CHORE BUSTERS

Find more time for riding (and save your back) with this collection of valuable tools.

It's often muttered after a particularly taxing chore: Who needs a gym when you own horses? Hefting hay, carrying sacks of grain, managing manure, and cleaning stalls are the price you pay-with your muscles and sometimes your aching back-for the pleasures of horse ownership. But when those tasks overrun your physical ability or become so daunting that you put them off, it can affect your health or your horses' well-being. So what do you do (short of hiring help) to get your barn chores done with less pain and more gain?

You find the right tool for the job. And that's where we can lend a helping hand. We've come up with this collection of muscle-easing tools and labor-saving tips so you can spend less time in the barn and more time with your horses.

Dreaded Chore: A bank of stalls needs cleaning; the arena rail needs raking in; and the barn aisle needs sweeping.

Labor Saver: Any time you work with a long-handled tool, you're going to find yourself bending, pushing, pulling, and lifting. Great for the back and abdominal muscles-if you're a gym regular. For those of us who need a little extra leverage and less bending, check out the BackSaver Grip. Available at most Ace Hardware, Do It Best, or True Value hardware stores, this detachable plastic grip lets you work higher up the handle, minimizing bending. Your wrists and arms will thank you, too!

Cost: Get a Grip (pun intended) for $12.

Contact Information: MBS, Inc., www.backsavergrip.com, 800-752-7874.

Dreaded Chore: Packing tack from the barn to the trailer to the tack stall to the arena to the tack stall to the trailer to the barn....

Labor Saver: Avoid multiple back-breaking trips by piling your gear on Royal Wire's Rolling Dolly. Move two heavy saddles, pads, bridles, boots, and grooming equipment in one easy trip. Four wheels keep the load balanced, or you can tip it back onto large rear wheels to negotiate rough terrain. Fold it nearly flat for easy trailer or tack stall storage.

Cost: $165.

Contact Information: Royal Wire Equine, www.royalwireequine.com, 440-237-8787.

Dreaded Chore: That load of gravel needs to be spread in six different places, and the compost pile is ready to be relocated to the flower beds.

Labor Saver: Haulz-All offers a line of battery-operated, self-propelled wheelbarrows that'll have everyone volunteering to clean stalls. While some manual wheelbarrows' best safety feature is wide-set wheels that prevent accidental tipping, Haulz-All takes safety a step further. Multiple forward and reverse gears help you operate the cart at your own speed, and every cart features regenerative braking to help you control a full load. Some models even have parking brakes!

Cost: $549 to $949.

Contact Information: Haulz-All, www.haulzall.com, 866-428-5925.

Dreaded Chore: Moving heavy bags of feed from the back of your truck to the feed room.

Labor Saver: Carry up to 300 pounds of feed (bagged or baled) over rough terrain easily with Tuff Stuff's Muck Cart 300. This clever back-saver folds almost perfectly flat and stores easily on a peg in your feed room or trailer. A retainer lip on the front and back of the platform keeps loads from shifting, and the 25-pound total weight and 9 inches of handle adjustment make this cart easy for horse owners of all sizes to use.

Cost: $69.95.

Contact Information: Tuff Stuff Products, www.tufftubs.com, 800-305-0889.

Dreaded Chore: Your daily driver is also your trailer tower, and you climb into the back of the truck to hook up frequently.

Labor Saver: Trailer Gear, Inc.'s Quick Coupler eases gooseneck hook-up madness. Maybe you climb over the side of the truck with gymnastic style to secure the hitch; more likely, you wiggle between the tailgate and trailer, bumping your head every third time (or so it seems-you've lost track). With Quick Coupler, back the ball within 51/2 inches of the coupler. It'll self-align when you lower the coupler and, best of all, it'll latch automatically. Pull a release cable to release the coupler when it comes time to unhook the trailer. They also have a design for short-bed pickups.

Cost: $289 to $359.

Contact Information: Trailer Gear, Inc., www.trailergear.com, 800-578-9633.

Dreaded Chore: Packing feed bucket after feed bucket from the feed room to a line of stalls or the pasture, each with custom contents.

Labor Saver: Huge wheels, sturdy construction, and large-capacity bins make Burlingham Sport's Feed Cart a complete portable feed room. With a huge 300-pound capacity, you can pack several bags of feed in this little gem's three cavernous compartments. Smaller compartments keep gallon-sized supplement buckets or liquid pump bottles upright and organized. Two interlocking lids keep pests out of your valuable feed.

