We’ve had horses for 20 plus years and finally decided to purchase a small 5.5 acre farm. It’s awesome. We initially looked at the property when the owner was mowing the front yard and he said the pastures could be mowed with a zero turn also. Just a note that they’re all relatively level, no big holes, etc. Has anyone had any experience with zero turn mowers on pastures? If so, what brands do you like, would recommend staying away from, etc.? I read one article that said they shouldn’t be used on pastures and spoke with a distributorship for two mowers (who also happened to be a repair shop) and he said they could.
Thanks in advance for the information!
Congratulation on your new place, sounds just right for you.
We use a bush hog on a larger tractor for our pastures, but around the house and horse pens and traps, some times we use our 54" zero turn mower and it does fine.
If you have bigger stuff to mow, just go slower or only take half a bite thru the thickest stuff and you will be fine and/or raise your mower deck, if you don’t need to cut it to lawn finish, can leave the pasture a little rougher looking.
It will take much longer with a little mower and it will be harder on it, but that is the main trade-off you may have to consider.
You can start with the zero turn mower and see if it will do the job, before you think to get anything bigger that you may not need.
If you need more mowing power, but not quite enough for more equipment, how about finding someone local that will mow the larger pasture/s for you if it ends up being too much for the little mower?
That would be way cheaper than buying a bigger tractor, if you don’t need one for other tasks.
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Congrats on your new place!!! I have my 2 at home. I have a Scag Tiger Cub (commercial grade zero turn mower). I like it because the deck just fits under the bottom fence line (set 12" above grade). The highest setting is 5" so if you’re looking to cut at 8" it’s not going to happen. But, according to my local extension office at Penn State 5" is an ideal height to cut the pasture. It can get a little rough riding because they don’t have any suspension, but it works just fine for me.
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A good quality, commercial grade zero turn might do quite well. I’d not trust what you get from a “big box” store 'cause that’s made by “lowest bidders” to the store’s specifications.
G.
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We use a commercial grade cub cadet on our lawns, fields and paddocks. 54" deck. We mow about 15 acres all told.
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Congratulations on your new farm! 
I’ve got a Ferris 61" zero turn and love it for my pastures.
When I bought the farm 27 yrs ago I went the tractor and 60" bush hog route but the tractor was a relic to say the least. I spent most of my time mowing looking backward to see what the bush hog was doing due to rather strange hydraulics! :eek:After spending a season with a stiff neck, I went to the small lawn tractor that I had, a 48" Wheel Horse and got rid of the stiff neck but it did take me longer so I moved up to a 60" Wheel Horse tractor. Loved it till I burned it up early in the spring when the grass was growing like crazy. Had it fixed but was told it would probably be a month till they were done so I bought the Ferris Zero Turn. The highest I could mow with the Wheel Horse was about 4" whereas the Ferris Zero turn I can go up to 5-5.5".
With the zero turns mowing usually gets done faster unless you get stuck in spring mud, or, if you have a summer like we’ve had with record breaking rain, then it’s spring, summer and probably fall mud! 
That is the only real draw back with zero turns. I generally mow regular lawn every 3-4 days and the pastures once/wk in the spring and back off some come a regular summer, like weekly for the lawn and every 2-3 weeks for pastures.
PS. The Ferris has springs which give you a much smoother ride!
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I have a 9 acre farm and I use a diesel 60" commercial zero turn to mow most everything. The only thing we mow with the tractor is some really uneven weedy stuff under a power line. All other mowing, including pastures, is done with the zero turn. My mower can mow up to 5" high. I do have suspension in the seat of my mower, which helps keep me comfortable while mowing.
Congratulations on your new farm! You are going to love it!
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The overriding theme here is…buy a ZTR from a real dealer, not a home center. You want the real, commercial quality machine, regardless of brand. The machines at the Home Centers are stripped-down, “look a likes” that are not designed for heavy work. Check out what’s available to you locally, because you’ll also want the availability for support. I happen to own a SCAG, but in this area, Kubota, ExMark, Husler and Farris are all sold by multiple dealers.
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One of the engine repair places (also the dealer) said there aren’t many repair shops for Cub Cadet. We contacted their local distributor (an Ace Hardware) and he mentioned that he doesn’t stock them as he would have to buy a trailer load or pay some very expensive freight. Do you have any trouble getting them repaired? TIA!
Thanks for the really great advice! I’m going to start favoring the commercial side vs residential. Now I feel a lot more at ease. Are there any brands you think I should stay away from? TIA!
