# powerfields polywire?



## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

Hi I was wondering if any of you use powerfields polywire? Does it hold up well? thanks.


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

Haven't used that one, but I use a similar polywire; Fi-Shock. Has worked very well so far. You do need a decent charger, though. Mine at the moment is a 10 mile.


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## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

Speed Racer said:


> Haven't used that one, but I use a similar polywire; Fi-Shock. Has worked very well so far. You do need a decent charger, though. Mine at the moment is a 10 mile.


 where do you get your polywire? Would you use fi-shock polytape too?


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## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

I heard some where that polywire doesnt hold up well in cold weather. is that true?


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

Tractor Supply carries it in my area, but most of the farm supply stores should have it.

I don't know about Canadian winters since I'm in the southern US, but it seems to work fine on our coldest days. Which granted, aren't anywhere near as cold as yours. The coldest we get is high 20s Fahrenheit, but generally not any lower than 32 degrees Fahrenheit.


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## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

Speed Racer said:


> Tractor Supply carries it in my area, but most of the farm supply stores should have it.
> 
> I don't know about Canadian winters since I'm in the southern US, but it seems to work fine on our coldest days. Which granted, aren't anywhere near as cold as yours. The coldest we get is high 20s Fahrenheit, but generally not any lower than 32 degrees Fahrenheit.


 would rope hold up better then? do you use your polywire as your pasture perimiter?
Our TSC has it but it's $37/656 ft. I dont think I want to spend so much there if I can get it cheaper somewhere else. I guess I'll try the tractor supply in the states...


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

I do use it as my perimeter fencing. As long as you have a good, strong charger and sturdy fence posts it should be fine. 

I'd think a heavier electrified rope would work better than the thinner polywire for you.


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## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

Speed Racer said:


> I do use it as my perimeter fencing. As long as you have a good, strong charger and sturdy fence posts it should be fine.
> 
> *I'd think a heavier electrified rope would work better than the thinner polywire for you*.


 you mean in cold weather?


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

Yes, for cold weather. You don't want the thinner stuff snapping when the temps drop down below freezing and stay there for months.

None of it is cheap, although electric fencing is much more economical than board fencing. Easier to maintain, too.


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## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

Speed Racer said:


> Yes, for cold weather. You don't want the thinner stuff snapping when the temps drop down below freezing and stay there for months.
> 
> None of it is cheap, although electric fencing is much more economical than board fencing. Easier to maintain, too.


what about jumbo polywire? what is the recomended post spacing for rope/polywire?


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

You can go 35-40 feet between wooden posts with 2 to 3 t-posts in between, or you can just use wooden posts and space them 12-16 feet apart. Cheaper to use less wooden posts and have t-posts to take up the slack.

Jumbo polywire would probably work, but you'll need to see it's temperature rating.


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## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

Speed Racer said:


> You can go 35-40 feet between wooden posts with 2 to 3 t-posts in between, or you can just use wooden posts and space them 12-16 feet apart. Cheaper to use less wooden posts and have t-posts to take up the slack.
> 
> Jumbo polywire would probably work, but you'll need to see it's temperature rating.


 would wooden posts spaced 20 ft apart work too? I think i'll try out the jumbo polywire then.


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

Yes, but I'd put one t-post in the middle between them, just for security purposes. Don't forget the t-post caps, too.


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## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

would fibreglass posts work too?


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

Instead of t-posts? Yes. Not in place of wooden posts, though. They're not even tall enough to support the top strand of a 3-strand fence.


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## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

Speed Racer said:


> Instead of t-posts? Yes. Not in place of wooden posts, though. They're not even tall enough to support the top strand of a 3-strand fence.


 T posts are awfully expensive at our local tractor supply($10-$13 each!) Wood posts are way cheaper.


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## RitzieAnn (Dec 22, 2010)

I use the 9 strand from Horse.com. It's cheap & conducts a good enough punch to keep the goat out of the baby trees ( 4 strands) its easy to work with & you can put a loop at the end & tension it some. Some places I have 4 strands that are hot, some are 2 & some are just single. We recently purchased property & this is what we are adding to the woven sheep fence & barbed wire that was already there. I love it. It's cheaper from horse.com than it is at my local feed store that carries the same brand & its cheaper than the compared brand at the store too. Even with the "over weight" fee. 