Cost: $449.

Contact Information: Burlingham Sports, www.burlinghamsports.com, 800-446-0134.

Dreaded Chore: The big jobs-working the arena, spreading drain rock, mowing pastures, and turning compost piles.

Labor Saver: Eighty different attachments make John Deere's 2000 series utility tractor an ideal choice for the majority of small horse operations. The 26.5 horsepower engine helps you mow pastures and work up arenas with ease. Automatic transmission and power brakes make controlling the machine a snap. Its compact size makes it easy to operate, park, store, and maintain. Attach a manure spreader or arena groomer for perfect ground maintenance. Too small? Check out John Deere's product selector on their Web site to find the perfect size tractor for your needs.

Cost: $13,000.

Contact Information: John Deere, www.deere.com, 800-537-8233.

Dreaded Chore: Stalls, stalls, and more stalls, and they all need cleaning!

Labor Saver: What if we told you that you can completely clean even the messiest stalls in less than six minutes each while saving every bit of precious (and increasingly expensive) bedding? Brockwood brings you the Stall Shi*fter, an electric manure fork. Shovel bedding into the sifting tub, and watch reusable bedding fall back onto the stall floor. Cut your bedding material use by up to 50 percent while reducing the size of your compost pile.

Cost: $1,649.

Contact Information: Brockwood Farms, www.brockwoodfarm.com, 812-837-9607.

Dreaded Chore: Packing fencing construction or repair materials from one end of the farm to the other.

Labor Saver: Once you get a Mule, you'll wonder how you ever managed your operation without one, and we don't mean the kind that eats hay. Kawasaki's work superstar easily transports the heaviest loads with optional 4x4 and diesel power. A powerful engine, smooth-riding suspension, large tires, and a 400-pound capacity tilting cargo bed make chores a breeze.

Cost: $5,899 to $10,799.

Contact Information: Kawasaki, www.kawasaki.com, 949-770-0400.

Dreaded Chore: Dust and debris mitigation (sweeping and vacuuming around the barn).

Labor Saver: Pushing a broom in a stall aisle not only hurts your back, but stirs up dust. If you have dust-sensitive horses, this can be a serious health issue. Keep barn aisles and tack and feed room floors clean with Black & Decker's Leaf Hog Blower Vac. Enjoy three tools in one-vacuum in the barn, blow paths clean outside, and mulch debris such as loose hay for the compost pile. Quiet operation allows for indoor use, and at 8 pounds it's easy on your back. A flexible tube attachment lets you easily clean behind feed bins and mangers.

Cost: $54.99.

Contact Information: Black & Decker, www.blackanddecker.com, 800-544-6986.

Unusual Labor Savers

Having the right tools is just the start toward finishing your chores early and sipping a refreshing drink while watching your horse graze in a clean, well-kept pasture. Here are a few bonus tools that can save you time and energy-and keep your horse happy, too.

Adequate drainage. Mud gets tracked everywhere, requiring repetitive cleanup. It can also prevent access to overflowing manure piles or arenas by motorized equipment. Installing proper drainage can go far toward easing your workload. This includes keeping gutters and downspouts in good repair to carry water away from buildings and drain rock to keep soil dry.

Fertilizer and weed control. Aggressively-growing pastures are healthier pastures, producing vigorous, rapid-growing grasses with fewer weeds. This will reduce the number of hay bales you need to store, but might increase the amount of riding time you need to work off grass bellies (is that really a bad thing?).

Rubber mats. Reduce your stall cleaning time, as well as the need to re-floor dirt stall floors annually, with mats. But don't limit them to stalls. Make aisles and wash racks easier to clean with a mat-lined floor. Use one extra mat just outside of doors to catch the worst of tracked-in dirt and mud, like a doormat. Hose or sweep it off to keep aisles cleaner.

Barn ventilation. Ensure your barn has adequate ventilation to keep dust under control. Look for areas in your barn where dust piles seem to accumulate at an unusual rate, and check those areas for proper ventilation.

Clean your gear. Dirty brushes and saddle blankets simply displace dust and loose hair rather than collect it. Keep them clean to help reduce debris around the barn.

Establish a "cleaning day." Dedicate time on a regular schedule, be it weekly, twice a month, or monthly, to clean your barn and trailer, and stick to it! Staying on top of this need will downgrade it from huge chore to simple task.