Shoutout to the guy who told me to try a 9-gauge wire for a horse fence in Austin

I always used 11-gauge for everything, but this client's land had some real rocky soil (like, you hit a rock every other post hole). The thicker wire was a pain to pull tight at first, but after that big storm last month, his fence was the only one on the property line still standing straight. Anyone have a good trick for tensioning the heavier stuff around corners without a come-along?

3 comments

3 Comments

charlesowens2mo ago

My old foreman swore by a truck hitch for corner tension.

sarahhart13d ago

Respectfully, I gotta push back on that one. "Swore by a truck hitch for corner tension" sounds like a shortcut that could get you into trouble fast. In my experience, those hitches aren't designed for that kind of sideways pull, they're meant for straight towing loads. I've seen a couple hitches bend or even break when people used them that way, and it's not pretty. Your mileage may vary, but I'd rather take the extra time with a proper anchor point or a deadman than trust a hitch for that.

the_richard2mo ago

Wait, so was he using the actual hitch receiver or like the ball mount? My uncle did something similar with a come-along and a tractor hitch to pull a fence post once, it was sketchy as hell. @charlesowens that generation had a different idea of safety for sure. I can picture some old timer just cranking down on a hitch in a parking lot now.

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