The main difference I have seen with the different brands of “poly rope” are the amount of wires, conductors woven into it. It will give this detail on the packaging.
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[QUOTE=gumtree;9032370]
Consider yourself lucky if it “popped back” good as new. This was not the experience with several people I knew and helped cut out a down tree.
Yes it was still did its job when reconnected to the posts. But it had been “stretched out” distorted and looked crappy.
I don’t know what installed fencing cost in your neck of the woods. But in mine installing Ramm fencing cost about 30%+ more than Oak board fencing.
I far prefer Oak board fencing. When installed properly using quality materials it will last more than 20 years with minimal maintenance. But I don’t paint my fencing. We have had a lot of horses and have never had a injury caused by oak board fencing.
Board fencing is far easier to repair if a tree should take a panel/section down. Of if some idiot should run off the road.[/QUOTE]
My coated wire was super cheap, super easy to install - my friend, my husband and myself did it - MUCH easier and cheaper than oak boards. I did have the posts put in, but at 20-30’ apart. that is also MUCH cheaper.
About once a year or two, we do go to the corners and tighten a bit - takes about 15 minutes.
As for safety, my stallion when he was first put in it, and the other horses left, in a totally strange place in the dark, jumped. He was used to board, and totally caught the top wire and drug it about 30’. That we had to slip back into the bracket spring and tighten. Not a mark on him.
I have actually had several trees drop on my wire, crushing it to the ground, and it does pop right back to perfect.
We had a brand from TSC that broke really easily. The Electrobraid doesn’t break well enough IMO – I have seen some horrific injuries, the ones where it gets wrapped around a leg and cuts down to the bone.
Nothing is failsafe. My pony jumped my 5" Centaur flex fence and scraped herself all up this fall. But I will say that a couple of times I’ve had horses get in my coated wire – once my wildish TB stuck his foot through and drug it halfway across the pasture. Not a scratch on him. I was sure it would be a big wreck but he was 100% fine.
I have 5 strands with strands 1 and 3 electrified. I also have 2 hot strands with my Flex Fence. (top and above the middle strand). Put every strand on a different switch so you can adjust if you haven’t kept up with your weedwacking or whatever – so you can turn off a lower strand and not ground out your whole fence.
I had some oak board fencing back home and it was nice too. They don’t do oak here so it’s expensive, more than Centaur. The only option here is pine, which I have around my ring and it is not good/durable as fence board.
I still think and fence will last longer with something hot on it, to keep them off the fence.
The professionally installed oak board fencing at the barn I work at is nothing but a major PITA. It is only 3 years old, but the rough cut 1x16’ oak boards are CONSTANTLY warping and popping off, or just splitting in the middle due to the warping. The fencing is purely cosemetic, it isn’t even field fencing, it just lines the driveways. No way would I want to deal with it as a field fence.
The fields are professionally fenced with Centaur White Lightening, and it has been fabulous to deal with. B*tchy mares have fought over it, without a mark on them, even with legs going through the fence. The outer perimeter of the fields is very old growth hardwood forest, and we have large trees come down on the fence every few months. We’ve lost a few insulators, but the fence has never broke. I just restring it on new insulators. However, I am super anal about the fence staying TIGHT all the time, and regularly “ping” every strand to see if it needs tightened. It gets tightened properly, too, with the coating being stripped off the wire first, so as not to clog up the tensioner. I generally only have to tighten it one or two “clicks” every six months or so, unless a tree has fallen on it.
