Buying Advice Horse farm tractor advice

[jbrumberg]

It was a difficult choice for me after sitting on and riding both the TC30 and the TC29DA. Having driven an old Ford 1100 for many years I liked the HST and ergonomics of the "29" compared to the geardriven "30". The "30" has a lot more metal and is 1970's/1980's style compared to the "more modern (ie. plastic) style" of the "29". The "29"'s hydraulics seemed better and I liked its FEL operation. I have no problems operating any of my attachments with my "29" and the midframe size 29/30 are relatively manuverable. I believe that both could fit in most horse stalls, but I do not know your layout nor am I a horse person. There has been a lot of posts on TBN about FELs and the lift capacity. I really can not comment on what a "29/30" can lift bale wise, but I believe I can lift and carry approximately 1000#'s. Both have a good HP/weight/footprint for your short term tasks IMHO. Jay

 

[TwinWillows]

Our farm is about the same size as yours & we have horses (9 now soon to be 2 more in April). We do our haying on shares so we did not need a large tractor for that work. We went w/ the TC40DA w/the 16LA loader for pasture clipping w/a 6ft bushhog & all kinds of other farm chores & are very happy. It has good fuel economy & the HST is easy to use for any of us. When cleaning stalls we just run the tractor down the hall stopping in front of each stall & shovel it out into the bucket, The 72" wide bucket carrys a lot of muck & with forks the loader is big enough to move anything we've needed to move & has good reach.

Our land is rolling & the tractor does fine w/the 6ft BH on the pastures I clip. If you have steeper land & mowing a larger areas you might want a 45 - 55 hp machine w/a wider mower.

 

[Soundguy]

I agree with mike.. with enough time a 30hp tractor will get you by.. but if you have big mowing.. or large bales to move.. or other large taskes.. the larger tractor may be nice.

soundguy

 

[VAChesterfield]

Lots of good advice so far. My wife & I have four horses on 10 acreas in central VA. I purchased my TC 30 in Jun 04 and have a bit over 450 hours.

It's a simple, tough, reliable machine, and easy for someone like me (who has few mechanical skills and even less free time) to service and maintain. It hasn't seen a dealer mechanic yet.

I have used my TC 30 to do light clearing, leveling, gravel road building & maintenance, mowing, spreading lime & fertilizer, tending to my manure pile, digging fence post holes, dragging our riding ring, digging shallow ditches and trenches, and taking round bales out to the pasture w/3pt bale spear.

It does it all for me. That said, if I had the extra bucks in my pocket, I'd buy a bigger machine ..... while the TC 30 does what I need it to do, with a large, heavier, more powerful machine I could do even more.

 

[Cottonhawk]

I also live in Oregon and very happy with our TC40DA . I use it for mowing, spreading, spraying, farrowing, hauling, and many other activities. 29/30 may do most of the things you want to do but sometimes you may want to have a larger tractor!

 

[bondo]

If I can add my $.02 we have about the same horse property as you and we manage our pastures with our 7' offset bush hog and we went with the TT-50. My advice if you are going to do mowing, go with a bigger tractor to handle a larger mower. You spend less time driving around the field and more time on the back of the horse like you want to be! Good luck with your purchase.

 

[dknarnd]

That brush hog is the same one I run on my TC40A and it pulls it just fine.

 

[schmism]

Im coming up on owning my TC33 for nearly a year.

Its been a god send for all kinds of tasks around the property.

5' bucket is just big enough without being to large.

The 72" MMM is nice, covers a lot of grass in a hury, but when its mounted the tractor does seem SOOOO much wider.

I find the FEL to be adequate, and HP level to be appropriate for the size of the machine.

 

[mojoinco]

JD has a discount program for 1/4 horse association members. Go to the 1/4 horse association web page and follow the link. What do they do with the rest of the horse...I guess that's why you need a tractor!

 

[litework]

We have a small horse farm too and a TC33 is used to perform various chores around the barn. We have a Kubota RTV that we use to drag the riding ring and paddocks. We were very happy with our equipment. In the past, we had someone else cut hay for us. We gave him some of our hay in exchange for his services, and it really was a good deal. Now, we have problems. The gentleman who was performing this service has an ailing back and can't do it any longer. We also had a severe drought last year and we only got one decent cut of hay. The second cut, we round bailed and it wasn't very good. We're also boarding a few more horses. Long story short, we ran out of hay. This year we decided to cut our own hay, and we're going to need a bigger tractor. We quickly and unexpectedly exceeded our tractor's capabilities. Short-term goals are sometimes much shorter than you expect. If you can, always go for more horsepower, especially if the overall size is similar.