# Confusion on Spacing of Fence Posts



## jlyandco (Aug 18, 2017)

Will someone please help me understand "fence post spacing" a bit better? I find information that, to me, is confusing...

I want to install a 5-wire high-tensile fence (electric, with 3 hot, and 2 not) for a turn-out pasture for horses, and it seems that, the general rule is 4-5 t-posts for every 1 wooden post.

However, I also read that there should be approx 12 feet between wooden posts... which is where I get confused. That would mean a t-post every 3 feet (or so), which doesn't seem right... and WAY beyond overkill.

What am I missing?

Also, any tips on doing this by myself would be VERY much appreciated! (Found a bunch of videos on YouTube and some manufacturer's web sites, like Zareba and RedBrand.. information overload. Any one better than the other?)

Thanks for ANY help you can provide!


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Not sure because I don't use T-posts (don't like the idea of sharp metal sticking up), however, if you're only using woven wire (like Electrobraid), you can go up to 150 feet on really flat terrain. That means REALLY flat though, and it would be hard to get it really tight. I've gone about 50-60 feet apart without problems, though you have to watch that bottom wire because it can sag a bit after initial installation. I place posts closer together whenever the land gets irregular. And of course, in my paddock with a top board, they have to be about 10 feet apart so I can nail the boards on. 

This site has a useful chart (scroll all the way to the bottom to see that they do claim you can place posts as much as 150 feet apart - though I wouldn't go that far):

Electric Fence Post Installation - Zareba

Edited to add: just re-read your post and realized you're talking about high-tensile wiring. They recommend 30-90 for that on level terrain, 15-20 for uneven terrain. Not sure how the T-posts would fit in this. Sorry, that's not much help is it. Do get caps for your t-posts though!


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

jlyandco said:


> I want to install a 5-wire high-tensile fence (electric, with 3 hot, and 2 not) for a turn-out pasture for horses, and it seems that, *the general rule* is 4-5 t-posts for every 1 wooden post.


I have never heard that rule. 

...Coming from cattle country where T-posts are used for everything, and wooden posts are usually only used when you go through a low spot and/or areas where there is water. (And of course, wooden posts in the corners.)

Why are you choosing to put up 5 wires? That seems like way more than you need for horses. Three wires, with the top one hot, should be plenty (unless you have a mini -- then you may want 4 wires).

Roughly, each post should be spaced roughly 10-12 feet apart but it kind of depends on your terrain too. If you have lots of hills, you may want them closer than that. If it's pretty flat, you might be able to go longer than that.


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## RMH (Jul 26, 2016)

This site has a lot of info on HT fence. Planning and Installing There is also a page on various types of horse fence. Horse Fencing I used treated wood posts on 20-25' spacing with 4 plain HT wires and 2 Hotecote wires for visibility. So far no injuries. I'm not a fan of T posts but then I'm not fencing thousands of acres. I also wanted enough wires to be a physical barrier in case the electric fencer ever went off. Part of the area I'm going to fence next may become an arena down the road. I'm going to space the posts exactly 24' so I can add 2 posts in between and install 16' fence boards.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

High tensile actually does better with fewer posts. Most professional installers will put it in with posts every 25 - 50 feet depending on terrain and what's inside. Usually here, it's 4-strands with the top strand 'hot' and the second from the bottom 'hot.' You never want the bottom strand electrified as a horse stuck underneath it will continually be shocked, and if you only do the top, a small horse can still push through the fencing. 

If you use t-posts, be sure to cap them so they aren't likely to skewer a horse who may kick or rear or come down on one (seen it happen, not pretty). Some people here do hi-tensile with a board or vinyl planking/belting across the top so the horses can see it, and that really seems to work well. Hi-tensile is nearly invisible to horses, and even those used to a pasture can run right through it as they can't see it. A horse hitting a hi-tensile fence at speed ends up with gruesome injuries, so making sure it's visible and electric so the horses stay far away from it is ideal. The advantage of it is that once it's up, maintenance is minimal and it lasts forever.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

SilverMaple said:


> You never want the bottom strand electrified as a horse stuck underneath it will continually be shocked,


There are fencers out there that turn off when the regulator senses a change in voltage. 

