I’m looking into setting up a non-electric tape fence for a horse. What are your recommendations on tape, insulators and posts and where do I buy them? Can I buy non-electric tape?
You can certainly put tape up and not electrify it, but in general, you can’t count on the horses not to go through it.
If the issue is access to electricity, solar chargers work.
If the issue is that you don’t like electric gates, the gates don’t have to be electric.
If the issue is that you don’t like electric, I suggest choosing a different fence type, especially if it actually matters to you if the horse ends up on the other side. If you explain your constraints I expect the COTH community will be happy to help direct you to something that will work well for your needs.
I am not a fan of electric but I have learned to work with it, and it does have many advantages.
I may be open to making it electric at some time, but for now I just want a non-electric one. What sort of posts do you recommend? Wood or metal?
If you think you may want to make it electric at some point just build it as it would be. Just don’t hook it to a fencer. You need to decide how much you want to spend and how much work you want to do to make a decision on posts. I like the rope over tape because we live in a windy area and the rope holds up better for us.
I would use wood post on everything that we have if I could afford it. Instead we use wood at the corners and t posts with caps for the perimeter. We have a few of the cheap electric fence posts for emergency fixes such as drifts over fences.
Thanks for the replies! How do I add tension? Do you just do that in the corners?
Each brand of tape is different…I would be asking the manufacture of the brand you have.
Any tips on Gates?
The majority of our tape (electrified) pastures/paddocks have steel swinging gates. We use Horse Guard fence. It holds up well and handles wind well.
Gates? Yup have to have them. Our horses do not work well on the honor system.
If your going to not electrify tape than make sure you have a gap between paddocks so horses cant play. Remember tape will not stop a horse on its own, even in some cases when electrified. Personally I hate the stuff its a PITA to tighten and if it gets frayed is just a mess. Have your looked into Electro Braid? That stuff is great easy to work with and lasts a lifetime.
Electric fence only needs to be snug but not tensioned per se.
I also am a fan of Horseguard.
As for posts - when I am using horseguard, it’s because I need a non-permanent fence. Thus, I use capped and very tall T-posts for corners and sometimes for line posts, and I also use some of their fiberglas rods as sold in their temporary fence kit. If you use Horseguard, use all their stuff. Usually they have a sale in January. You order direct from them.
I am going to persist in bugging you about why not electric. Horseguard will not stop a horse that wants to go on the other side. It is just a horsey suggestion. It will not hurt horses in my experience, but if they want to go through, it will tear down. You can usually reuse the pieces but it can’t be expected to contain a horse that has any reason to go to the other side. It is the equivalent of that yellow caution tape for people. 
There are a lot of options for chargers, and even if all you do is have it hot the first week, you will instill a respect for the fence that will last during times when it is not hot, for most horses.
If you are building permanent and non-electrified fence such that you are willing to put in wooden posts, then I’d suggest a different fence type. Ramm has flex rail in various widths that make excellent non-electrified fence, as well as coated wire. You will have to brace the corners on these fences.
Here are some resources for you.
http://www.horseguardfence.com
http://www.rammfence.com
https://www.premier1supplies.com
Premier has a great catalog that is like a fencing textbook for the types that they sell (mostly electrical).
I have electric tape and tape and metal gates. I would ABSOLUTELY not use a tape gate if it was NOT electrified!! Go with a heavy guage metal gate. That is the first place they will test when they are determined to go through, because that’s how they normally get out. I know, because I forgot to plug the fence back in a week ago and the next morning the tape gate was destroyed (although it held, it was dangerously frayed and loose). My fence is normally around 9-10,000 volts and packs a punch, but they really wanted on the pasture and had no problem testing it within 12 hours. I swear they wait until they don’t hear the charger ticking.
I wouldn’t use t-posts if the fence isn’t hot, unless we are talking miles with no pressure.
Tape will really stretch under a horse’s slow pressure and you could create a dangerous situation. I would never use tape as a primary fence if it wasn’t hot.
When I use T-posts with horses, I buy 8’ heavy duty ones. They cost a little more, but the extra height plus a cap makes it much less likely a horse will mess with the cap or find much of its mass above the top of one, making impalement less likely.
Thank you so much for your help everyone!! I am looking into all of your suggestions, including making the fence hot. How tall of T posts do you recommend? I’m thinking around 6"?
[QUOTE=BarrelPony;8485203]
Thank you so much for your help everyone!! I am looking into all of your suggestions, including making the fence hot. How tall of T posts do you recommend? I’m thinking around 6"?[/QUOTE]
Depends how tall you want your fence to be and how you are going to install them. Are you tall enough to bam 8’ t-posts into the ground? Or do you have a tractor or truck bed you’ll be standing in? Putting posts into the ground is hard work and if you have a lot of acres to do you’ll want to break it up into a few days.
I use HG fencing and I use the t-post covers (sleeves) over them and it looks really nice.
I’m a fan of the electric fence. My horses have done well with it for years. Every now and then I see my mustang testing the fence with his whiskers to make sure it is on. And every now and then someone will get accidentally zapped (usually while crowding the gate), so it is a good reminder to them that it works.
[QUOTE=BarrelPony;8485203]
Thank you so much for your help everyone!! I am looking into all of your suggestions, including making the fence hot. How tall of T posts do you recommend? I’m thinking around 6"?[/QUOTE]
I use 8’ T-posts which means installed they are 6’ high. I am shorter than that, and though it’s not fun to put them in, I can do it myself with a t-post pounder (especially when the ground is soft in spring or winter). Sometimes it’s nice to have something to stand on to get them started, and having a helper does make it easier.
[QUOTE=poltroon;8484783]
I am going to persist in bugging you about why not electric. [/QUOTE]
Me too, sorry. I think it’s just a really bad idea and asking for injuries at best, and well, there are worse things, especially with anything that won’t break (like Electrobraid).
Poltroon’s list in Post #2 covers it all. Yes, electric fencing is cheaper to put up, but the materials - ALL Of them - are such that they NEED to be electrified to be safe® and just as importantly, do their job. Horses love to push on things. They will really quickly learn that any sort of meant-for-electricity fencing gives. A lot sometimes. And they will take advantage of that.
If the issue is you don’t want electricity, then use wood or vinyl or something. You can’t (shouldn’t) use electric tape to save money, then not electrify it. Given the cost of even cheaper tape, it’s just not that much more to get a $200 solar charger and the supplies to hook up the fence from the charger, and cross gates. Everyone - horses inside the fence, and everything outside the fence - will be safer for it.
Your fencing looks great. Do you use a solar fence charger? I’ve had good luck with Parmark but they are pricy. I’m thinking of using some tape fencing.
We have a 6v Parmak solar, the 2nd one in 10 years (lightning kills them:( ). They work very well for horses who are not total fence testers. I’ll get the 12v next I think, just in case.
The main barn I ride at has wood fencing with tape on the inside. It’s not always turned on during busy hours due to a quirk in the set up that allows the gate latches to hit the tape and light people up on a couple gates. (Very funny to see everyone gingerly opening gates with the tippy tips of their finger tips then jumping back, even when we know it’s off.) They have one little darling who immediately tears it down when it’s not on. I’ve seen him pulling it down gingerly with the tip of a hoof in case it is on and he’ll get a shock., Because he’s a huge pita. Basically: tape isn’t fencing unless it’s electrified or at least hot some of the time so they respect it.
Anyway for posts, I would not use t-posts with non-electric fence because they have a tendency to run into them and impale themselves even if it’s hot. Those caps are nice looking but basically it’s a piece of lego versus your horse’s entire weight. Rarely fatal, always expensive and gory. I would run wood posts all around in this scenario and my exterior fencing would not be tape. It’s fine for cross-fencing.
For years I had horses at a place with t-posts and hogwire (square wire fencing) with electric at the top and one foot from the ground. We ran that hotwire HOT. With about 20 horses and 10 cows, all of whom were relatively fence-smart we still averaged one ungulate vs t-post incident every 2 years or so, usually a new horse or a particularly stupid one running the fence and tripping and falling on it or, more rarely, a cow deciding to go over there. It only takes a second.
