A use I didn't want for the tractor

Tororider · Sep 11, 2008

Well I drove the tractor over to my brother in laws yesterday to do some chipping and remove some laundry lines. When I got there he let me know he had to put one of his horses down the day before, bummer.

He was planning on hiring a backhoe to dig a hole but after we were done we had a little time so I figured why not try to save him some money. The tractor doesn't have a toothbar on it, which would have come in really handy, but I was able to get a deep enough big enough hole and then use the tractor to pull him in. It was a pretty big hole as the horse was a Belgian.

Not what I thought I was going to be using the tractor for that day. I could stand not being a grave digger again any time soon.

Tig · Sep 11, 2008

Sorry to hear about that. I guess not all seat time is happy time.
A Belgian would take quite a large hole.
A friend on mine's father is the local grave digger. It's one of those jobs that has to get done.

QRTRHRS · Sep 11, 2008

Not the most pleasent of tasks but you sometimes have to do what you have to do. I was fortunate to have a neighbor with a large enough backhoe at my last place. The machine was large enough so that we could chain all four legs together and lift the carcess up and gently lower it into the hole as opposed to dragging it in.

I have been privey to a number of these tasks. I do my duty and say my prayer.

Soundguy · Sep 12, 2008

Your post reminds me that I will be digging some big holes one day... one of my quarter horses is already 25.

soundguy

sodamo · Sep 12, 2008

I hear ya. Just before Easter, Jack, our 88 lb Boxer, passed unexpectedly. The tractor was very handy digging his grave, even though I was have trouble seeing.

David

Redbug · Sep 12, 2008

Just curious...how deep should the hole be for a horse carcass? A horse is a pretty big animal, with a thickness of about 2 1/2 feet. 7 feet?

Bird · Sep 12, 2008

A few years ago, I was visiting a friend and neighbor when another neighbor lady came driving up to see if we could help her. Her husband was out of town and they had a pony that died. They had a John Deere (don't remember the model number, but in the hundred hp range) but she didn't know how to use it. The guy I was visiting had 3 John Deeres in that range, so we went and he dug a hole just with the FEL (no toothbar) and we buried that pony. My place at the time was all black loam, but fortunately where we had to bury the pony was pretty sandy soil. Hard to imagine having to dig a hole big enough to bury a Belgian.

shvl73 · Sep 12, 2008

I've used my backhoe to bury more than a few pets. Its always upsetting. I bought mine after we lost our horse. I rented a mini excavator for that. We buried her in an 7'-8' deep hole.

Maineuropa · Sep 12, 2008

We have three horses, one's over 25. I really don't know whether I will be able to bury that horse with the backhoe when the time comes. I may have to get a lot of help and tissues.
Also I don't think I could lift a 1000 lbs of horse with my bucket on the 955, even with the calcium tires. Thus dragging would be possibly the best I could do, and that wouldn't be a very good option.
Interesting, thoughtful thread.

QRTRHRS · Sep 12, 2008

I like to go eight to ten feet deep if I can. I try to keep a few bags of lime on hand for covering the body because having to run for some is usually not an option.

Twenty five is up there for a quarter. We have a 23 year old quarter stud. Of course, he is just a younster compared to our two oldest Arabian mares, one of whom is 28 or 29 and the other 30.