Hello Horse Owners! What Are Your Tractor Regrets and Wishes?

r porter · Jul 3, 2020

i have 2 tractors - a 21 hp for most work and a 45 hp for the heavy mowing and lifting. i could get by with a 38 hp if i had 40 ac. but i would not be happy.

i put a manure spreader under a shed attached to the wash rack so i can dump a wheel barrow into it easily. by staying dry i can get by with dumping the spreader every 5 days.

TheMan419 · Jul 4, 2020

Buy the brand that has the best dealer support in your area. For me that was New Holland.

I agree a quick attach bucket is a good idea. I do not have one.

I got a 24 hp tractor. For 18 acres and 7 horses it is more than enough. If we had 40 acres and 18 horses it would be too small.

Silly Filly · Jul 8, 2020

airbiscuit said:
Isn't the better question ...

Hello Tractor Owners! What Are Your Horse Regrets And Wishes?

:laughing: Oh, I got myself into this mess so I can't say much now. Been dating this horse girl for 7 years and she kept warning me. Now we're married and I've been doing chores at the barn, taking photos for her Instagram, and sold my Miata for a truck!

Silly Filly · Jul 8, 2020

Birdhunter1 said:
Yes. Do not buy a loader tractor that doesn't have this adapter. As a horse owner you will want a front end loader with a bucket and a set of pallet forks, if you're wanting to do round bales you can do them with pallet forks but bale spears are better suited for safety and ease of handling purposes.
If you are getting a tractor with a front end loader do try and get a 4wd version. I grew up on 2wd tractors with loaders and yes they work, yes I owned one for 14 years and did alot of work with it, I have a 4wd version now and wouldn't easily take a 2wd tractor/loader combination again.

If building a horse barn make your stalls to the point you can back a tractor in to drag them out, very little shovel work on my ranch! A landscape rake works well to drag out horse stalls.

My tractor now is a Mahindra 2638 and for my uses with horses it will do everything I need to do.

That's interesting, how are your stalls configured to be able to back up into it with a rake?

airbiscuit · Jul 8, 2020

Silly Filly
:laughing:Oh, I got myself into this mess so I can't say much now. Been dating this horse girl for 7 years and she kept warning me. Now we're married and I've been doing chores at the barn, taking photos for her Instagram, and sold my Miata for a truck!
******************************************************************************

You pays your money and you takes your chances.

Silly Filly · Jul 8, 2020

FrankRetired said:
I will add to the previous thoughts on tractor size and a SSQA, make sure that any tractor you buy has a rear remote or two, and maybe a remote on the loader. That is one thing my tractor doesn't have that I wish it did. It would have been very handy to have a hydraulic top link when leveling ground with a box blade, plus possible hydraulic implement possibilities.

Thanks! SSQA and remotes are definitely on the wish list.

Silly Filly · Jul 8, 2020

airbiscuit said:
It's okay if you don't really need all your money

:laughing: man y'all crack me up. I was actually thinking of learning how to drive a pair of draft horses to pull a sickle bar mower instead of buying a bush hog. Wife who loves horses more than me apparently loves tractors more than that idea. She thinks the JD 5045E is a "cute ilttle tractor"

hosspuller · Jul 8, 2020

Silly Filly said:
:laughing: Oh, I got myself into this mess so I can't say much now. Been dating this horse girl for 7 years and she kept warning me. Now we're married and I've been doing chores at the barn, taking photos for her Instagram, and sold my Miata for a truck!

32 years ago, wife asked for a horse. She rode as a kid. I asked how much $ $450 later, we owned the ugliest bag-0-bones horse. He was the best horse for novice owners. I was a city boy, horses had a head & tail... pooped a lot. That's my prior knowledge. Wife knew to ride, not the details of horse care. SO we learned, boarding while we lived in suburbia. Today, we're hundreds of thousands $$$ into horses, farm, truck, trailers, tools, horse tack, horse stuff, horse d馗or, used horse shoes(the most expensive part of horses), tractors, etc. The years have been fun, a lot more than divorce or therapy. Best advice I can give is learn to ride and enjoy horses too.

Silly Filly · Jul 8, 2020

riptides said:
I regret getting rid of my 30hp Kubota b7800. It was perfect for in and around the barn, riding ring and sacrifice pastures.

I should have kept it and still did the upsize for the pasture work.

I think with acreage and horses your looking at two classes of machines.

Good point. We are looking at a UTV in the near future for grooming arenas and dragging pastures and just getting around the property. Designing the barn layout so we don't need to rely too much on vehicles hopefully. Shavings and hay storage as well as a small manure pile will be near the barn so everything can be handled with a cart and a wheelbarrow. As for the manure pile, I may build a ramp that dumps into a trailer or just leave it in a pile. I'm just concerned about having a trailer rust away with manure sitting in it. I'll be moving the manure every week to a compost pile further from the barn.

If it helps, we'll be tending to 25 acres of pasture, max 20 horses, 10 acres of woods we want to maintain as trails and 5 acres worth of common area, barn, ring, roads, mowed lawn, etc.