6 Best Fence Tensioner Tools For Small Farms Old Farmers Swear By

There’s a specific sound a loose fence makes in the wind—a dull, rattling hum that signals trouble. It means a weak point for a predator, an escape route for your goats, or just one more thing on your never-ending to-do list. On a small farm, your fences are your first line of defense, and keeping them tight isn’t just about looking tidy; it’s fundamental to smooth operations.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, this site earns from qualifying purchases. Thank you!

Why a Tight Fence is Non-Negotiable on the Farm

A sagging fence is an open invitation for problems. For livestock owners, it’s the constant, low-grade anxiety of checking the pasture to make sure everyone is still where they’re supposed to be. One determined sheep or curious calf will find that single loose wire and turn your quiet afternoon into a frantic neighborhood roundup.

It’s also about keeping things out. A taut, properly tensioned fence is a significant deterrent to coyotes, stray dogs, and even deer that might otherwise wander in to browse your garden to the ground. The integrity of your fence directly impacts the safety of your animals and the viability of your crops. A loose fence fails at both.

Ultimately, a tight fence saves you time and money. Wires that are properly tensioned shed snow and ice better, withstand impacts from wildlife, and place less strain on your corner posts over time. Investing a little effort in keeping it snug prevents the much larger job of rebuilding an entire section that failed under pressure.

SpeeCo S162 Chain Strainer: The Classic Choice

If you could only have one fence tool, this might be it. The SpeeCo Chain Strainer, often called a "chain grabber," is the definition of simple, brute-force effectiveness. It’s a heavy-duty tool with a swivel head that grips the wire and a long chain that you anchor to a post or a stretcher bar, allowing you to crank tension into a line with a handle.

This tool shines during initial fence construction. When you’re pulling a 500-foot run of barbed or smooth wire, the chain strainer gives you the leverage needed to get it banjo-string tight before you staple it off. It’s not elegant, but it is incredibly reliable. There are no complex parts to break, and it works on just about any kind of single-strand wire.

The tradeoff is its clumsiness for repairs. Using a big chain strainer to tighten a small, sagging section in the middle of a fence line can be awkward and overkill. It’s primarily a tool for pulling long, new runs of wire, not for delicate, mid-span adjustments. Still, for its raw power and simplicity, it has earned its place in every farmer’s truck bed.

Gripple Torq Tool for Quick In-Line Adjustments

The Gripple system is the modern answer to fast fence repair. The concept is brilliant: you use a special connector called a Gripple to join or terminate wires, and the Gripple Torq Tool allows you to pull the wire through the connector, tensioning it with a simple squeeze-and-release action. The tool has a built-in gauge, so you can apply the precise tension required for your wire type.

This is the undisputed champion for speed and convenience. If a tree branch falls and sags a section of your high-tensile fence, you can fix it in under five minutes without cutting wires. You just attach the tool to the wire’s tail coming out of the Gripple and crank it a few times. It makes re-tensioning an entire fence line a quick walk-along task instead of a day-long project.

Of course, this convenience comes at a cost. You are buying into a proprietary system, and the Gripple connectors themselves are an ongoing expense. While a chain strainer works on any wire by itself, this tool is useless without the right connectors. For farmers who value their time highly and deal with frequent small adjustments, the Gripple system is often a worthwhile investment.

The Gallagher Permanent Wire Strainer Winder Tool

This tool represents a philosophy of "build it right, maintain it easy." The Gallagher winder is essentially a specialized handle that fits onto permanent, ratchet-style in-line strainers that you install when you first build your fence. These strainers stay on the wire, and the handle is what you use to turn them and add tension.

The beauty of this system is in its foresight. By installing a few permanent strainers along a long run of fence, you give yourself easy tensioning points for the entire life of the fence. When the wire stretches due to temperature changes or age, you don’t need to pull out a heavy strainer. You just grab the lightweight winder handle, walk the line, and give each ratchet a few clicks.

This isn’t a tool for the initial pull; you’ll still need a chain strainer or come-along for that. The Gallagher winder is purely for maintenance. It turns a potentially big repair job into a simple, routine checkup. For anyone putting in new permanent fencing, especially high-tensile, building in these strainers from the start is one of the smartest things you can do.