If I can get to a computer, then I shall post some pictures. A lot of it is held by temporary posts. The one protecting the baby trees is T posts every (roughly) 40-50ft & has temporary posts in between. (As mentioned, posts are expensive!) The ones I use to divide my pastures for rotation are also on temporary posts & we have some along the top of the livestock fencing so the horses don't reach over.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## RitzieAnn (Dec 22, 2010)

Apparently I cannot edit my previous post 

Here is what I have Powerfields 9 Wire HD Polywire - Horse.com

here is a picture of it, keeping the goat out


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## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

RitzieAnn said:


> Apparently I cannot edit my previous post
> 
> Here is what I have Powerfields 9 Wire HD Polywire - Horse.com
> 
> here is a picture of it, keeping the goat out


 That looks great! I wanted to get that polywire too. do you have it as perimiter fencing? I heard that polywire can spark and start fire? how can that be prevented?


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## RitzieAnn (Dec 22, 2010)

um... yes.

Now, none of this picture is to scale, and the 3 black rectangles are 10x20 barns.

Red is the woven wire livestock fencing. Turquoise is 6 strand barb wire. Those were all pre existing. The blue is 3 (behind the house) or 4 (in the field, which is the goat pic I already posted) strand electric. The purple is either 1 or 2 strands. The square area with the 2 small runs in it @ one barn, that will be our dirt arena. Pretty goo size, though a little smaller than standard. But it's flat, and will be fenced 

The brown lines are wood. The large area is the goat area, and the smaller square is the duck/chicken yard

Hope that all made sense.

As for the sparking, I've not had that happen. Just as with any electric current, if metal is too close, it can jump, especially if the area is wet (rain or humidity). I've had no worry of fire. Been around poly wire fencing for about 4 years, and if you include poly tape, then about 7 or 8 years. We just started using the Powerfields in December, when we purchased this property. I had some of a different brand, but I like this better. It's easier to see (black/white, not pale orange/white) and it was cheaper too! But of course, still makes the goat run. A lot has to do with your fencer too though


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## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

does anyone use polywire for their drylots? I wanted to make a 30X60ft drylot with sand for my horse(and hopefully a mini or shetland for company) to stay in when it rains or in spring so he doesnt wreck half the pasture(like he did this year)! in muddy and wet waether, he doesnt move around much anyway. I wanted to fence off a bit in front of the barn where he hangs out half the time and the grass is all worn away. I am worried about erosion though. is there a way to prevent that?


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## RitzieAnn (Dec 22, 2010)

The area I mentioned as arena & the little squares by one of the barns are where I dry lot. As I mentioned, its 1 to 2 strands.  We have only been here since December though. To prevent erosion you could leave a buffer of grass or shrubs around the outside edge. You can always dump in sand, pea gravel or hog fuel. The 1st two drain, the last doesn't. So if the area is really wet continually, then don't use the wood. It will absorb the water & hold it until the area dries up. Wood decomposes when its waterlogged like that. If your area is high traffic, but drains alright to begin with, then its great.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

RitzieAnn said:


> The area I mentioned as arena & the little squares by one of the barns are where I dry lot. As I mentioned, its 1 to 2 strands.  We have only been here since December though. To prevent erosion you could leave a buffer of grass or shrubs around the outside edge. You can always dump in sand, pea gravel or hog fuel. The 1st two drain, the last doesn't. So if the area is really wet continually, then don't use the wood. It will absorb the water & hold it until the area dries up. Wood decomposes when its waterlogged like that. If your area is high traffic, but drains alright to begin with, then its great.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


How big are your dry lots? Do you have sand or some other footing?
you use two strands of polywire for your drylot fencing?


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## RitzieAnn (Dec 22, 2010)

Yes. For now. I actually use the entire arena area for dry lot. I wanted to over graze it before I rent a tiller (calling the company this week o see if hey have one available this weekend!) We are going to fence it in wood rails, but that probably won't be until fall or next year... So many expenses as a new home owner, lol!