....not to mention a horse can easily be laying on the ground and be caught up in the second-from-bottom wire. Unfortunately just witnessed an injury a couple weeks ago, with this very thing on a 4-strand fence. I didn't see what he did to get caught (probably rolled) and he laid there with both front and back legs up in the fence. No, it did not end well when he decided to start struggling again.

OP, I do caution you on using high tensile wire for horses. Yes, installation and maintenance are easy but it CUTS when they get caught in it because it is such thin wire. Think of the wire on your cheese slicer...... Food for thought.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

I am Probably no help as I have woven wire. 

Wood posts every 20' with six T-posts in between.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

beau159 said:


> There are fencers out there that turn off when the regulator senses a change in voltage.
> 
> ....not to mention a horse can easily be laying on the ground and be caught up in the second-from-bottom wire. Unfortunately just witnessed an injury a couple weeks ago, with this very thing on a 4-strand fence. I didn't see what he did to get caught (probably rolled) and he laid there with both front and back legs up in the fence. No, it did not end well when he decided to start struggling again.
> 
> OP, I do caution you on using high tensile wire for horses. Yes, installation and maintenance are easy but it CUTS when they get caught in it because it is such thin wire. Think of the wire on your cheese slicer...... Food for thought.


A horse can get caught in electric on the top strand, too.... Our neighbors have electric hi-tensile on their pastures, and the only injury they've ever had that was severe was a 10-week old foal who died after being caught under the bottom strand when rolling and the bottom strand was electric. They noticed the mare having a fit and ran down to help, and he was being shocked continuously and died when they were freeing him. The charger that was supposed to turn off did not. They've had no more issues in 20 years with it now that the electric wires are the top and second from the bottom. 

I'm not a fan of hi-tensile at all, but it's so widely used because it's inexpensive. If it comes down to cheap barbed wire or hi-tensile, go with the tensile and make sure the horses can see it. It WILL NOT BREAK so make sure you have the special cutter on-hand if you ever need it-- our neighbors have one on the inside of every corner post in case of emergency. Horses can get hurt on even the safest fencing, so you have to use what you can afford and hope for the best. If you can run a rail on it, or a strand of electric tape on extenders inside so it's more easily seen, so much the better. 

Our local fence company will not install a horse fence with the bottom electrified, FWIW, and one local farmer saws every other line post halfway through at ground level so the POSTS will break if the horses run through it, because the fence wire won't. Having seen a couple of horses go through his fencing in a panic (he lives next to a shooting range, and some people insist on shooting birdshot at his horses on occasion) with no major injuries, he may be onto something.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

I don't think any of the bottom wires (3rd or 4th) should be electrified. Usually making the only the top one hot is enough to keep the horses away from the fence, unless you happen to have ponies or minis. Yes, they can get "stuck" in the top wire. Dang horses can get "stuck" on anything. 

With making the top wire hot, I also think 3 wires is plenty for full size horses (again, unless you have ponies or minis, then you might want a 4th wire). 

If doing wire, would choose "barbless" wire over high tensile. It's thicker so it is more visible, and it won't cut quite as bad as the high tensile. And it can still easily carry a charge.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

I like having at least the middle wire 'hot'. I've had several horses that will reach through the lower wires to graze if only the top wire is charged-- at best, they wear off their manes. At worst, they hang a leg in it. I have one currently who will get down on his knees and reach under the bottom wire even though his pasture is knee-deep in grass. Electrifying the second wire up and the top keeps all of the horses well away from the fence.


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## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

We have Centaur fence (it is a high tensile polymer fence) and the installation guide said 1 fence post every 12 feet


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

Do not use more then two wires of high tensile for horses. Do not use T posts
Use wooden posts, and insulators, making the top wire hot
Those 5 wire high tensile are for cattle
We used three wires in the field where we had foals, simply to keep them from going under the bottom wire. Mature horses need no more then two, and if they do hit it, will not have much damage, esp using insulators.Spacing is arbitrary, with no set rules, unless yuo are going to run a top rail


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

beau159 said:


> I have never heard that rule.
> 
> ...Coming from cattle country where T-posts are used for everything, and wooden posts are usually only used when you go through a low spot and/or areas where there is water. (And of course, wooden posts in the corners.)
> 
> ...


Alberta is known for it's beef, but T posts are not used for fencing, POst pounder and treated wooden posts are the norm, far as putting up a fence. Barb wire is still used by many cattle operations, and I replaced it in all our horse pastures with two wires of high tensile


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