Safe Arena Drag Storage

[EverElite]

Hi gang, I am looking for ideas for safely storing my drag when it’s not in use.

I have a 6x8 harrow drag for my arena that I pull with my quad. Said arena is located in the middle of my largest field, which is empty as I am currently rotating pastures. Because no one lives out there at the moment, I’ve been keeping my drag next to the arena, on the field side. When I rotate this spring and turn the horses out there, this obviously won’t work.

I’ve identified a corner of my arena that is relatively out of the way and easily accessible for the quad - I can easily hook up and park it without having to move the drag. Does anyone have an attractive, neat way to block off the drag? I’m terrified of someone stepping on it or getting a leg caught if I were to come off and a horse is running loose in the arena.

TIA!

[wsmoak]

In your situation I would probably block off the parking area with some portable corral panels. Probably four of them and a couple of posts would work to make it so you can open both ends and drive through.

I have the same issue, but I pull mine with a tractor. My solution is to buy a lift for it so that I can pick it up, exit the arena, and put it down somewhere else.

Lift Kit For Chain Harrow - PICHLB

[anon81364900]

I hang mine on the wall of a shed. I pull the ATV forward into the shed until the harrow is at the right spot. I rigged up a couple of pulleys, one directly overhead the harrow hanging spot, and the other one directly above a hand winch. Hook the winch cable onto the harrow, wind it up until it’s secured against the wall. Works great, looks good, and keeps the harrow safely away from hooves and frees up a ton of floor space!
If I had a do-over, I’d use a chain hoist rather than the winch.
Here’s a sketch:

[SugarCubes]

I cut a pallet in half and screwed it together lengthwise, so it’s about 2’ tall by 8’ long. I painted it to match my jumps so it looks nice, and when I finish dragging I put my drag in the corner of my ring and have it blocked off by the pallet. I don’t turn horses out in my arena, so this is really just added protection against a loose horse.

[Jarpur]

I park mine in a corner of my arena, backed in all the way. It is blocked off by an extra cavaletti or two, threaded through the arena fence to lay across the middle board from one side to the other, diagonally across the corner, blocking it off.

There is also a line of large traffic cones on the ground in front of the harrow, diagonally across the corner.

When I need to use the drag, I move the cones, take down the cavaletti, and hook up my garden tractor. When I’m putting it back, I swing the harrow as close to the corner as I can, unhook it from my tractor, get behind it and pull it back (by hand) into the corner. It’s a little awkward to pull, but not really that much effort. Put the cavaletti back up, place the cones in front as a ground line, done.

No horse is ever turned out loose in the arena.

[lorilu]

I have a 4x6 chain harrow. I park it along a fence line (not a paddock fence) outside the arena but I still worry that a horse might get loose and get hurt. When I park it I have a section of picket fence from HD that I put down over the top of it. Most of the time it is left hooked to the Gator.

[EverElite]

We don’t really need a tractor to get by with our current set up, but oh man this (and a front-loader) reeeeally makes me wish we had one.

[EverElite]

Brilliant! Unfortunately, the arena is too far from the barn and I don’t have a way to lift the drag off the ground while I get it there.

Thanks everyone! Lately I’ve been blocking the area off with extra jumps & poles, so that may have to be the long term solution.

[anon81364900]

@EverElite

but oh man this (and a front-loader) reeeeally makes me wish we had one.

I can’t tell you how much our tractor purchase last year has made our lives easier, and the farm more fun. Do it, you won’t regret it.

[LCDR]

If you have a fence line nearby, create a pull-through parking spot. I have 3 board fencing, so here is my solution. Fence posts are 8 feet apart. I put two new posts 4 feet away from the fence, in line with the existing posts. Then I hung two 4-foot metal gates, one between each old and new posts. Then I added three 8-foot boards between the new posts.

That gives me a gate on one end to drive into, drop the arena groomer, and pull out through the other gate. The groomer is stored in its own corral in the fence line.