T-Post Fence Puller for High-Tensile Wire Work

High-tensile wire is a fantastic fencing material—it’s strong, light, and has a long life. But its greatest strength is also its biggest challenge: it must be under significant tension to work properly. A T-Post Fence Puller is a specialized tool designed specifically for this job, using a nearby T-post as its anchor.

This tool allows you to grab the wire and use the leverage against a standard T-post to get that immense tension you need without putting all the strain on your corner assemblies. It’s a more controlled and precise method than a standard chain strainer, which can be difficult to manage when dealing with the springiness of high-tensile wire.

This is a niche tool. If you’re only running standard barbed wire or soft woven wire, you don’t need it. But if you’re investing in a high-tensile system for livestock control, a T-post puller is almost essential for doing the job right. It ensures you get consistent, proper tension along the entire line, which is the key to a successful high-tensile fence.

Maasdam 8050 Pow’R Pull for Heavy-Duty Fencing

Sometimes, a single wire isn’t the challenge. The real work comes when you’re trying to stretch a 100-foot roll of 4-foot-tall woven wire or field fence. For this, you need more power and a more even pull than any handheld strainer can provide. This is where a come-along, like the Maasdam Pow’R Pull, becomes indispensable.

A come-along is a cable puller that gives you immense mechanical advantage, allowing one person to tension an entire section of heavy fence. You typically clamp a board or a specialized stretcher bar across the width of the fence and attach the come-along between that bar and your corner post. This ensures the entire fence section is pulled evenly, from the top wire to the bottom.

This is not your tool for quick repairs. It’s a heavy-duty piece of equipment for installation and major reconstruction. Trying to stretch woven wire with a small chain strainer will only result in a saggy, uneven mess. The Maasdam Pow’R Pull provides the controlled, distributed force needed to make that fence straight, tight, and secure.

Zareba In-Line Strainer Handle for Easy Repairs

Similar in principle to the Gallagher tool, the Zareba handle is designed to work with simple, economical in-line strainers. These are often the smooth, round "spinning jenny" types or other simple tensioners you install directly onto the fence line. The handle is just a slotted metal tool that gives you the leverage to turn the strainer and wind up slack in the wire.

This tool is the king of budget-friendly maintenance. The strainers it works with are inexpensive, and the handle itself is simple and durable. It’s the perfect solution for keeping electric polywire, polytape, or light-gauge steel wire tight. It’s the tool you keep in the Gator’s glove box for that moment you notice a sag in the temporary pasture fence.

Don’t mistake it for a heavy-duty solution. This system is not designed for the extreme tension of a high-tensile fence or the weight of heavy woven wire. But for the hundreds of small tensioning jobs on a typical small farm—from poultry netting to garden fencing—it provides a fast, cheap, and effective way to keep things in order.

Choosing the Right Tensioner for Your Fence Type

There is no single "best" fence tensioner, only the right tool for the specific fence you’re working on. Trying to stretch woven wire with a Gripple is as foolish as trying to re-tension a polywire line with a come-along. Your choice should be dictated entirely by the material and the task at hand.

Think of it this way. Your toolkit should match your fence types. Most small farms end up with two or three of these tools over the years, each serving a distinct purpose. A good starting point is a classic chain strainer for general-purpose installation, paired with a handle for whatever type of in-line strainer you prefer for maintenance.

Here’s a simple breakdown to guide your decision:

• New Single Wire (Barbed/Smooth): Start with a SpeeCo Chain Strainer.
• New Woven Wire (Field/Goat Fence): You need a Maasdam Pow’R Pull or similar come-along.
• High-Tensile Wire: A T-Post Fence Puller is ideal for installation, and a Gripple Torq Tool is fantastic for repairs.
• Ongoing Maintenance: A Gallagher or Zareba handle paired with permanent in-line strainers is the most efficient system.

Don’t try to make one tool do everything. Using the wrong tensioner is frustrating at best and can damage your fence or cause injury at worst. Choose wisely, and your fences will stand strong for years.

A solid fence is a quiet partner in the work of a farm, doing its job day in and day out without fuss. The right tensioning tool isn’t just a piece of metal; it’s what empowers you to maintain that partnership. Keep your fences tight, and they’ll keep your farm safe and your mind at ease.