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Discussion on Hedgetrimming
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Member:
Imogen
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Posted on Friday, Aug 25, 2006 - 11:52 am:
I realise this may be a UK and Ireland query...
We use natural stone ditches (=Irish term for wide drystone walls with earth and rubble in the middle) covered in brambles (blackberries) to keep in our horses supplemented with posts and electric fence tape in some places where the ditches have got broken down. These ditches with hedges have to be trimmed back every few years or they take over the field.
I recently bought a vintage small tractor to carry out various tasks like topping and fertilising. I would also like to find some gadget for trimming the hedges but usually hedgetrimmers used with tractors require quite high engine sizes/extra hydraulic connection.
Has anyone else been through this loop and found something that works with a small tractor? Ours is a 1973 45 hp 3 cylinder Massey Ferguson 135 with a standard PTO connection - it does have an extra hydraulic takeoff, so it might be possible to make some adaptation for a hedgetrimmer but it normally has a transport box and loader arms already connected to the hydraulics so it could prove underpowered!
We wondered about a small flail mower that goes up vertical on hydraulics... but they seem to be quite expensive (rough conversion looks like about $1300 minimum)
Any advice? Also what is the best method of getting through a gate without accidentally letting out mad thoroughbreds when on your own driving a tractor? Revving the engine or moving the loader arms up and down a bit seems to work but I don't think it's very safe...
Best wishes
Imogen
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Member:
Jgordo03
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Posted on Friday, Aug 25, 2006 - 2:57 pm:
Imogen, Does your tractor have a 3 pt hitch or do you need something that you just pull behind the tractor?
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Member:
Paardex
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Posted on Saturday, Aug 26, 2006 - 3:55 am:
Imogen,I don't know anything about hedgetrimmers linked to tractors over here[France Normandie] the brambles were cut by enormous hedgetrimmers and after that a tractor shoveled away the debris. I suppose I do have less brambles most hedges over here are different types of trees woven in to each other.I couldn't do the job myself, to heavy.
Getting through a gate if you are alone really is a chalenge[Holsteiners and Arabs feel the same way about escaping as a Thoroughbred I think]My tractor is so small if I let the 1.40m closure in place I can get through underneat but I suppose yours is bigger[shame because it really is a good system]. Wherever I cannot do that I have no alternative but take two gates/electric fences and pass one after another or lock the horses up somewhere they enjoy the tractor so much no amount of making noise or threathening sounds keeps them away. Believe me revving the engine and so on will become just another play within a very short time
Perhaps I am overly carefull but especially if you are alone you don't want your horses somewhere they do not belong.
Have fun with your tractor mine made life a lot more comfortable apart from being a nice toy!
Jos
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Saturday, Aug 26, 2006 - 7:46 am:
Is it necessary to cut back the "ditch" itself or just keep the blackberries from spreading to the fields. I have always found the way to do that is to get in early and often on the blackberry canes when they start to first grow in the spring.
This could be done right up against the wall of the ditch with a pasture clipper. Our road crews have mowers that sprout out the side and can be elevated, cut vertically, on an angle, and horizontally, etc.. but they are using 70 hp tractors and I am sure two sets of hydraulics.
Concerning the horses, if they are inquisitive, it becomes a two person job getting in and out of the fields safely. Fortunately our horses are not that inquisitive and are often stalled during the day. I have seen a spring loaded gate you can drive through but know little about them.
DrO
DrO
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Member:
Imogen
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Posted on Monday, Aug 28, 2006 - 3:02 pm:
Yes, the tractor has a PTO. It's a 45 hp tractor. I think there is a minimum pump level for the hydraulics which would require a larger tractor so I guess I will just have to pay for someone to come and do it.
Well, it wasn't done for about 5 years... and before that it wasn't done for about 20 years. I agree about getting them early in the spring and also late autumn, this is why I was trying to find a way to do it myself. They are a great natural barrier for horses though...
Thanks all for your input
Imogen
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Member:
Imogen
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Posted on Monday, Aug 28, 2006 - 3:03 pm:
Sorry I misread Judith's post - yes the tractor has a standard (is it Cat 1, I can never remember) three point hitch.
Imogen
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