The area of our property that we are fencing off for 2 horses that we are getting has a utility pole smack dab in the middle. We live in the country so the pole only has our lines from the house running to it and obviously the lines are to the top of the pole. Should we fence this small section off around the pole or do you think the horses would leave it alone by not chewing on the wood, rubbing against it, etc..etc..?
Good point Cat! I never even thought of what the pole itself is made of or coated with
mountain horse property
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I would highly recommend to fence it out, they will yes chew on it, rub and so on. Just think they coat those poles in chemicals, and stuff so the wood won’t rot, and don’t take the chance your horse could chew on it. Best of luck.
Oh, they will definately bug it, no doubt about it. Expect them to chew and rub on the pole- if your horse doesn’t, it is probably sick, lol. We have 10 acres of alfalfa pasture and 1 cedar post in the middle of it …..it has been rubbed to the ground already- even 24/7 available food doesn’t get them to stop- their heads and ***** are itchy.
If you don’t want it damaged at all, you definately need to fence it off.
It is pretty unpredictable what the horses will do with that pole, they might rub against it, chew on it or simply leave it alone, the most damage will be caused by chewing (assuming the pole is solid and deep enough in the ground that rubbing doesn’t cause it to loosen in the ground), for the chewing you might just get some chain link fencing (chicken fence) and wrap it around the pole.
I would put a fence around it - if there is something horses can potentially get into, they WILL get into it, one day or another! I would **** to see them hurt themselves on it (or those nasty foot pegs that stick out of them.)
The poles used around here are treated with creosote to keep them from rotting so I would fence it off.
Our REA company is responsible for the maintenance of the poles to the meter, and our responsibility from the meter to the buildings. But if your horses damage their pole, I would say it would be your bill.
I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Chances are very good that they will completely ignore it. I wouldn’t worry too much about them chewing on it either. My barn is built using old utility poles and my horses do not chew on it. I have a couple of old poles set out in the barn yard to use as cross ties and they have never chewed on them either. They might rub on them but they can’t hurt it or themselves by doing so.
Easy solution would be to surround it with electric fence (it doesn’t have to be electrified). This will keep them away from it and it is cheap and efficient.
i have 4 poles in my main pasture and 5 horses.none of them bother the poles.once in awhile one may stop it scratch but not very often.but my poles have no ground guide wire.if yours have guide wires i would defiantly fence it in.i have seem bad things happen with that.the poles on my property do not have creosote on them so i don’t worry about them chewing.because they have some woods and they like to chew on certain trees.
Murphy’s Law for horses: If in a field of lush grass up to their butts, there is one lonely pole that might be treated with something toxic, at least one will at least chew on it just to see what happens.
I’d isolate the area. Would it be possible to move the pole? We’re upgrading to 400 amp service sometime this year and will be moving the pole/meter at that time because it’s a pain in the **** where it is. You might ask your utility about it.
I don’t think it’ll be that big of a bother. We’ve got one right next to our pasture where they can reach it. They pretty much ignore it, except the mini who likes to chew on wires. But if your wires are at the top you prob. don’t need to worry.
one of my pastures has a utility pole in it and over the many years that it has been there and the many different horses that have been pastured there…I have never seen a horse even look at the pole. If the poles are treated with Creosote, the horses will not chew on it..creosote is used by many of us horse people for the reason…if they run on it for an occasional itch…so what. Leave it alone no one will hurt it
Horses LOVE to rub, lol, so you should really fence it off…..my step-dad does that with our cows so they don’t rub on the machinery and stuff….but they still rub on the sprinkler pipes and bust them…you don’t want that happening! Good luck!
