"I would much rather repair a fence than call a vet."—Mary Kahl

When Mary Kahl purchased acreage for her horse operation near Milford, Del., she knew exactly what kind of fencing she wanted. "I used Safe-Fence on a small pasture I had before buying this place," she explains. "It's great for horses."

Kahl breeds her mares and sells the foals to buyers throughout the region. She calls her farm In Living Color Stables, in reference to the various colors of her horses.

Most customers buy her horses for showing or pleasure riding, a hobby Mary enjoys when she has spare time between caring for her horses and working full time with her husband at the family's nearby marina.

Actually, horses are more of a hobby than a business, she acknowledges. "I didn't grow up around horses, but I always had a passion for them."

Kahl adds that her love of horses actually smoothed the way to marriage. "My husband [Marvin] wasn't all that anxious to enter into marriage until I bought my first horse," she says laughingly. "But after the horse started getting more attention than he did, he decided that marriage was not such a bad idea."

Marvin occasionally helps with the horses, but Mary is the one with the passion for the enterprise. After buying the acreage, she cleared the overgrown farmland and staked off several 1ž2- to 1-acre pastures using Safe-Fence throughout the 10 acres of improved land on the 50 acres she purchased.

Mary Kahl says Paige, this three-month-old filly, has the paint coloring that's very popular with buyers.

"One of the major advantages for me is that Safe-Fence is so easy to maintain," she says. "My repair kit consists of a small cardboard box with spare parts such as tape and insulation."

She likes the fact that her horses quickly learn to respect the charged strands of tape. On those rare occasions when a horse runs through a fence, they escape without sustaining injuries.

"I've had experience trying to keep horses in wood or wire fences," she relates. "They tried to test those types more often and, especially with wire, frequently suffered injuries. I would much rather repair a fence then call a vet.

Safe-Fence is also easy to install, notes Paul Collins, assistant manager at the co-op's Milford store. "If you can lift 24 pounds, swing a hammer and turn a small wrench, you can install Safe-Fence on any post."

Line posts can be wood, steel "T" posts, plastic or the system's Safe-Tee Sleek fitted over T-posts.

On one 2-acre pasture, a day after setting the wood posts in concrete Kahl installed the fencing system in five hours at a cost of about $2,500.

Ease of installation also pays dividends during breeding season, enabling Kahl to create small paddocks for close observation of pregnant mares or creep-feeding foals.

Kahl discusses her solar panel/charger installation with David Diamond and Paul Collins of Milford Co-op, her local Southern States retailer.

Mary attributes much of her progress to David Diamond, merchandising manager for Southern States' Milford store, for his service and product support. As a result, she buys most of her supplies from Southern States, including Legends® horse feeds, dewormers, vaccines and tack supplies.

"David and all of the Southern States staff are easy to deal with and very responsive to my needs," she relates. "That's why I do so much business with them."

(For additional information about Safe-Fence, check the manufacturer's Web site, www.safefence.com, or visit your local Southern States retail store.)

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