I have a 5 ac property and have a zero turn gravely. Also 3 different friends that love their grasshopper. My brother also has the gravely. Is more affordable. Mine is a residential but is the highest quality one they make. Seems to be working well even pull my manure spreader with it. Have had for 3 years now
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We have a few repair places in our area ( northern MA). One of my boarders work at one, so that helps getting thing done quickly. We bought ours at Tractor Supply at the end of the season for a reduced price.
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We have a Hustler. FasTrac is the model I believe. I use it on our 8 acers.
And I use it hard. I run into crap, get it stuck in mud, get it stuck in ditches and enjoy doing zero turn doughnuts waaaay to much. I run the deck into all sorts of shit. Fencing, structures, trees, you name it.
It’s awesome.
I have to change the blades annually at least…because I also like to mow our sand and gravel. I do a lot with the deck as low as it will go for my grass dressage arena and such.
Grass is high right now. At least 12-15". The mower tells me when I need to roll slowly and cut less. When grass is this high I have to go over it twice.
I love that damn thing. I also attach our harrow to it and drag my stall paddocks.
My Pop bought the one specifically with the roll bar…
and I’ve almost died by flippage on several occasions.
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Ours is a JD, but the models you get thru the JD dealers, not at Home Depot and such.
The JD dealers have the real thing, the heavy duty ones.
The others are made considerably more flimsy, not sure they would stand to other than perfect lawns and light use.
A friend has a landscaping business and tells me those are best for individuals, the commercial ones are way too expensive if you don’t have work for them every day like he does.
He also at times has JD ones, it depends where he can get a good deal when he is ready to get new ones.
He said what is important for him is that he gets a good dealer that will have parts for them on hand or right away.
No matter how good the machine, if it is not running is no good to him.
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Thanks for all the useful information. It’s been tremendous!
A note about the Commercial grade versus homeowner models. For one thing the commercial decks are generally a lot thicker material so the blades can spin at higher revolutions. For safety the blade speed is slowed down on the thinner residential units. This allows the commercial units to cut faster and mulch cleaner. It also allows you to run faster. The hydraulics are usually higher quality too so they’ll take a lot more abuse. As purplnurpl said, I get in a hurry with mine and I’ve run in to the fence posts, slid down a hill and took out a small tree and I’ve gotten it stuck numerous times going where normal common sense would tell you not too (apparently my {not so} youthful optimism still wins out at times LOL).
I own older Gravely walk behind units which are true workhorses, but it’s getting hard to find parts for them. The Scag I have I can still get anything and everything for it. Whatever brand you get make sure parts and potentially service, are available. In the end that’s what’ll make or break you.
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Mr IF is a complete zero turn fan. He has had several and keeps upgrading. This year he bought a new Bad Boy and he is in love. It had great suspension (and that matters if you are on it for a while) and it runs beautifully.
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I just don’t see how y’all can mow with a zero turn. My (clay based) pastures are level but after a 1000 lb horse runs around during wet conditions a zero turn would beat the crap out of me mowing plus can you get the setting high enough so your grass is not cut too short so it doesn’t burn up during the hot summer months? I’m not changing how I mow currently but have been curious on those raving about their zero turns.
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I use a pull behind rough cut mower for the pasture. I tow it with the 4 wheeler. 9 acre farm. One of our pastures has a wetland area that grows extremely dense wetland grasses and it can be wet through there. I don’t want to ruin a gazillion dollar mower on that stuff.
If it was smooth and dry I would just do the whole thing with a commercial or almost commercial zero turn.
I don’t turn horses out when it is wet. I don’t want the divots. They stay in the dry lot.
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I was just at our local Husqvana shop for some parts for a weedeater. While I was waiting for the parts guy to do his thing I shopped around the commercial zero turn offerings from Husqvarna, Hustler, and ExMark. The commercial units start at about $6000 for a smaller unit (48") and for a 60" they were running $9000-$11,000. This is two to three times the cost of a “residential” unit but if you put your hands on one you’ll quickly see “why” just in terms of robust construction, ergonomics, and horsepower.
Here is a comparison I found of different brands. I have no idea how good or bad it is in terms of accuracy:
http://www.the-lawn-advisor.com/Commercial-Riding-Mowers-Comparison.html
This is real money for one of these things and you’d have to weigh initial investment against productivity and cost of operation when compared to a PTO mounted finishing deck (not a bushhog).
G.
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