Anyone have one of these? Would love to hear COTH’s opinions on them.
Wow, I really want one now! Would love to hear if anyone owns one (Or something like it)
My first impression is that it seems simpler to just bed with pellets and be done with it.
I don’t see the machine adding that much to the process. It only takes a few seconds for a human to sift a manure fork of bedding that light and dry, too. And I’m assuming the machine is somewhat noisy, whereas I love the quiet of the barn when there are no motors running.
Honestly it looks like more work than just mucking the stall with a fork.
[QUOTE=mountainhorse;8330677]
http://www.brockwoodfarm.com/videos-of-the-brockwood-stall-shifter/
Anyone have one of these? Would love to hear COTH’s opinions on them.[/QUOTE]
My in-laws have one and they like it. They bed with sawdust and it is faster to get done this way and no shaking required. Great for carpal tunnel sufferers.
They believe they’re $700 ahead on sawdust per year, which pays for it in two years.
I have one. It gets the stalls really clean which I like. It is easier, but doesn’t save a lot of time.
They had one at a barn where I boarded. It was loud. And didn’t really seem to save much time, but I think they were interested in saving on bedding. It was a matter of months, maybe weeks, and the thing was relegated to a storage area. Being just a boarder, I don’t know if that was because it broke, they realized it wasn’t that helpful, or what. I was just happy not to hear it going when I was there!
I have “the Shaker.” When we had 18 horses and some employees, it was a wonderful tool. Now, with less horses, no employees, and stalls picked more often, we still use it when a horse “trashes” their stall overnight or is stuck in on stall rest with deep bedding.
The barn where I board in the summer in Western NY has one and they use it a lot and like it. It’s a large barn with 30+ horses who are stalled ~ 12 hours a day (more in the winter depending on the weather). Stalls are cleaned once a day. Barn owner feels that the machine saves on bedding and saves staff time.
Used one at a barn where I cleaned stalls one winter. It’s loud so we wore ear protection. But it got stalls cleaner and saved more shavings than hand picking and was easier on the person. Takes about the same time. If you want to use shavings and not pellets and have more than maybe three horses, it’s worth considering. Ideally, see if someone in your area has one you can see in action.
I have the Little Shifter and love it in the winter when the horses are in more as well as for the one horse that stall walks and shreds and spreads his poop. It’s not overly noisy but I cannot carry on a conversation with someone outside the stall while I’m sifting unless they talk loudly. It saves time and bedding with horses that trash their stalls, but in the summer when the horses aren’t in very much I just hand pick the stalls with a Fine Tines fork. (Takes about 5-6 minutes per stall from start to finish and is cleaner than I can hand pick.)
I have 11 horses and bed in sawdust but have also used pelleted bedding with the Shifter. You wil lose about a handful of pellets if they are still whole. It takes longer to sift a stall with hay trashed around in it since the hay doesn’t sift but it also takes longer to pick those stalls by hand and remove the hay too.
I’ve had my Shifter since the early 2000’s and have only had to replace one part in all that time. I got the part from Harry quickly and was back in business. There’s virtually no maintenance other than a few drops of oil a few times a year. If anyone would be interested, I’d be willing to do a demo video with a "real’ stall and put it on YouTube. It definitely is quicker to sift new, dry bedding than older bedding with hay mixed in.
