Buying Advice You folks with tractors, horses & pastures

[WM75Guy]

Its like everything associated with horses (tractors, trucks, etc) everyone has their preference. The round bales take some of the stress off the pasture grass, helps prevent overgrazing. We feed the best quality fertilized coastal thats the same as our square bales. We use a good quality horse hay feeder to minimize the waste. Grass is available so they do not stand and eat hay all day.

The amount consumed is about the same, 2 1000 pound round bales plus about 10 square bales for 2600 pound against 2400 pounds in square bales for the same 8 week period. Probably a little less accounting for the outer layer that doesn't get eaten. Our horses are warmblood dressage performance horses that get worked regularly so their weight and condition is constantly evaluated. Our mare is 17h and 1350 pounds, the gelding is 16.2h and 1400 pounds. They are fed 3% of bodyweight per day, half in grain, half in hay. Works out to 21 pounds of hay per day per horse.

You hear stories of horses getting sick from a moldy round bale. I have seen horses sick from moldy square bales. Twenty seven horses died in College Station in 2006 from pesticide tainted grain because the owner of the boarding facility wanted to get rid of weevils in his feed silo and thought he knew how to fumigate it and did not want to pay for an exterminator. Like most things you get what you pay for.

 

[whistlepig]

Again. Be very careful of feeding round bales to horses.

 

[Grayson Klassen]

Absolutely everyone has their preferrences.....BUT.... as a rule of thumb unless you are getting really good hay that was never rained of before tarpng and was stacked properly there is a risk to anyone who isn't sure what they are looking for....

 

[dmay]

I've got the week off and am in the final phase of my tractor hunting - looking at getting a 2520. Got one more dealer to visit before I sit down and make a deal. To the point, now that the ground has thawed and the horse has made the pasture look like it was bombarded by a miniature air force, I'm wondering what might be the best attachment for flattening out the divots - or if that is even necessary. I plan on getting a chain harrow with the tractor for dragging the pastures (about 2 1/2 acres worth) to spread the manure piles around, but not sure if it would flatten out the divots. But I also don't know if that's really necessary. My fiance has had horses forever but they were always boarded somewhere - this is our first year having one in the "back yard".

Any thoughts on this? Thanks......

A 2520 would be a good fit. So would a 2320 The only reason a 2305 is out is you need pasture ground clearance.

Now to the horses...

What type of soil do you have? A chain harrow will have difficulty breaking down and levelling heavy dirt or clay. This is where the individual tines of a landscape rake really work best. A chain harrow is great for sand arenas or for breaking up and spreading manure on level ground. Not very good for leveling ground. You'll probably want both or a landscape rake if only one. I use a Frontier LR1072.

Personally I believe in natural horsemanship and allow my horses to remain outside 24/7/365. They have free access to water and a shelter. I highly recommend you install an automatic waterer for your horses. I have a Ritchie EcoFount 1. For shelter they have a 18' x 24' run-in shed to get out of the weather whenever they need or to get shade from sun or escape bugs. I only bring them into the barn for grooming, if they are sick or injured or if winter weather turns absolutely nasty. Otherwise they are left to be horses.

As for hay, your 2520/200CX will not handle large round bales. You will be near loader capacity for small round bales so be careful and ballast appropriately. Small square bales might be best for you. How much you feed depends on your horses activity and weather. As they were boarded previously just ask the stable what and how much they were fed previously. In general feed enough hay so that your horses remain fit and trim. Feed two meals a day as opposed to one big meal. Half in the morning, half in the evening. For pasture horses typcially need an acre each. As you have 2 1/2 acres for two horses I would not cross fence. Let them have the whole pasture to wander and graze. If the pasture grass maintains diminish your bale feedings.

Good luck with your new horse ranch.

 

[WhisperingWinds]

A 2520 would be a good fit. So would a 2320 The only reason a 2305 is out is you need pasture ground clearance.

Now to the horses...

What type of soil do you have? A chain harrow will have difficulty breaking down and levelling heavy dirt or clay. This is where the individual tines of a landscape rake really work best. A chain harrow is great for sand arenas or for breaking up and spreading manure on level ground. Not very good for leveling ground. You'll probably want both or a landscape rake if only one. I use a Frontier LR1072.

Personally I believe in natural horsemanship and allow my horses to remain outside 24/7/365. They have free access to water and a shelter. I highly recommend you install an automatic waterer for your horses. I have a Ritchie EcoFount 1. For shelter they have a 18' x 24' run-in shed to get out of the weather whenever they need or to get shade from sun or escape bugs. I only bring them into the barn for grooming, if they are sick or injured or if winter weather turns absolutely nasty. Otherwise they are left to be horses.

As for hay, your 2520/200CX will not handle large round bales. You will be near loader capacity for small round bales so be careful and ballast appropriately. Small square bales might be best for you. How much you feed depends on your horses activity and weather. As they were boarded previously just ask the stable what and how much they were fed previously. In general feed enough hay so that your horses remain fit and trim. Feed two meals a day as opposed to one big meal. Half in the morning, half in the evening. For pasture horses typcially need an acre each. As you have 2 1/2 acres for two horses I would not cross fence. Let them have the whole pasture to wander and graze. If the pasture grass maintains diminish your bale feedings.

Good luck with your new horse ranch.

Thanks for the feed back (so to speak ) Darrell. The 2520 seemed to best fit my needs besides the horse related ones, so I'll be going with that one. Plus when you add the digits of 25 together you get 7 which was my childhood baseball hero Mickey Mantle's number. OK, that's not the real reason but I thought it was kinda cool anyway....

Looks like I'll be ok with just the harrow from what I've read posted by the other folks. I can flatten out those divots myself and keep the horse away from the soft areas til the land dries up more. Then the harrow will be used for spreading the manure and taking care of the sand in the arena.

