 27, 2006 - 3:19 pm:

We use mostly Horse-Guard tape and have been very satisfied. We have a single strand around the top of our 1 acre dry-lot turn out as well as a large arena made with three strands. We also have a smaller arena made from the white tape available at Stateline and haven't been nearly as satisfied. The insulators aren't nearly as strong and some decayed in the sun quite rapidly. The white tape is more densely woven so the wind whips it around instead of passing through it and then the insulators pop open and and the tape falls down. We've ended up tieing the insulators shut with bailing twine which looks terrible but at least I don't have to rebuild the small arena every time the wind blows. I would never again buy any of the Stateline stuff.
Member:
Horse4u

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 27, 2006 - 9:49 pm:

Thanks to all of you for your input! I really appreciate it. After reading all of your comments, I'm thinking that one acre might not be big enough and the expense of making it larger might not be practical for us. What I might do is try to work with the existing 1/2" tape fence and replace the broken posts with new ones and then redo the tape. It needs replacing and that would be less expense for us at this point in time. I am going to try and get the owner to put in an electric box for our area if I buy it. That way our horses will be in a fenced area that is on except for when we take them out. I am hearing a lot of good things about the horse guard tape.
The perimeter fence is electric wire. There is a company that is coming out with step in fiberglass posts with the larger openings for 1 1/2" tape in early 2007 so I think I will wait for those. At that point I can use those posts and the wider tape making it a lot easier since we might have to move it during the grazing season.
Member:
Paul303

Posted on Thursday, Sep 28, 2006 - 2:20 am:

We've had the Horse-Guard also, for about 3 yrs. We find it's been a pleasure. We used t-posts and covered them with the PVC sleeves and caps. We also purchased a solar panel set up to power the fence. It was set up perfectly, and was exposed to full sun (unobstructed) all day long. It was a total disappointment. All it ever held was a weak charge after a few months. The funny thing is, that a year before we had given a similar unit to a friend who had the same experience....we figured it was his installation, or bushes growing on the fence, shorting it...it wasn't. I've since heard from two other people with the same experience. We finally ran electric and haven't had a worry since. We have about 1.5 acres of grass pasture and a few wooded acres of dry lot. We have 3 horses ( easy keepers ), and turn them to the grass for about 2 - 4 hrs a day. We have divided the grass pasture into 3 sections with tape and the step-in posts, which have worked perfectly. They graze about 2.5 to 3 wks. on a section, then that is closed and they move to the next section. We mow the closed section if necessary, then fertilize at 1/2 rate, and set out a traveling sprinkler. It rests and regrows for 5 - 6 wks., and is ready for use again. Nope, I can't say I have a problem with the tape, and the step-ins to divide the grass pasture are great.
Member:
Mwebster

Posted on Tuesday, Oct 3, 2006 - 9:19 pm:

We've got Horse-Guard too, have had it up for 6+ years. It works wonderfully and still looks brand new. We have 2-strand fences, and we also covered the T-posts, as Lee did (we bought the sleeves from a different manufacturer though). <i'd> And we also run the charger off the main.
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