DERRINSTOWN Stud in Maynooth County Kildare is extremely busy at this time of year. They use a number of different machines to help keep manual labour down and allow the day to day running of the yard run smoothly during the breeding season.

Derrinstown uses an Avant loader for cleaning out mare and foal stables. “There was a time we manually forked out all of the dirty bedding which was very time consuming and labour intensive,” stud groom Michael Connors explained.

“The only downside we find is that it can waste quite a lot of good bedding if it’s not used properly,” The team at Derrinstown go into the stable first and throw all of the clean bedding up before going in with the Avant loader to take all of the wet, heavy straw from the centre. It is then easily emptied out.

“The Avant loader has been a great addition to the yard and saves a lot of time and effort, I would definitely recommend them,” Michael said.

The breeding season can really take a toll on stud hands with a lot of heavy lifting involved. Machines like the Avant loader can reduce the amount of wear and tear on the staff.

For lifting and moving bales, Derrinstown use a Manitou forklift. These machines come in a range of different sizes depending on your requirements. It has a higher lifting capacity than the MicroBull (see page 80) so it has the advantage of being able to lift large round hay bales.

For getting around the stud, Derrinstown uses John Deere Gators for feeding and checking stock.

Leaf blowers are also used on a daily basis on the stud. With a very large area to keep tidy, the leaf blowers can get the job done in a fraction of the time it would take to sweep.