Seems we've been following the natural horsemanship method you describe. We had a rougher than normal winter here in CT so the horse stayed in his stall during the nights and wandered in the paddock & arena during the day. He's out 24/7 again now and really seems to prefer it outdoors. There's also a run-in available with dry straw bedding and extra hay in case he wants to get out of the weather.

We do feed him twice a day - grain and hay, more so now since there's really nothing to graze on yet. We do a track feeding routine where we spread leafs of hay throughout the pasture by just walking around with it so I won't need to worry about overburdening the FEL. I also want to set up a trail lined with electric tape fencing in the wooded part of our property (another couple acres) so he can wander back in there and feed as well. He's not a show horse so the exercise he gets is walking around to his food and when we take him on trail rides.

Thanks agains for the info. It's been a very cool experience for me so far and I'm really looking forward to spring, bringing on another horse and being outdoors taking care of things!

 

[WhisperingWinds]

Just wanted to thank all you folks for sharing your knowledge with me. This forum has been incredibly helpful and I really appreciate you all taking the time to pass along what you've known and learned. Hoping to have a tractor deal in place by the weekend!

 

[sseelhoff]

Thanks for the feed back (so to speak ) Darrell. The 2520 seemed to best fit my needs besides the horse related ones, so I'll be going with that one. Plus when you add the digits of 25 together you get 7 which was my childhood baseball hero Mickey Mantle's number. OK, that's not the real reason but I thought it was kinda cool anyway....

Looks like I'll be ok with just the harrow from what I've read posted by the other folks. I can flatten out those divots myself and keep the horse away from the soft areas til the land dries up more. Then the harrow will be used for spreading the manure and taking care of the sand in the arena.

Seems we've been following the natural horsemanship method you describe. We had a rougher than normal winter here in CT so the horse stayed in his stall during the nights and wandered in the paddock & arena during the day. He's out 24/7 again now and really seems to prefer it outdoors. There's also a run-in available with dry straw bedding and extra hay in case he wants to get out of the weather.

We do feed him twice a day - grain and hay, more so now since there's really nothing to graze on yet. We do a track feeding routine where we spread leafs of hay throughout the pasture by just walking around with it so I won't need to worry about overburdening the FEL. I also want to set up a trail lined with electric tape fencing in the wooded part of our property (another couple acres) so he can wander back in there and feed as well. He's not a show horse so the exercise he gets is walking around to his food and when we take him on trail rides.

Thanks agains for the info. It's been a very cool experience for me so far and I'm really looking forward to spring, bringing on another horse and being outdoors taking care of things!

2520=9
2320=7

:laughing:

I have the 2320, cutting deck, 200cx fel and chain harrow. I maintain 10 acres with two horses plus the occasional guests. The 2320 is perfect for what we do. As I posted in another thread, if you can afford the 2520, go for it. They are great tractors, and do everything we need it to do.

BTW-we do not feed round bales unless they have been stored indoors immediately after cutting. Horses are sensitive to mold. There is a reason people advertise "horse quality" hay.

Good luck!

 

[WhisperingWinds]

2520=9
2320=7:laughing:

I have the 2320, cutting deck, 200cx fel and chain harrow. I maintain 10 acres with two horses plus the occasional guests. The 2320 is perfect for what we do. As I posted in another thread, if you can afford the 2520, go for it. They are great tractors, and do everything we need it to do.

BTW-we do not feed round bales unless they have been stored indoors immediately after cutting. Horses are sensitive to mold. There is a reason people advertise "horse quality" hay.

Good luck!

Nice! Done in by my own math humor...except as my fiance just pointed out, she and I met on the 9th and closed on our house on the 9th so I suppose 9 works too

Anyway, checked out another dealer in the area today - he gave me a quote where he basically took 10% off MSRP on the tractor and attachments, which appears to be a pretty darn good deal from what I've read here. The closer dealer is having an open house this Saturday so I'll take my quote there and see if he'll match it. I'd prefer the closer dealer not just because he's closer but he was also highly recommended by people I trust. If he'll match or at least come really close, he'll get my business.

 

[sseelhoff]

Nice! Done in by my own math humor...except as my fiance just pointed out, she and I met on the 9th and closed on our house on the 9th so I suppose 9 works too

Anyway, checked out another dealer in the area today - he gave me a quote where he basically took 10% off MSRP on the tractor and attachments, which appears to be a pretty darn good deal from what I've read here. The closer dealer is having an open house this Saturday so I'll take my quote there and see if he'll match it. I'd prefer the closer dealer not just because he's closer but he was also highly recommended by people I trust. If he'll match or at least come really close, he'll get my business.

Keep in mind, you're not just buying a tractor, you're buying the dealer, too. You may pay a bit more, but building that relationship comes in handy at service time, or when you need something in a hurry.

Let us know how it works out.

 

[Bigfoot62]

I've got the week off and am in the final phase of my tractor hunting - looking at getting a 2520. Got one more dealer to visit before I sit down and make a deal. To the point, now that the ground has thawed and the horse has made the pasture look like it was bombarded by a miniature air force, I'm wondering what might be the best attachment for flattening out the divots - or if that is even necessary. I plan on getting a chain harrow with the tractor for dragging the pastures (about 2 1/2 acres worth) to spread the manure piles around, but not sure if it would flatten out the divots. But I also don't know if that's really necessary. My fiance has had horses forever but they were always boarded somewhere - this is our first year having one in the "back yard".

Any thoughts on this? Thanks......

Yes, you need a chain-link drag harrow. This is the one I have, and it's the best that I've ever seen:
Tarzan chain link drag harrow