Have you got a fencing plan for laminitic horses and ponies?

Make sure you have a year-round fencing plan for laminitic horses and ponies, warns agricultural fencing specialist Gallagher.

With spring arriving it’s important to turn our attention to the prevention of laminitis — a debilitating condition that can affect horses and ponies of any age.

For laminitic horse and ponies, the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence.

Reliable, portable fencing is key to managing those prone to laminitis and Gallagher is urging owners to take time to consider the best type of fencing to suit their needs and has put together some helpful advice and special offers.

• Fencing must be easily visible — a tape fence is both visible and safe
• Electric fencing is typically 50% less expensive to install than other types of fencing and provides an effective and portable solution for laminitic horses
• Electric fencing is a psychological barrier — most horses will avoid it after their first contact
• Some horses become distressed when separated from their field companions — electric fencing allows an area within a larger paddock to be fenced off so they are close by
• Managing laminitics sometimes requires fencing to be erected or moved quickly — with Gallagher’s SmartFence, a 100 metre mobile fence can be erected in just five minutes
• Make sure you have plenty of spare posts and clips — spacing posts further apart can help save time and money
• Make sure the fence is taut by tensioning it with the Gallagher rope tensioner
• Use the Gallagher rope gateway set for a safe and simple gateway opening
• For mobile horse fencing, use the Gallagher’s new stirrup post for spacing purposes
• For horses, fencing wire should be placed at 65cm, 100cm and 135cm for maximum effectiveness
• Choose an efficient battery energiser designed for use with horses
• Inadequate earthing is the main cause of low power so ensure you test your energiser’s earthing system with a digital voltmeter or a Gallagher Smartfix
• Discuss a year-round management programme with your vet
• Watch out for sudden flushes of grass
• Try to arrange mixed grazing with sheep to help keep the grass down

Check out Gallagher’s fabulous spring fencing offers.

The world’s most efficient energiser, the B40 Energiser is being offered at £184.00 with a neontester — a tool to check whether the fence has sufficient voltage — worth £28.99 thrown in completely free of charge.

Do the Gallagher check at www.gallagher.eu/check/en/ and discover all the other special offers on the Gallagher range.

Check out Gallagher’s facebook page at www.facebook.com/Gallagher for more helpful hints and tips.