Hi all,
Has anyone used these posts? https://www.ruralking.com/power-wizard-48-inch-purple-poly-step-in-post-p-1lp This is not primary fencing, but we are creating a “stallion lane” between two paddocks to keep horses (not stallions) off the fence line. They are so much cheaper than others I’ve seen I’m wondering if they’re flimsy.
thanks
We’ve used the slim fiberglass step in posts from TSC, as well as these. I like the slim ones more…to me, they are easier to use. I’m glad you aren’t using them for stallions! They are not tall, at all.
Yup, I’ve used these here. They are not indestructible. They are OK for cheap electric fence posts. But the little hooks that hold the tape will break. I don’t know why or how, but they do… because I’ve got broken ones. They are crappy, but cheap. And are functional for a while.
You understand that the “tape” only lasts SO long too, right? The little metal strands that run through the tape will part company in time, in working in the wind etc, and break, and the tape will no longer be “hot”. If you want the fence to both “work” AND be “seen”, run the tape AND a metal wire together through your supports. If someone gets tangled up in it (it happens) the wire (especially aluminum wire) will break before the tape will. That’s a GOOD thing, you want it to break. I’ve used tape, when there is no fence and I need it to be seen. But I run a wire with it as well, to make sure that it all carries a charge. Run the wire in the same holders as the tape. I find that once the horses know about the electric shock, you don’t need the tape any more. They see a wire just fine. And respect it.
that entirely depends on the brand. Our Horseguard tape is 21 years old this spring. Everything that hasn’t been impacted by a deer or tree is just as intact as the day we installed it. We live on a bit of a hill with no wind blocks along the longest section of fence, so while we’re not Oklahoma windy, we aren’t nothing, especially in the Spring. Posts 14’ apart have made it very wind-resistant. It’s had ice on it, it’s been through a few high end tropical storms (one of which took down a very large pine tree), and more
I have some friends on the Va and NC coast areas, which are always windy, and their HG tape is also 20+ years old.
Not all fence tape is created equal.
Yeah, I’m not so worried about the tape. It seems to last a pretty long time here. And behind this set up is a four board fence. This is just to keep the horses on one side of the fence off the fence line. Worst case they get to the fence line. They are still very well contained. What we have now is the slim posts from TS. They are fine. Except when my barn-mate bought them she seemed to forget that our horses are taller than the average sheep 
so they are just stupidly short. Even that has done its job, but we want something taller.
I think these would work fine for what you are doing.
Just a thought, it might be easier to just install offset wood post insulators on your current wood fence to run your electric tape.
Thanks, it might be easier but we want them further off the fence then those allow. And, the fence is already in place. I just need to swap out the midget posts for taller ones.
An anecdote. I installed these temporarily with electric fence tape to protect some cedar trees. Next morning I went to feed and a horse was missing.
Long story short- he had been zapped by the tape, bolted forward while his neck lifted part of the row of posts out of the ground and he went under the tape. He was trapped with the trees and the tension on the tape had re-driven the posts right back into the ground so everything looked normal. I couldn’t see him behind the trees.
I laid the posts and tape on the ground but he would not step over them. Finally with some coaxing he jumped over, clearing the tape by about four feet and galloped off to breakfast.
My BO used these to make a ‘keep away’ fence between my mare and the one next door. 2 alpha mares and neither one would back down. They kept tearing down the fence and starting to get hurt so we had to do something. These were large (by boarding standards around here) dry lot pens. Kyra lost about 4 feet of pen on that side but oh well…it worked perfectly and she stayed in one piece. I think I had to replace 2-3 of the posts over the 2 years of that arrangement but very easy to do.
I have stacks of these suckers. They’re actually great. I only used them for electrobraid but now that I’ve put up board fence I keep them - they’re always useful.
10 winters outside and none of them broke.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
