If you could have anything for your yard...

[SWE]

What would it be?!

I have recently got my (small) own place and am always intrigued to hear about cool gadgets/ helpful tools and anything that saves you time in the yard!

So... What do you find saves you time.... and if money was no object what would you buy yourself to make your life easier?

Tips and tricks also invited too (homemade things too!)

 

[PapaverFollis]

Hot wash and solarium. I own greys. :lol:

 

[Fiona]

Probably a haygain haysteamer. The big one.

Fiona

 

[milliepops]

Hot horse shower of some kind . Would be awesome.

 

[Lintel]

An unfreezable tap!!

 

[Shooting Star]

For me, some electricity would be great

 

[Spot_the_Risk]

Electricity. Unfortunately the quote for that was £30,000, and that was ten years ago, and we would have had to do the ground works of about quarter of a mile over someone else's land!

 

[AdorableAlice]

An unfreezable tap!!

That is cheap to do, any electrician can do that for you, heated wire on the tap.

 

[GTRJazz]

Best thing we have at our yard is a covered area 20ft by 15ft with a big gate and bark floor they can drop a round bale in and up to three horses will stand around and eat without any mud . Needs a scrape out with the digger once a month to get rid of the muck.

 

[JFTDWS]

A groom

 

[Blixen Vixen]

Anytime you find yourself with a bunch of horses then a walker is indispensable. Means you don’t have to ride them all every day. Instead throw a couple on the walker and exercise the rest, alternate the days and they all end up being ridden every second day. Problem of doing them all solved!

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

What would it be?!

I have recently got my (small) own place and am always intrigued to hear about cool gadgets/ helpful tools and anything that saves you time in the yard!

So... What do you find saves you time.... and if money was no object what would you buy yourself to make your life easier?

Tips and tricks also invited too (homemade things too!)

Horse shower from Robinsons make bathing and washing much easier

would like a natural stream for cooling hot feet and fresh water

Like to be able to have hot water where the horse shower is.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Electricity. Unfortunately the quote for that was £30,000, and that was ten years ago, and we would have had to do the ground works of about quarter of a mile over someone else's land!

This ^. Last quote I got was in 2003, was 27k to lay cable to my yard and install meter. Another 2k to install wiring, fittings etc my side of meter.

Best thing I have done is to have laid out the yard to have 4 gates, one external but 3 to different paddocks. Means NO mud, (ok, not much) also easy to drive ponies in if necessary, very versatile

 

[WelshD]

I'd like some sort of handstanding or allweather turnout even if that was only big enough for the two ponies to get out and get some contact with each other

I do have a horse shower but only have mains water at home so have to walk the ponies the hundred or so metres to the house and its been a godsend

I do have an Aqua2go power wash unit too which runs off an internal rechargeable battery or a 12v one its not massively powerful but is powerful enough to wash legs with, its one heck of a useful thing and washes the buckets, waterbutts, jump poles, wheelbarrow wheel etc etc - no mains water pressure or electric needed but you do have to fill it with water

I love my bedazzled stable lights, they're nearly as good as mains lighting, lights outside (as well as in) are essential for me

 

[chaps89]

I'm on a yard with very little in the way of facilities (and 99% of the time love it there), it's amazing what you can live without.
For me, watertight storage (mainly because it won't stop raining at the moment and the feed/tack shed roof is leaking and I hate everything being damp) is vital (lets face it, we all have more stuff than we really need for our equines!)
Also, suitable storage for hay near wherever you are going to winter them- stock up just before winter then hay as you go without having to drive tractors etc in through muddy fields or trek miles with barrows full of hay. Our hay barn is at the top of the hill, this year the horses are wintering at the bottom so YO is having to drive up to fetch hay each weekend for the week ahead and we have to store it in the feed room making a mess. Little things like that really.
A real luxury would be hot water on tap. I'm lucky, we have electric and water so I can boil the kettle but it would be nice to have instant warm water for washing off in winter or cleaning tack (and yes I know that's fussy as I have a way of doing it already!)

Other things: Gateways not in corners. Gateways with stone/hardcore/mats down. Security lights so when you arrive on the yard you can find your way to the stables/tack room easily - also a security deterrent. Somewhere clean/hard/preferably sheltered to tie up for the farrier or vet (so with easy vehicular access) Water troughs with some sort of plug so they are easy to drain to clean (although a bucket and a dustpan will do the trick if not). If putting a field shelter in, it's worth spending on a quality one and also taking note of where the horses stand to rest in the field anyway and putting it there, facing against the wind etc.
I suppose the dream would then be a menage with good drainage and surface!

