>>>> Do you have to cement t-bars too? V
Do you mean t-posts? No, you don't need to cement them in because you drive them into the ground. With wooden posts, you have to dig a hole that's much bigger than the post, and that means that the ground is no longer firm around them. I would strongly recommend that you concrete in your corner posts at a minimum - unless you use t-post and buy the corner brackets for bracing them appropriately. Cary did that on the last fence he put up and it's holding up great - but then, we don't have as much thawing and freezing as you have either. As for the spacing and which strands to have electrified, you will get a lot of bad information if you aren't careful who you listen to. The Electrobraid website has some great information on their site, and I'd follow their instructions. They are professionals. I like electric fence a good bit, but an improperly installed electric fence can be very dangerous... not dangerous from the electricity, but dangerous in that horses may become entangled in the fence materials if they don't respect it. Your electric fence needs to have a voltage in the higher end of the recommended range - otherwise, many horses won't stay away from it. I've heard some people recommend keeping the voltage lower out of a misguided sense of kindness - that's about as "kind" as the old dumb-blonde joke about putting the lobster in cold water and gradually warming him up - NOT kind at all. Horses can be seriously injured from wire or rope - but injuries from properly installed and maintained electric fences are very rare. The key is to keep them off the fence. As we've said many times, no fence is 100% safe, and I think a well-planned electric fence is pretty darned safe. Karen Thomas, NC [EMAIL PROTECTED]
