HELP Need LOTS of ADVICE

[cluelessinalabama]

Ok here goes. We are city people gone totally "GREEN ACRES". I talked my husband into buying 5.5 acres so I could "live" with my horses. Now he tells me that the grass is my job. When we purchased the house it came with a Ford 8N tractor that had been totally overhauled with a bunch of implements, but we had no clue how to keep it in running order so we sold it.
I am not mechanically inclined (hubby isn;t either), however, I AM A GOOD LEARNER! I know I could do some maintenance on whatever we buy for the grass, like changing oil......
There is a small wooded area, a pond, 1.5 acres fenced for horses, fencing in front of the house and back for dogs. Add the pump house and barn and I would estimate I am down to 3 acres of grass to cut or less. We may put up more fencing for the horses. My land is very flat. We live outside of Mobile near Mississippi where it rains all the time.
I don't know if a tractor is what we need. I know that a riding lawn mower is too small. There is that type of riding lawn mower that you sit on and use hand levers and kind of hoover around. Someone told me that this would suffice.
We only need to cut the grass. Occaisonally I assume I will need to spread seed on my horse pastures. I need something sturdy, easy to use and something that won't make me look like I don't know what I am doing. I don't want something so cheap that I can break it easy, but I don't want to spend a mint. Also in the past I have been told I am "hard" on things when I use them.
Neighbors like to see what we are going to do next. Don't get me wrong, they are always there to help, but I would like ya'lls help so I can look a little bit more learned.
Brands closest to me are John Deere, Kubota, New Holland, Perkins, First Choice, King Kutter, Fred Cain, Howse, Mahindra, Massey Ferguson and Case-IH. (If some of these names are not names of tractors, please forgive me as I am reading out of the yellow pages.)
Thanks for your time!

 

[greggh]

Too bad you sold the 8N. I imagine that it would have done everything that you require. Do you still have the implements that came with the 8N? If so what are they? If you have the implements you require then I would find a tractor around the same size as the 8N and use those implements. A good used tractor would be a good start for learning what you are going to do and how to do it. Especially if you are hard on things as you say. But again a new tractor comes with a warranty. That could be a plus if you are hard on the tractor.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I'd suggest a name brand (ie Deere, CNH, Kubota, Massey Ferguson, ect) compact tractor w Hydrostat drive. Simple, versatile, and capable. A "riding lawnmower" is too limited IMHO. Shop around and find a dealer who makes you feel comfortable. One that would be there to answer questions as they crop up. Ask about service, both routine and the not-so-routine, as in breakdowns.

Another option is to hire out your mowing. (A shameless plug for all of us mowing contractors in the crowd) With high cost of ownership these days, it's becoming more frequent to find contractors in most rural areas that will do pasture mowing and maintenance at a reasonable fee.

Nothing like the convenience of ownership though.

 

[flusher]

Ok here goes. We are city people gone totally "GREEN ACRES". I talked my husband into buying 5.5 acres so I could "live" with my horses. Now he tells me that the grass is my job. When we purchased the house it came with a Ford 8N tractor that had been totally overhauled with a bunch of implements, but we had no clue how to keep it in running order so we sold it.
I am not mechanically inclined (hubby isn;t either), however, I AM A GOOD LEARNER! I know I could do some maintenance on whatever we buy for the grass, like changing oil......
There is a small wooded area, a pond, 1.5 acres fenced for horses, fencing in front of the house and back for dogs. Add the pump house and barn and I would estimate I am down to 3 acres of grass to cut or less. We may put up more fencing for the horses. My land is very flat. We live outside of Mobile near Mississippi where it rains all the time.
I don't know if a tractor is what we need. I know that a riding lawn mower is too small. There is that type of riding lawn mower that you sit on and use hand levers and kind of hoover around. Someone told me that this would suffice.
We only need to cut the grass. Occaisonally I assume I will need to spread seed on my horse pastures. I need something sturdy, easy to use and something that won't make me look like I don't know what I am doing. I don't want something so cheap that I can break it easy, but I don't want to spend a mint. Also in the past I have been told I am "hard" on things when I use them.
Neighbors like to see what we are going to do next. Don't get me wrong, they are always there to help, but I would like ya'lls help so I can look a little bit more learned.
Brands closest to me are John Deere, Kubota, New Holland, Perkins, First Choice, King Kutter, Fred Cain, Howse, Mahindra, Massey Ferguson and Case-IH. (If some of these names are not names of tractors, please forgive me as I am reading out of the yellow pages.)
Thanks for your time!

