Horse Illustrated Magazine

Tractor buying is a daunting project if you have limited experience dealing with farm equipment. To make the task easier, do some basic homework.

Start off by determining what jobs you need to tackle with your new purchase and how often you’ll be performing these chores. For example, you might need to dig holes for fence posts once every 10 years, but you might need to move heavy loads–like hay bales and soiled bedding–every week.

Bring your “chore list” when you head out shopping. Reputable tractor dealerships should match you up with the right size tractor and attachments for your horse farm.

If you’re on a tight budget, you might not be able to afford every tractor attachment on your wish list. Consider forgoing attachments for “once in a blue moon” chores—you can always rent those implements later if the tractor you buy has the power to handle them. However, some attachments, such as belly mowers, loaders and backhoes, are often custom fit to particular tractor makes and models. If you can’t afford everything you want, buying a less expensive, smaller tractor that meets all your regular needs may be the most cost-effective way to go for now. Later on you can rent a bigger tractor outfitted with the right attachments when those “once in while” jobs come up.

Besides growing and harvesting crops, below are the most common chores horse owners encounter and the basic tractor attachments needed to get the jobs done:

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