# T Posts



## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

I've always used 5 ft. I like the height in relation to how tall most of our horse are.


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## They Call Me Pete (Oct 27, 2009)

boots said:


> I've always used 5 ft. I like the height in relation to how tall most of our horse are.


That was my thought even though our horses are on the smaller side.....for now :wink:


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

We use 6 ft with safety caps on top.


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## elkdog (Nov 28, 2016)

the caps on top are important! I have a paint mare with 30+ stitches between her front legs from a t post. She must have found one of the few posts down by the creek with no caps. It's healing well and the stitches come out tomorrow.

My farrier's roping horse got a t post in a hind leg about a month ago and almost died from loss of blood.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

elkdog said:


> the caps on top are important! I have a paint mare with 30+ stitches between her front legs from a t post. She must have found one of the few posts down by the creek with no caps. It's healing well and the stitches come out tomorrow.
> 
> My farrier's roping horse got a t post in a hind leg about a month ago and almost died from loss of blood.


Safety toppers are a MUST and checking them frequently is too. Horses have the most uncanny ability to find the 1 post in 1000 that has lost its cap. 









I prefer these to the harder ones because they don't slide off as easily or often and if the post is a little dog eared from the post pounder it will still slide on.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

I use 6 foot posts.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

6-foot posts, here, with about 18 - 20" in the ground. Any less than that and they fall over too easily, especially if it's really wet or really dry. And yes, cap every post, and then check those caps weekly.


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

Don't use T posts for horse fencing, although I understand caps are there to eliminate wreaks
Still, if a horse happens to hit a fence post, I prefer that post be wooden, versus steel !
Guess I'm old fashioned, and like wooden posts pounded into the ground


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

^ Wood is ideal, but everything is not always ideal.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

6ft with caps. 

Thanks for posting that DCA. I've never seen those around here. Bet it is harder for wasps to build nests in too....I'll have to go looking or ask if the feed store can get them.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

I agree that using T-posts is not ideal, but I understand not every situation is ideal. If you're going to use them, use the tallest ones possible - less chance of a horse trying to jump them and impaling themselves! And use those caps! If you can't find any, or need a quick temporary fix, buy some cheap tennis balls and cut an X in the bottom, then stick them on top. Again, I'm not recommending this, but if you're going to do it anyway...


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

QtrBel said:


> 6ft with caps.
> 
> Thanks for posting that DCA. I've never seen those around here. Bet it is harder for wasps to build nests in too....I'll have to go looking or ask if the feed store can get them.


You can order them on line, https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=2e87c03b-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5&sfb=1&itemguid=32eab08d-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5&utm_content=26025&ccd=IFM003&CAWELAID=120295250000090284&CATARGETID=120295250000170094&cadevice=c&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1JbPBRCrARIsAOKj2PlKVKHYd1sABqugk9n71ORfXKxG_zDosCDbpdLb2cyQYqLEo_2XgocaAlkOEALw_wcB


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

Horses can impale themselves on splintered wood posts, too. A friend bought a farm and spent months cleaning up the fencing-- metal posts, barbed wire, junk all over the place, etc. Horses had been on those pastures for years with apparently few or no injuries as the same horses were there for as long as I can remember. He got it all cleaned up and put in wood posts and vinyl fencing that looks like post and board.

Last year he had a mare impale herself on a post that broke when the horses were running and she slipped and slammed the fence. The vet says he sees that quite a bit. Horses will find a way to get hurt on any type of fence you use. You do what you can to make what you have/can afford safe, and hope for the best.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Smilie said:


> Don't use T posts for horse fencing, although I understand caps are there to eliminate wreaks
> Still, if a horse happens to hit a fence post, I prefer that post be wooden, versus steel !
> Guess I'm old fashioned, and like wooden posts pounded into the ground


After seeing the caps erode and come off, no t posts are used by me, pressure treated only.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

We use 7' posts with caps. The taller posts give us more flexibility with the height in the little dips and valleys.


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## They Call Me Pete (Oct 27, 2009)

I'm thinking hard about using 5 1/2 or 6 footer after seeing them at my local TSC. Looks like a better fit. I wish I could fence it with wood posts but also have 2 run-in sheds to build and then put up hay. We are doing as much wood posts as we can. We are building Peaceful Oaks Farm from the ground up


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

SilverMaple said:


> Horses can impale themselves on splintered wood posts, too. A friend bought a farm and spent months cleaning up the fencing-- metal posts, barbed wire, junk all over the place, etc. Horses had been on those pastures for years with apparently few or no injuries as the same horses were there for as long as I can remember. He got it all cleaned up and put in wood posts and vinyl fencing that looks like post and board.
> 
> Last year he had a mare impale herself on a post that broke when the horses were running and she slipped and slammed the fence. The vet says he sees that quite a bit. Horses will find a way to get hurt on any type of fence you use. You do what you can to make what you have/can afford safe, and hope for the best.


 True, horses can hurt themselves on anything , BUT, statistics have way more hroses hurt on T posts. I myself know of several that got impaled on them
Pressure treated posts are pretty safe, but of course, not infallible. Having atop wire hot, and very visible, removing bottom wires, go along way to preventing horse fence wreaks.I have not had one in over 15 years-touch wood--ooops is that a fence post!
Agree, ideal is not always possible, so if using T posts, make them safe as possible
Some people also have no problem running horses in barb wire, in large fields, and with horses that respect fences


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

They Call Me Pete said:


> I'm thinking hard about using 5 1/2 or 6 footer after seeing them at my local TSC. Looks like a better fit. I wish I could fence it with wood posts but also have 2 run-in sheds to build and then put up hay. We are doing as much wood posts as we can. We are building Peaceful Oaks Farm from the ground up


How cool! Do what you can now, cap the posts, walk the fence every week or so to make sure the caps haven't come off and address fencing issues (sagging wire, snags, breaks in the electric circuit, etc.), and replace with wood posts as you can. When we built fencing at my parents' farm, we started with all metal posts except for the corners, and replaced about 10 a month with wood as we could afford to buy and install them. In the winter when the ground was frozen, we'd stash the money for those posts in a box, and come spring when the local store had a fence sale, we could get a bunch of good wood posts at the same time on sale. We had all wood posts up within a couple of years. If you pull the old t-posts out straight up with a chain hooked to the loader on a tractor, you can keep them straight and resell them on CL for not much less than you paid to recoup your costs on that, but keep a few around for emergency fence repairs, etc. They come in handy.


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## Cynical25 (Mar 7, 2013)

6ft T-posts.


Some of the existing-when-I-moved-in, shared fencelines with neighbors are on 5ft posts (which means just barely over 4 ft is above ground) - I had to add a bunch of 6ft posts and an electric wire on top, to stop my 14.1hh and 15.1hh horses from reaching over the too short fence.


I only have caps on the fencelines facing my house, places where it's likely my visitors might reach over to pet and where my itchy-horse is most likely to rub. I didn't bother with the other 200 T-posts, because, honestly, a running horse CAN still impale himself on something of that diameter and I COULD still be impaled if I got tossed off a horse onto a capped T-post.


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