ANY yard can benefit from different types of machinery no matter what the scale or size it is. Machinery should make the yard owners life easier and certainly reduce the amount of manual labour and daily lifting and laying for the workers.

It is important to get the balance right when purchasing machinery and only buy what you really need and will use on a daily basis.

Ideally you will invest in machinery that will have several uses around your yard. Think about the jobs you struggle with on a daily basis and ask yourself is machinery the solution?

Some machines that have more than one use include:

John Deere Gator

Anyone who works on a yard that has a John Deere Gator or owns one themselves probably often wonder what they ever did without it.

It is 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.

It is probably the most versatile piece of equipment you could buy for your yard. If you are going feeding horses across fields you can easily fit a square bale and buckets of feed in the back.

It also comes in handy for farm maintenance; you can fill up the back with any tools you need like a hedge cutter or leaf blower.

These machines also come in handy for poo picking fields. They have the capacity to hold quite a few barrels worth of droppings, so again this will save time and effort when doing this job.

Finally, you can also easily attach a chain harrow to the back to keep on top of grassland management.

Compact loader

Different brands have all different shapes and sizes of compact loaders depending on your needs. These are generally 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.

The MicroBull

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. One downside horse owners may want to consider 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. This is ideal for stud farms when completely stripping stables after foaling. 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.

Tractors

In order to justify buying a tractor for your yard you would need to have quite a lot of land as the amount of time and money you would spend buying it and maintaining the tractor may not be worth it in the long run.

In general the main jobs you may need a tractor for on your yard is cutting and baling your own hay, spraying, topping, hedge cutting and fertilising. These jobs only need to be done a couple of times a year.

It may be more economical to get a contractor in to do these jobs for you. Tractors can cause huge maintenance headaches, especially if they are sitting in a shed for the majority of the year.

If you have the need for a tractor, there are many things you should consider before purchasing. Budget is an obvious factor when you are looking to purchase a tractor. It is also important to consider the size of the tractor.

Look around your yard and measure where you will be likely to be driving the tractor and if you have somewhere in mind to store it. If you have narrow gateways there is no point in buying a very big and wide modern tractor.

Ideally, you should have the capacity to store your tractor under cover, especially during the worst of the weather. See what space you have available to store your tractor in and keep the size of this space in mind when choosing a tractor.

The next thing to think about is what you are going to do with it. If you need the tractor to roll an arena you will need something with a very tight lock so that you can easily turn and roll the maximum surface area. A smaller, compact tractor is more suitable for lighter work such as rolling arenas or driving through barns but wouldn’t necessarily suit more heavy-duty work in poor weather conditions.

Consider what attachments you will need to go with the tractor, such as a bale grabber, fork, different sized buckets, etc. Make sure to check that all of the attachments you want are available with the tractor you are interested in.

Finance is a big factor in determining what you buy. Buying second hand is a great way to save, but be sure to have a mechanic check any tractor before you go ahead with the purchase and try to buy from a reputable dealer when possible.