ON any yard, the main purpose of machinery is to make life easier for the horse owner, not more difficult. Machinery should reduce the amount of manual labour on a yard and reduce the amount of lifting and laying horse owners do each day.
It is important to get the balance right when purchasing machinery and only buy what you need and what you will use.
Raheenmore Stud’s Richard Woodroofe is a machinery fanatic. The Wicklow man kept stallions at Raheenmore for many years before pivoting to solely contracting (hedge cutting, spraying) and supplying haylage to the equine industry.
He told The Irish Field what he believes are the best machinery investments for yard owners.
“In general on most yards, the most essential piece of equipment you will need is something to lift and move bales of hay and straw. It’s all about keeping manual labour down,” Richard said. Ideally you will invest in machinery that will have several uses around your yard.
Some machines that have more than one use include:
This compact, sturdy piece of equipment is a game changer for yard owners and will certainly reduce time and labour costs. This piece of machinery can lift up to 200kg which would amount to a 4x4 round bale of straw. This means it is also well capable of carrying small square bales of hay, shavings bales, bags of feed and haylage. A downside for horse owners is that it is not capable of lifting a 4x4 round bale of hay.
Another exciting use for the MicroBull is mucking out. It is small and agile enough to be driven in and out of stables to take out dirty bedding. Ideal for stud farms when completely stripping stables after foaling. “It is ideal, you can just go into the stable and throw up all the clean bedding then come in with the MicroBull and take out all the dirty bedding from the middle,” Richard explained.
It can also be used for pushing back the muckheap.
You can purchase different attachments for the MircoBull including a forklift and a hedge cutter.
The MicroBull can be used to muck out stables and lift straw bales \ Peter Keaveney
These compact loaders come in different shapes and sizes depending on your needs. They are capable of carrying heavier loads than the MicroBull depending on the model but they are generally not small enough to get in and out of stables for mucking out.
Richard spoke very highly of the John Deere Gator. “I don’t have one myself because I don’t have the need for one, but many of the yards I do work for have them on the yard and they’re an extremely handy piece of equipment.”
They are a much safer option than a quad. Quads have limited ability and can be very dangerous if not driven correctly. The John Deere Gator will travel easily across fields without causing too much damage to your land, even in wet conditions. You can use them to level out a sand arena or menage easily with the right attachments.
“The amount of uses for a Gator are endless. Going across fields to feed, you can put a bale of hay and your buckets of feed on the back and away you go,” Richard said. “Any farm maintenance it is handy to use, load up your leaf blower and hedge cutter and you can save lots of time and effort. It is also very handy for poo picking and weed picking in fields. It has the capacity of holding quite a few barrels worth of droppings in the back and you can easily tip them out when you’re emptying it after.”
You can also easily attach a chain harrow to the back to keep on top of grassland management.
The John Deere Gator can be used for many different jobs on a horse yard
“You would want to have a lot of land to warrant purchasing a tractor,” Richard said. The amount of time and money you would spend buying and maintaining it may not be worth it in the long run. Richard suggests using a local contractor for bigger jobs that you would need a tractor for. Some jobs only need to be done at certain times of the year so the tractor could end up sitting unused for many months. Richard’s advice is to get in touch with your local contractor for these jobs and most importantly treat them well: “Pay them going out the gate and you’ll never have any trouble getting them to come back!” This is especially handy for jobs that only need to be done a few times a year such as spraying, topping, hedge cutting and fertilising or if you are cutting and baling your own hay.
A chain harrow is a handy piece of equipment to have around the yard for levelling out arena surfaces and promoting good grass growth in your paddocks. It is also a good way to remove weeds.
Maintenance
“Neglect is the enemy of all machinery. Horse people are great at looking after horses, but not so great at looking after machinery,” Richard said.
This is why it is so important to only invest in machinery that you need and know you will use on a daily basis. A lot of the time machinery may only be used for an hour a day at most, which means it can last many years once properly taken care of.
If you do buy machinery for your yard there are some steps you can take to ensure its longevity and make sure you get a good return on investment.
The easiest way you can help keep your machinery in good running order is keeping it dry. Richard suggests storing it in a shed and keeping it covered from the rain when it is not being used.
You should also be diligent about getting it serviced every year. Most machinery will have a mileage counter on it and a sticker indicating when it is due to be serviced. As a rule, you should always get your machinery serviced once a year by a reputable mechanic that is familiar with the type of machinery you have.
A service is quite straightforward and will usually just involve greasing all of the pivot points and wear points and changing the oil and filters. It is also important to make sure you keep on top of changing the hydraulics filters. Keep an eye out for anything strange or broken parts that will need to be replaced.
Most machines now have electrics in them, which is another reason to keep them dry and stored away in the shed when they are not in use to avoid water damage.
It is a good idea to keep a maintenance record of all work that has been done to the vehicle. This way it will be easy to remember when it is due a service.