2whlrcr
New member
I need some advise from you tractor experts. First off, I have never owned or driven anything larger than a garden tractor. I'm a city boy who is moving onto a large acreage with horses. My life has turned upside down, ever since the S.O. got a "free" horse. Now we have bought a horse farm.
I'm not sure where to start, so I may ramble a bit. I see my needs as being able to mow 4-8 acres of pasture occasionally. Also trail mowing in rolling timber and pasture. 100 acres of land with plenty of hilly timber and streams to cross. Most of the trails will be on the flats or straight up moderate grades, so I don't forsee much side hill mowing. I will not need a finishing mower, I have a garden tractor for that.
Snow removal. I've got a lane about 1/8 mile long with some parking areas.
The horses. We've got two and may expand to four or six, if we take on borders. My initial thought is we will hand muck the stalls and maybe load into the tractor, dump into the manure pile or spreader on a daily basis. I do not anticipate using the tractor to actually clean the stalls. I see this as my main needs, plus what ever odds jobs that will need to be done.
I also don't anticipate a lot of repetitious loader work. But I will have to move manure and I'm sure the occassional dirt and brush piles.
At first it was suggested I needed a 45hp compact tractor. I started looking around and have determined they might be physically too big? Plus I'm not sure if I need the horsepower. I want something that I can get into the barn, indoor riding arena and manuever around buildings easily. Plus I want to keep some sections of the trail narrow and have to squeeze between trees.
I originally looked only at the big three. Of those I think I have narrowed it to the N.H. TC34 or the Case DX34. The N.H. sales guy had me convinced I need supersteer. Then I started reading negatives on how the loader swings to the opposite direction when initiating a turn. Might not be good for me, since I could be in tight spaces and have little experience. Plus everybody seems to be content with the turning radius of their non supersteer tractors. And then there's the price..............
Which brings me to the Mahindra forum. I have two Mahindra dealers and two Branson dealers within about 50 miles of me. My biggest concern is I want dealer and parts support for at least twenty years or more, one of the reasons I looked at the big guys initially. I am interested in the Bransons too, but I posted in this forum, because it seems there are people with knowledge of both and the Mahindra forum is more active.
Since the N.H. TC34 is $21,000+ loaded, I'm wanting to spend less. At first I was convinced I needed hydrostatic too, but I am not sure now. I have driven nothing buy manuals in my vehicles for the last 20 years, but not on a tractor. The closest Mahindra dealer has a 3215HST on the lot and I see you can get a geared model too. The Branson I'm looking at is the 3510, but the dealer claims that a hydro is coming out.
I have not been quoted a price on the Mahindra and the Branson 3510 was $16,500 with the loader. Is there a significant quality difference between the Bransons and Mahindras and how do those two compare to the N.H./Case? Maybe I should be looking at different models? I think that's enough questions for now and I appreciate any comments or insight.
Thanks
A Reluctant Horse Farmer
I'm not sure where to start, so I may ramble a bit. I see my needs as being able to mow 4-8 acres of pasture occasionally. Also trail mowing in rolling timber and pasture. 100 acres of land with plenty of hilly timber and streams to cross. Most of the trails will be on the flats or straight up moderate grades, so I don't forsee much side hill mowing. I will not need a finishing mower, I have a garden tractor for that.
Snow removal. I've got a lane about 1/8 mile long with some parking areas.
The horses. We've got two and may expand to four or six, if we take on borders. My initial thought is we will hand muck the stalls and maybe load into the tractor, dump into the manure pile or spreader on a daily basis. I do not anticipate using the tractor to actually clean the stalls. I see this as my main needs, plus what ever odds jobs that will need to be done.
I also don't anticipate a lot of repetitious loader work. But I will have to move manure and I'm sure the occassional dirt and brush piles.
At first it was suggested I needed a 45hp compact tractor. I started looking around and have determined they might be physically too big? Plus I'm not sure if I need the horsepower. I want something that I can get into the barn, indoor riding arena and manuever around buildings easily. Plus I want to keep some sections of the trail narrow and have to squeeze between trees.
I originally looked only at the big three. Of those I think I have narrowed it to the N.H. TC34 or the Case DX34. The N.H. sales guy had me convinced I need supersteer. Then I started reading negatives on how the loader swings to the opposite direction when initiating a turn. Might not be good for me, since I could be in tight spaces and have little experience. Plus everybody seems to be content with the turning radius of their non supersteer tractors. And then there's the price..............
Which brings me to the Mahindra forum. I have two Mahindra dealers and two Branson dealers within about 50 miles of me. My biggest concern is I want dealer and parts support for at least twenty years or more, one of the reasons I looked at the big guys initially. I am interested in the Bransons too, but I posted in this forum, because it seems there are people with knowledge of both and the Mahindra forum is more active.
Since the N.H. TC34 is $21,000+ loaded, I'm wanting to spend less. At first I was convinced I needed hydrostatic too, but I am not sure now. I have driven nothing buy manuals in my vehicles for the last 20 years, but not on a tractor. The closest Mahindra dealer has a 3215HST on the lot and I see you can get a geared model too. The Branson I'm looking at is the 3510, but the dealer claims that a hydro is coming out.
I have not been quoted a price on the Mahindra and the Branson 3510 was $16,500 with the loader. Is there a significant quality difference between the Bransons and Mahindras and how do those two compare to the N.H./Case? Maybe I should be looking at different models? I think that's enough questions for now and I appreciate any comments or insight.
Thanks
A Reluctant Horse Farmer