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

[Silly Filly]

Hey y'all,

New to TBN and looking at tractors right now. It's only my second day here and I already received so much great advice! I look forward to one day having enough knowledge to give back to the forum community. Fingers crossed everything works out and we'll be moving to a 40 acre property, mostly cleared and flat land in August.

What do you regret about your current tractor? I.e. what you should have bought instead, what you should have added on at time of purchase instead of down the road, what you thought a tractor would be used for, but ended up not being the best tool for the job, etc.

 

[jeff9366]

SSQA (Skid Steer Quick Attach) Loader mechanical 2-lever interface permits rapid change from bucket to pallet forks to bale spears and many other farm attachments.

 

[Birdhunter1]

SSQA (Skid Steer Quick Attach) Loader mechanical 2-lever interface permits rapid change from bucket to pallet forks to bale spears and many other farm attachments.

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.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

Moved on to our place about 3 years ago, 7.5 acres, a home, and a framed and (almost) finished pole barn. I bought a used 27hp Ford 1715 CUT for use on the property. What I have found is that it is big enough to do everything I need it to do most of the time, and small enough to do everything I need it to do most of the time.
I had to level the floor in the barn between posts on 12' centers and the tractor was just small enough to be able to maneuver between the posts with a full bucket of gravel, but a smaller one would have been better. Basically inside a building it seems way too big, outside it is usually about the right size.
The one change I did was convert the loader to a SSQA. Now when I mow, I drop the bucket and and it gives me a little more room approaching fences, and makes the FEL lighter when I raise it high on sloping ground. My second attachment for the FEL is a two spear bale spear for the 800 pound bales we use during winter. It is also my go to pallet fork, but is does have the disadvantage of not being adjustable for width. That really hasn't been a problem although someday it might be.
Since it is sometimes too small and sometimes too big and most of the time just right I think it is the right tractor for us.

 

[bunyip]

Just upgraded from a kubota bx2370 to a kioti dk5810 hst, 4 in 1 bucket is just so versatile and bale spikes,, euro hitch has single lever and self locking, I love it and makes moving round bales a breeze.
edit. Don't get ag tyres if you are grooming an arena, it will tear it to pieces, we hae R4's whiich are a bit more forgiving but still work well in mud, my only little grizzle is having to disconnect hydraulics to remove the bucket.

 

[tallyho8]

With 40 acres you will want 40 HP or more. You will soon find out that a smaller tractor just doesn't cut it for that much acreage.

I won't get into the argument about which tractor is the best, red ones, orange ones, blue ones or green ones but I have found that I get work done much quicker with a hydro instead of a gear tractor and a FEL with quick change attachments is a must.

 

[airbiscuit]

Isn't the better question ...

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

 

[tallyho8]

Isn't the better question ...

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

My only regret is "never take a free horse".

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

What do you regret about your current tractor? I.e. what you should have bought instead, what you should have added on at time of purchase instead of down the road, what you thought a tractor would be used for, but ended up not being the best tool for the job, etc.

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.

 

[Peter 315]

My only regret is "never take a free horse".

I hear you on that NO such thing as a FREE horse...............:laughing: