The Basics of Using a Box Blade in a Horse Loafing Area
We have a horse "loafing shed" or "lean to" on the side of our barn to provide shelter when it's raining. One end of it was a mucky mess and I was doing another video about how to select a box blade and had mine hooked to the tractor so I thought it would be a good time to attempt to fix it.
I filled this area with gravel (actually 1" clean base) back in 2016. Since then, the horses have trampled the rock down to where it was pretty solid and needed to be worked up and leveled with a box blade. When the rock was originally put in, I may have gotten a bit too much in one area and that was holding water in on the south end. The natural drainage is to the north, so I needed to shave off some material and push it back to fill in the low place, which should allow water to drain away.
I started with my box blade level, and slowly ran back and forth over the surface. After a while, I realized that the gravel was more tightly compacted than expected, so I lengthened the top link so the box blade cutting edge would ride directly on the ground. That helped a bunch and I soon had cut my hump off and resurrected about three wheel barrow loads of gravel. I spread that in my low area and while that improved the situation drastically, it didn't completely solve the problem. I'll need to build up the south end of the shed with some additional rock, then the drainage problem will hopefully be fixed.
You can change the angle of a box blade by adjusting a lower link arm. On many tractors there's a turnbuckle or crank on the right side. that allows you to grade at an angle. Some tractors have that feature on both sides. Also, lengthening the top link will lift the sides of the box blade so the cutting edge rides directly on the ground. That will help drag up more material. Conversely, you can shorten the top link, which lifts the back of the box blade and raises the cutting edge, to help with spreading the gravel out evenly. Most of the time, when grading my driveway, I just keep everything level and that works, but for more aggressive requirements, you can experiment with the top link to get the proper cut/spread.
If you do a lot of grading work, a hydraulic top link is the way to go. I offer deluxe Category I and II versions, designed for agricultural and commercial use, at my website here: https://asktractormike.com/product/he....
Some folks may wonder why I didn't put down the ripper teeth to help get the job done. We have solid bedrock just below the surface and I'm always hesitant to use the scarifiers when I know there's a possibility of hitting things like that. When locked in 4wd and encountering solid rock, something has to give and I don't want that risk.
Finally, if you'd like to see me spread the original gravel in this area back in 2016, here's a link to that video: • Spreading Gravel with a Tractor and Loader . Here's a video about what to look for in a box blade: • What's the Best Box Blade for Maintaining ... and here's a link to a video of me spreading gravel in a driveway: • All About Box Blades . If you're getting ready to purchase and/or use a box blade, make sure you watch those videos.
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