I would chose the tractor over other machines because it is so versitile. We have 14 acres, with about 11 in pasture, arena use. Tractor needs to be 4WD, have a quick hitch loader, to allow use of different attachments. Bucket and forks can achieve wonderful things! I pull a finish mower with it, because finish mower does a MUCH better job keeping fields and paddocks mowed smoothly. No bald places like the brush hog leaves on rolling ground. Get one with a side chute to prevent cut grass making windrows, killing grass they lay on like the rear-chute brush hog does. Brush hog is used outside the fences to cut brushy areas the neighbor has, to keep fences clean. We also have a small disk, landscape rake (very useful for a variety of jobs), arena groomer, chain harrow, the cone shaped spreader for grass seed or small amounts of fertilizer. Manure spreader is used daily. Tractor pulls loaded hay wagons as needed.
I do not compost because I NEED all the organic volume provided with spreading manure and sawdust bedding on my clay fields. Sawdust provides a bit of a mulching effect, protecting grass roots and soil from heat and erosion during heavy rains. The soil micro-organisms actually pull the matter down into the soil, making clay more absorbent, easier for plant roots to grow deeper. I spread on the horse pastures and paddocks spring and summer, drag them, then spread on the hayfield across the road after last hay cutting and all winter. Fields all show the benefit of being spread on.
We do have a skid steer with wheels, pretty much only used for deep snowfalls and moving gravel fill or crushed concrete to mud spots. Husband toy! Too heavy usually for driving on pastures or wet ground, would sink lIke a stone. It does not have the quick change front for changing bucket to other tools. We rent a skid steer for more power doing posts. Clay dirt won’t allow the tractor driven augers to dig AT ALL. Sold the augers we had, not useful here.
We have a Gator that my Mom won in a raffle! It gets winter use hauling hay to the feeders, but hay in tractor bucket would also work. Ground gets too bad, mud, frozen mud, deep ruts, to try carrying a couple bales out to each feeder by hand! It comes in handy for things, just would never have purchased one. Mostly works as a powered wheelbarrow, hauling tools to check/repair fences, water tanks I water field trees with in drought times, the fence weed sprayer to keep fences clean and HOT. Does save time moving stuff, just not an absolute essential like the tractor.
Get a tractor suitable for the jobs you need to do, not too big and CERTAINLY NOT one too small that will be working at it’s upper limits all the time. The little Kubota we have, 24HP, does an incredible job for us. It definately is the most used vehicle on the place! We do have other, bigger tractors now because we are making hay made off the other 11 acres I bought. But I did very well with all my other “horse farm” jobs using this tractor. The bigger tractors , 40 and 50Hp used mostly for hay equipment, are just too bulky for most of my horse farm jobs.
We are looking at property in KY to have a small private place with 3-5 horses. My goal is to live in this farm until I die so I want to invest in setting it up efficiently to work smarter not harder. This includes the appropriate equipment to maintain the land and the horse facilities.
) for a small, private place? I will have an arena that will need to be dragged regularly, if that makes a difference.
