Those of you with horses at home/your own yard. . . .

jennywren07 said:
Whats the one bit of kit you coudn't live without? possibly moving to our own yard/grazing (rented) and making shopping lists :D
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Mmmm one thing you need to think about grass care and how you are going to do it so verses being on livery thats what I would say a sensible pasture management plan.
 
You need something such as a ride on mower or quadbike to help with things such as reseeding and fertilsing the paddocks and leveling the arena if you have one. Plenty of wheelbarrows too!
 
A strong and willing husband? :D

And a quad!

Seriously though, if you are going to put money into anything put it into pasture management. Get your fields right and you'll save a fortune in feed and bedding.
 
Fore thought.

Never think in the present, always be thinking 6 months forwards in land management. Be prepared to sacrifice some grazing, it will recover.

Always ask the OH for something to be mended after you have fed him !
 
Land managment is fine we have a plan and more than enough grazing for our fatties and land owner will be doing any spraying/topping/harrowing etc

OH has been told he'll be hammering etc as needed or he wont be going to anymore football matches :D

any reccomendations as to stable mats?
 
jennywren07 said:
any reccomendations as to stable mats?
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I use Fieldguard M2 mats because they are springy and well-draining, but work best in stables with somewhere to drain to! If you are just using mats as an extra layer under normal thickness bed then you can get away with cheaper types.
 
Post Hammer; Betty Ford (the tractor) with topper thingy and harrow; hose with really heavy duty gun.....I could go on & impossible to narrow down to one thing.
 
Faracat is spot on, only alternative is lovely friendly neighbour farmer who can do things for you. A quad would be useless on anything more a couple of acres, either find a vintage tractor (if you know anything about machinery) or it's someone in to help
You will need topping, rolling, harrowing, weedkillering, reseeding, maybe fertilising, maybe hay making? moving muck heaps, moving large bales, moving field shelters, maybe fence post knocking in, digging out ditches (if you have them), digging out gateways, moving hardcore, hedge cutting etc. etc. the list of tractor only duties is endless and trying to to any of this stuff by hand is impossible/ so time consuming it may as well be impossible!
 
Hammer, nails, and some leccy fencing, plus LOADS of bailer twine for various "emergencies".

Plus some sheep, preferably not your own coz then you'll have all the bother of them. We've got a local farmer who puts his sheep in our field and they're absolutely invaluable for pasture management.

Oh.... and a good hefty torch; make sure you always know where it is, plus have a spare battery just in case.
 
1. My lovely farmer neighbour Stuart who mainly provides my hay/haylage, but also cuts my hedges, fertilises my fields and general land management advice when needed.
2. My neighbour Paul who has a tractor and fence bopper and is an engineer and just itching for me to take on some of Stuart's grazing the other side of the ditch so he can design me a bridge :)
3. My other lovely farmer friend Brian who gave me some tip top chain harrows that he'd been asked to scrap to tow behind my Land Rover.
4. My husband Jeremy who likes pulling ragwort and strimming.

The most useful pieces of kit I have are my shovel, knapsack weed sprayer and little box trailer I think
Rubber mats - I went for the fieldguard M4 (I think) the 4'x3' EVA light ones 22mm thick that are actually possible to lift on your own.
 
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jennywren07 said:
Whats the one bit of kit you coudn't live without? possibly moving to our own yard/grazing (rented) and making shopping lists :D
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Most important is to have................

















a bank account with some money in it! :D

The number of local farmer willing to do 'things' for beer tokens or proper payment :)



Wheelbarrow is prob the most used item, followed by rubber gloves, water & feed buckets etc
A hammer is my best friend, with the larger variety of a sledge hammer being very useful too.

To be honest, you really need to have at a minimum:
A basic mucking out kit - serves not just the usual but for toting around to clear weeds/brambles, tote water to farthest paddocks, poo-pick, give children rides, lug fencing kit for repairs etc.
A basic gardening kit (pruning shears, trimmer for weeds that you dont pull and shears for bigger branches)
A basic tool box for yard & fence maintenance, with screwdrivers, pliers, hammer & saw.
Pen & notebook for messages
Torch (x 2)
A 1st aid kit to mend all the damage done by the above tools :D

And in your 'stores' shed/stable, you ought to keep a couple of fence posts, a couple of fence rails, nails, screws, creosote (or similar). *I store spare rails in the eaves of a couple of boxes - they are dry & out of the way till might be needed :)

Have fun :)
 
Polos Mum said:
the list of tractor only duties is endless and trying to to any of this stuff by hand is impossible/ so time consuming it may as well be impossible!
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I think that depends on your acreage - if you have only a small field you can manage pretty well without a tractor or quad bike. We have kept our horses at home for 16 years and never felt the need for either!
 
Sounds like were pretty much sorted apart from the bank account with pennies in it then :D

we've always been diy including a very basic yard on a farm where we were just left too it so we have all the bits and pieces mentioned :)
 
Our own land costs us, just as much as livery every year :) thats always a good point to think on :D

Actually no, I lie, having horses on that land, costs us just as much :p
 
TGM is right, if I didn't say it depends on how much land you have I apologise. I few acres you clearly can manage by hand. I'd guess it depends on how much time you have. Cutting the hedges on 2/3 acres with a petrol hand hedgecutter would (I guess) take 2 or 3 days of hard work, with a tractor this would be an hour. My husband and I work full time so time is something we don't have lots of unfortunately.

Clearly I missed the biggest one ............ credit card is certainly essential but seeing the boys outside your bedroom window every morning is priceless.
You won't regret it !
 
We have a little plastic four wheeled cart that we hitch to the back of the car with a leadrope clip to move stuff and take poo to the muckheap. We built the first muckheap near the stables which was a big mistake

A petrol strimmer with brush cutting attachment can take on many jobs

A post hammer, a drill with screwdriver tips, lots of screwdrivers, a saw etc all come in handy

Cable ties are the new baler twine when it comes to emergency repairs

An IBC tank would be good if you are relying on rainwater as your supply

Pallets and tarps always come in handy

Some sort of lighting is a must really

A store of wood. Posts, rails, old doors, flat bits, battens are good too

And dustbins, these make cheap storage, feed bins and also store water when you have a surplus
 
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