Being an improvising sort of bloke, Bill ‘rigged up’ a car ignition coil and some bits and pieces from a meccano set to act as an electrical deterrent and, sure enough, to avoid a ‘lekky’ shock Joe soon went elsewhere to do his scratching.
At the same time in the United States, crude attempts were being made to control livestock using early electric fencing technology. Bill read of these creations and determined to do better. His early prototypes used mains electrical power but were deemed illegal by the power board so Bill switched to using batteries and coils from Ford motorcars.
Gallagher started a company to refine and further developed his designs until, given the limits of the technology, they performed as well as they possibly could. In 1962, another Kiwi, Doug Phillips, developed a non-shortable electric fence, greatly increasing the effective range of an electric fence from a few hundred yards to 35 miles while at the same time slashing the cost by up to 80%.
At around the same time, laws regarding the use of mains power for electric fencing were changed. Gallagher Group, as Bill’s company became known, continued to make advances in development and began winning international recognition for their products.
Today, Gallagher Group remains at the cutting edge of animal and security management systems and continues to collect design awards. As for Joe the horse, little is known of his fate but we can be sure he is blissfully unaware of the personal success his scratching habit brought to his owner, Bill Gallagher.