Don't know what your budget limit is, but if your ground tends to be on the damp/soft side, I would definitely consider a small four wheel drive tractor with a hydrostatic transmission, like a Kubota B7510HST (21 hp engine).

I have 10 acres of flat pasture and the 7510 took care of my mowing and hauling chores. I bought it new in May05 with the front end loader (FEL, 4-ft wide bucket) for $12,600 plus tax. The photo shows landscape work being done with a used $300 Yanmar RS-1200 rototiller (4-ft wide) that I bought from a local dealer.

For mowing I use a King Kutter rotary mower (aka brush hog, 4-ft wide cut) that I bought at Tractor Supply Company for about $650.

I definitely recommend getting a tractor with the FEL and have the dealer weld chain hooks onto the bucket. Most dealers will do this gratis when you buy a new tractor

Of course Kubota is only one choice. There are at least a half dozen manufacturers and probably a dozen models you could consider for your needs.

Tractor shopping is a lot of fun. Spring is tractor sale time and you can find attractive 0% financing for 36 to 72 months, depending on dealer. Enjoy.

 

[cluelessinalabama]

Too bad you sold the 8N. I imagine that it would have done everything that you require. Do you still have the implements that came with the 8N? If so what are they? If you have the implements you require then I would find a tractor around the same size as the 8N and use those implements. A good used tractor would be a good start for learning what you are going to do and how to do it. Especially if you are hard on things as you say. But again a new tractor comes with a warranty. That could be a plus if you are hard on the tractor.

We sold ALL the implements.

 

[cluelessinalabama]

I'd suggest a name brand (ie Deere, CNH, Kubota, Massey Ferguson, ect) compact tractor w Hydrostat drive. Simple, versatile, and capable. A "riding lawnmower" is too limited IMHO. Shop around and find a dealer who makes you feel comfortable. One that would be there to answer questions as they crop up. Ask about service, both routine and the not-so-routine, as in breakdowns.

Another option is to hire out your mowing. (A shameless plug for all of us mowing contractors in the crowd) With high cost of ownership these days, it's becoming more frequent to find contractors in most rural areas that will do pasture mowing and maintenance at a reasonable fee.

Nothing like the convenience of ownership though.

I would love to hire out the grass cutting. But I believe that hubby has some kind of sick desire to see me out side and sweating. He has told me that if I can't come up with something he wants me to halter the horses like dogs and walk them around all day outside the pasture and let them munch the grass away.

 

[woodlandfarms]

A friend of mine has your exact situation. At first she thought it was going to be just mowing, but the FEL (Front End Loader) has proven so handy for her in moving hay bales, mucking stalls. She loves her little Kubota.

This said, it really is not about the tractor but about the dealer. And about the service (not sales) the dealer provides. As this is a significant investment, I would advise to contact people who have frequented the service department to see how they feel about the dealership.

So don't worry too much about the color, but do make sure you test drive it. They are different, and it will be the little things that will make you wish for a different color (where switches are, how the foot pedals operate).

In my first pass at looking at tractors, I passed on Kubota cause I did not like how the foot pedals were arrainged. Some tractors are more men friendly than woman friendly... You will have to decide on that.

20 to 30 HP maybe 4WD...

let us know what you buy.

 

[mowpower]

IS the grass a nice lush lawn or does it hurt when you walk barefoot through it? Any trees or obstacles to mow around? I use a zero turn (Hustler) mower 52" mows my 3/4 acre in about 40 minutes with about 20 trees to manuver around, that is mulching the grass. My father-n-law mows his farm in ND with a JD zero turn cuts a 6 foot path, it is a lot of grass 3-5 acres not sure. If you went with a 72" zero turn commercial mower you could maybe get that done in 2.5 to 3 hours. For a good ZTR you will pay $7000-10,000 in that size. The ZTR will only mow, though you can tow a wheeled fertilizer or spray unit behind but you have to be careful as it will turn back on itself.
Check out www.lawnsite.com lot's of pro's doing lawns that can answer any ??'s.

 

[cluelessinalabama]

Flusher, I am getting on line now to view all the different types and models. This is blowing my mind. I look at the pictures of your tractor and I am blown away. When I first got horses I knew nothing of them. BUT I LEARNED so now it's back to school with tractors. Thanks!

 

[cluelessinalabama]

My biggest fear is the DEALER. I have trust issues because a. I am a woman and feel like they want to take advantage and b. I am a woman and don't know anything about the product. But I will learn before I go and maybe I can drag a neighbor with me that knows about things. I do have trees to go around also. I am skiddish about getting anything too big so that I don't flip it or turn the thing over. I am a retired mail woman of 21 years, let's hope there is still some gumption in me.