ETS - Went off on a bit of a tangent there, sorry! More practical - ragfork. And hay knife for cutting baler twine. And hooks for everything like headcollars. Rug racks as well.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

We have Horse shower from Robinsons ......................................................................make bathing and washing much easier

]

Also my Kubota and trailer for de pooing with ragi fork attached to it for those annoying weeds so all go together poo and weeds, ........................................makes my life easier

Haynet filler http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hay-Net-F...k5JQ.....................................also makes my life easier
hay soaker https://www.jsw4jumps.co.uk/shop/yard-stable/portable-hay-soaker-on-wheeled-castors-cl369/ .................................... makes my life easier


My hay draining area for wetting and draining haynets def help tie the haynets and hose them down and leave to drain livery owners really like this idea, and the haynets soaked get hung her too

the other idea I had was to use these for the shampoos and sponges down by the shower, as everyone has their own tray and they are there anytime they was to wash their horse, no fumbling trying to find them
]

would like a natural stream for cooling hot feet and fresh water

Like to be able to have hot water where the horse shower is.

 

[meleeka]

My best thing is the electric. I managed 15 years without water or electric and have both now so really appreciate that. Apart from a school which isn’t going to happen, I wish I’d made a decent dung heap instead of the messy pile in the corner of the field that grows each year! A giant hay steamer would also be nice

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I honestly find the whole horse shower thing a bit of a mystery lol as everyone seems to think of them as a must have-but I then maybe wash them once a year if they are unlucky.

the only thing I would change if I could, is the site of the muck heap which I cannot as my place is long and narrow and there's just nowhere else I would rather have it as stables are right next to house. As it is, its 150yards from the stables up a 15 % incline for the last half, its hellish exposed and not fun.

the place where they have their winter grazing and barn does have an electric light but thats it, no hot water and stuff is kept in a watertight plastic chest in neighbouring leaky shed. As I waited for the vet today on a snowy day, in the barn sharing my cinnamon whirl and cup of tea with my mealie I was reminded of days spent in the snow and barn with my pony and a packed lunch when I was a kid over 30 years ago. I've not moved on much

 

[Dave's Mam]

Can I be really sickening & say mine's fairly perfect!

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I honestly find the whole horse shower thing a bit of a mystery lol as everyone seems to think of them as a must have-but I then maybe wash them once a year if they are unlucky.

Yes but remember it is not just bathing - and if OP has a livery or too or more horses then it would get used more it's:
* hosing laminitis feet
* injury cleaning
* washing mudding legs
*washing boots (human ones) due to location of the tap they must use this
* car washing
*horsebox washing
* feedbowls


It is great for washing the car (s)

so could be useful to some specially if the horse keep treading on the hose.

 

[Lintel]

That is cheap to do, any electrician can do that for you, heated wire on the tap.

Ooh thanks very much! That shall be a task for the new year!

 

[MotherOfChickens]

yes I guess so re the horse shower-I just use the outside tap for most of those and some of them, I just don't do (i.e. hosing muddy legs, car washing ). I suspect if you are hunting etc they are really useful. its not a criticism, just seems like everyone wants them/must have them and there would be absolutely no point in me having one.

 

[sport horse]

Indoor school!

 

[WelshD]

One of my friends had an outside tap fitted which is connected to their hot water system so it gives instant hot water through a hose, it was low cost compared to a shower and no faffing about with gas - I thought that was a super clever idea

 

[Dave's Mam]

Those trays by the wash area are brill! Thankfully there's only 3 of on our yard, so we know who's is who's, but those would be immense on a big yard!

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

yes I guess so re the horse shower-I just use the outside tap for most of those and some of them, I just don't do (i.e. hosing muddy legs, car washing ). I suspect if you are hunting etc they are really useful. its not a criticism, just seems like everyone wants them/must have them and there would be absolutely no point in me having one.

the main reason i got it is i got fed up with livery owners letting their horses stand on the hose and put holes in it and I had to replace it.

 

[MuddyMonster]

A hot horse shower & solarium.

Not too much to ask, right?!

 

[Spottyappy]

Mains electric. I have solar lighting which is fab, but can’t run things like a kettle.
I am now in the early stages of trying a solar kettle to see if that solves the issue of hot drinks/poultices etc without needing to remember a flask!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Contempora...8&qid=1514586034&sr=8-1&keywords=solar+kettle

 

[YorksG]

Mains electric. I have solar lighting which is fab, but can’t run things like a kettle.
I am now in the early stages of trying a solar kettle to see if that solves the issue of hot drinks/poultices etc without needing to remember a flask!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Contempora...8&qid=1514586034&sr=8-1&keywords=solar+kettle

We have solar lighting in the stables, we used to have mains, but when the house was rewired we made the decision not to have the stables redone at the same time (partly cost, partly safety and partly we'd had enough of the disruption!). Our units have a usb port in them, can you find a kettle that will work off a usb port? We can just go into the kitchen to boil our kettle

 

[SWE]

These are amazing thank you guys!

I am very lucky to have electric /lights and I do have water but it's not quite on the yard unfortunately.

Something that would be amazing (not quite sure if it's even doable) but to have a hose running from my water storage... I'm guessing I'd just need a pump?!

A steamer would also be amazing as soaking hay is the bane of my life!