Zareba HDR656WA-Z 656 feet of 8mm Electric Fencing Heavy-Duty Sure Shock Polyrope, White

We had a fencer talk us into installing this type of poly rope and woven strand down one entire side of our pasture. There are definite pros and cons to it. It says right on the site, that it's for temporary fencing. I think it would do excellent for that. We really didn't know better and were talked into it by a "professional". It was sold as being able to have a tree drop on it, cut it off, and it pops right back up. It pretty much does do that.However, a good branch can pin it down and theoretically the horses could step through. It breaks down over years, due to sunlight, wind vibrating it, and animals brushing it. Birds land on it and don't get shocked because they aren't grounded. Deer are the biggest problem. When it starts breaking, which even new can do, I suspect it's young bucks who are used to ducking through and get their new horns caught on it. It'll be broken and drug 40' into the pasture. Luckily, it's typically just one strand at a time. We run 3.You're also going to save a lot of money vs traditional fence. Wire fence needs lots of h-braces and wood posts every 100' and t-posts every 10'. Wire lets you save h-braces for the end of runs, gates, and you have a 300' and 30' spacing. I just replaced half of our fence line, with some left for about $270. That was just line. The infrastructure was already there. It's also easy to repair. You have ratcheting tensioners on either end and wind extra line onto them. You can loosen it by hand, after unplugging, tie the ends together, retighten each side till it's taught and plug it back in. I've done it by hand many times. Each knot starts making it weaker and you'll need to replace the whole run eventually. You also need good contact.We tried to cheap out a few years ago and bought a cheaper line. It was a mistake. I think it had 3 wires woven through. It make horrible contact and would break the electrical path. I wouldn't go lower than the 6 strands in this one. I never have a problem keeping full power over the entire run, even with patches.If you're going to go this route, I'd recommend this brand. I've had great results with it, over a number of years. You can replace it at whatever schedule is convenient to you, just plan to replace it all at 10yrs max interval. You can replace it all in one go, or replace it in sections.I plan to modify mine. I wish I'd gone with no-climb over the whole pasture. It's more expensive, harder to install and repair, but it can take a lot of damage and hold up with no maintenance for years. It's just what you want to do in the long run. My mod is I plan to run a strand of high tensile between the top and middle wire of rope. The danger with high tensile is they can run into it and cut themselves on the taught wire if they don't see it. They can also potentially get it wrapped around a foot if its low and just the wrong things happen. My uncles friend had to euthanize one who got it wrapped around a foot and cut himself deep. I plan to keep it high and it'll never break. It'll be a more solid barrier to teach the deer and horses not to pass through.

It’s easy to use and keeps our 5 horses right in place.

I really like this electric fence for our horses. It is well made and easy to use. We are slowly taking down our old fence and replacing it with this white electric fence. It is easy to install. So far no issues, its thick and easy to see We replaced our first fence with this a few years ago and it has not frayed and has held up. Love this fence and would highly recommend it for Horses.

the spools can come apart easily making a one helluva tangled mess

This was super easy to string together and install. Very visible in the pasture for the horses and it looks great.

I'm not sure what all the fuss is about the spool breaking. I'm assuming people may be pulling on the rope causing tension on the spool to the point of failure? At any rate, before you remove the plastic packaging, do yourself a HUGE favor and run a small loop of old rope through the spool first and clamp it down (this will be your "rope guard" to keep it from unwinding). Then overlap a larger portion of rope back over the first loop and clamp that down (this is your "handle" loop), and boom! You have a makeshift spool holder!As for the product itself, it is perfectly adequate for energized fencing. Very sturdy and will last for years.

If your spool is broken when you receive it ask for a replacement and send the broken one back. It does not cost more and will save you a lot of time and frustration.

Easy to install and works good for livestock