Insulator for electric fences

An insulator mountable on a fence post and capable of supporting and retaining an electrically conductive fence wire and withstanding repeated pushing and pulling on the fence wire by livestock, comprising:

• an insulator body formed of insulative material and including fence post mounting means for mounting said insulator body on the fence post;
• said insulator body further including a face and an impact absorbing fence wire retaining hook fixed to and extending outwardly from the junction of said hook and said face and capable of receiving and retaining the fence wire therein, said hook being formed of elastically flexible material so as to be flexibly movable between a rest position adjacent said face and an extended position;
• said insulator body further including a reinforcing member fixed to and extending outwardly from said face, said member being closely spaced from and confronting said wire retaining hook and at least partially encompassing said hook;
• said wire retaining hook contacting and bearing against said reinforcing member when said hook is in extended position and said hook and said reinforcing member cooperating to resist further movement of said hook toward said reinforcing member as force is applied to said hook by the wire when livestock exert force on the fence wire;
• and
• said wire retaining hook including a first segment fixed to and extending outwardly from said face, a second segment fixed to and extending transversely downwardly from said first segment, a third segment fixed to and extending transversely from said second segment and toward said face, and a fourth segment fixed to and extending transversely upwardly from said third segment, spaced from said face and ending in a terminal end with said terminal end closely spaced from said first segment to define a wire insertion slot between said terminal end and said first segment, said slot having a width less than the thickness of the wire to be retained to permit the fence wire to be forced through said slot and within said hook as said hook moves to said extended position.