I don't know the measurements of the smaller area. I kind of eyeballed it. It's about 15 or so feet off each end of the barn, and about 40ft from north to south. I almost never lock them up that small though.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

RitzieAnn said:


> Yes. For now. I actually use the entire arena area for dry lot. I wanted to over graze it before I rent a tiller (calling the company this week o see if hey have one available this weekend!) We are going to fence it in wood rails, but that probably won't be until fall or next year... So many expenses as a new home owner, lol!
> 
> I don't know the measurements of the smaller area. I kind of eyeballed it. It's about 15 or so feet off each end of the barn, and about 40ft from north to south. I almost never lock them up that small though.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Could polywire be used in a pen 40X60 ft? I would like to get wood rails in that pen some time too though. It would just be for my one horse and maybe a mini for company some day.


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## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

RitzieAnn, How large is your arena going to be? Are you going to dry lot your horses in there? I am still unsure of the size of my dry lot although I would like to make it big enough for two full sized horses(incase I DO get another horse). Thank you!


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## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

Would 60x80ft be a fair sized drylot for two horses? can it be smaller?


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## RitzieAnn (Dec 22, 2010)

I have not measured it. I will be measuring the narrow distance this weekend though. I just got it tilled up today & need to set the distance in the back closer to the barns. The width isn't something I got to choose. It's the space between the driveway & a line of little trees. The trees are in a "mitigated" area because when the house was built by the previous owners, they ran the driveway through a small area of wetlands, so the county made them plant trees. I am just thrilled to have a flat contained area & really excited for fencing it in with rails as soon as we can afford it. We plan to let that be our winter area because it is drier than the rest of the field area. I don't want them to be out there ripping it up when its all soft & saturated. We live on peat, so it grows things really well, its really dense & springy, but when its wet its easy to damage.

We plan to section off 2 smaller pens around the shelter so I can split the horses sometimes & not always have them turned out together. They are mother/son & son can get pretty crazy when mom isn't there for him to pick on.

I have pictures of the arena before/after Tilling & will post them when I can. Unfortunately this forum doesn't allow me to post from my phone, which is vast majority of my internet access :-(
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## RitzieAnn (Dec 22, 2010)

Well, here's the "before" picture (taken thursday) and the "after" picture, taken Friday night! YAY. There was some grass, so I'll till again Sunday before we have to return the tiller.

And... for fun... there's the horses (Maddy is the brown one, Haskell is the strawberry one) They were NOT excited about the tiller.


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## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

I was just wondering why you till your arena? I have always wanted to build one but I dont really understand the tilling part. What is a good size for an arena? 
I also wanted to put a 3 or 4 board fence up in the drylot but we have trees along one side with branches overhanging the fenceline and I was worried that if they fall on the wood fence, the fence would break. Would you put up a wood fence beside trees?


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## RitzieAnn (Dec 22, 2010)

Well, a few reasons for tilling.

1) the field had "tire ruts" in it (you can sort of see them going from left, to right (and slightly up) that mound in the background is our drainfield, so there are ruts from a big truck. They are old, but the ground is so dense (peat) that it doesn't relax. Tilling it was easier than "filling" it

2) the strawberry paint is in training. He is 4. i'm not worried of coming off, but I wanted a well worked surface anyway.

3) I used to board at a barn where the owners did barrels & other games (at very high levels) and they ripped their arena often, so i'm used to working in fluffy ground.

4) I've noticed that the fluffy ground works really well for muscle tone. They have to work harder & pick up their feet more. Haskell is lazy by nature, and will drag himself all over the place if allowed to (he's the reason I own a pair of spurs!)

Now my work space is level, fluffy, and free of food. We plan to add sand to build it up & aid in the drainage of it, but that won't be happening this year. It will be over time, and worked in.

You can see that there are trees in the picture. They are small, but will get very large. I'm not worried about them. If you build a quality fence, you would have to have some huge branches come down on it to destroy it. Generally a wood rail (build right) will hold up way better to a tree fall than poly wire or even high tension wire. The only thing I slightly worry about is that our baby trees will grow into the fence. But i think they'll be fine.


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