Homebuilt Horse Arena Rock Picker

I had a rock problem in my arena. A HUGE rock problem. And when I searched online for answers, I mostly saw ideas like "hire little kids" and "do it by hand little by little", and a few mechanized rock pickers that I knew from watching wouldn't work for me. I rented every conceivable piece of rock-picking, landscaping equipment available, and all I got was a lot of dust and still lots of rocks. So I spent two years thinking and designing, and looking at pictures and videos of the old 1920's Thomas Rock Picker that is enormous but works the way I thought it should.
And this is what I came up with. Designed and built from scratch by me, and it works. After lots of failed prototypes and breakdowns from using substandard materials (they were prototypes, after all - I wanted proof of concept before I spent big bucks on the finished pieces and parts), I got it right. It works like a dream - it's just SWEET. It digs up the top layer of dirt and rocks, shakes the sand and dirt through, and tosses the clean rocks out the back into a big "stone boat" (a big tub that glides over the ground like a sled). When the stone boat is full I disconnect everything and drag the stone boat to the rock pile, dump it, and then drag it back and hook everything up again and collect more rocks. And it collects rocks from bigger than my fist down to about 1/2" to 3/4", all the rocks that make my uber-sensitive OTTB dressage diva trip and stumble.
The three key parts are (1) the hook chain conveyor belt, (2) the commercial bird netting over the hook chain, and (3) the PTO drive off the tractor which is very robust.
I've posted a basic how-to-build-it at www.mhleather.com/picker.html

[@Moon_On_A_Mic]

Awesome. Best one ive seen so far and ive been researching for 35mins now. Thanks

[@elainethie4620]

Very impressive. Could help many land owners who have rocky soil.

[@akairmen82]

Please please do a write up on this. I am building a horse arena and need this in my life.

[@mhleather]

It's written up as a Word document that I've been emailing to people who asked, but I suppose I can post that somewhere so folks don't have to ask for it. I don't think I can post it on You tube, but I can post it on a web page and then publish that link in my KZbin text. Would that work?

[@mhleather]

Go to www.mhleather.com/picker.html

[@GalaxianGamer]

I have a small land (4.5 acres) that i want to make gardens and a modern arch home near a forest, and its full of rocks, mostly 1ft to a few inches, I am struggling on ideas how to remove them, thanks for your share, it will help a lot. you rock man!

[@mhleather]

Thank you. I hope this (or your version of it) helps!

[@normhowes2975]

l have slightly larger stones in the pasture. If she ever decides to replant my thoughts were a old potato picker as it works the same however a smaller path. My Gramps had a horse drawn unit at one time so ground driven and could be done behind a ATV. Great job!

[@mhleather]

Ground drive was my first idea, but after several failed prototypes and a lot of tears and bad words I realized that ground drive was not robust enough to deal with the weight of the dirt and rocks. PTO drive gave me the power I needed and from there on out it all came together. My arena is vastly better, really quite wonderful, now. The unit is way too heavy to pull with an ATV.

[@normhowes2975]

Good points. I went to your site (beautiful leather work!) that you posted below but no link to contact you, I'm not super computer smart. Any chance you still the information on the build?

[@mhleather]

@@normhowes2975 yes, I wrote up the how- to and it's in my computer - email me at [e-mail] and I'll email them to you. Happy to help. My web site was far more extensive when I left that reply, all of the saddles I've built, but a few months ago I decided to stop building custom saddles because I didn't want the pressure any more. So I took the big site down and replaced it with a minimal gallery with no contact information... sorry about that. Email me and I'll send you the specs on the rock picker.

[@oatmealsavage82]

WOW! this is exactly what i need. Is there any chance you would have any plans/drawings to build one of these? My wife and I are having the exact same problem, need a smaller piece of equipment just like what you built! well done!

[@mhleather]

Thank you! I'd be happy to send you pictures, dimensions, materials and contacts for how to build it, if I there's to do that privately. I am so proud of this machine! Let me know how you would like me to contact you.

[@mhleather]

I'm going to write up the specs and procedures I used to build the rock picker. If you go to my website www.mhleather.com you can send me an email and when I have the rock picker write-up finished I'll send it to you.

[@skeets6060]

How did all those rocks get in there inthe first place ?

[@mhleather]

This is a very rocky area to begin with (geologically it's an ancient riverbed), but my husband decided to rototill my arena (BAD idea) and that "woke up" all the rocks in the top 6" of dirt. No more ancient root matrix holding the rocks down and they just all came to the surface, loose, and then rain washed the fine dirt and sands down and left the big loose rocks on top.

[@rearspeaker6364]

even better, is a barber surf rake.

[@mhleather]

Barber surf rake looks nice, but it's $50,000. I built this rock picker myself for $4000.

[@djzatka]

How you made that ?

[@mhleather]

I built it with lots of failed prototypes, tears, and bad words until I figured out I needed the power of my tractor PTO drive to make it work. Then it was a learning process. Email me at [e-mail] and I will send you basic plans to build your own. Very basic plans, not a step-by-step guide. I still want to rebuild it using steel C-channel instead of plywood for the sides. There is some welding involved.

[@djzatka]

@@mhleather sending you email

[@djzatka]

@@mhleather please make more videos so your channel can grow

[@mhleather]

@@djzatka I might next summer. I plan on rebuilding the rock picker in all metal, using C- channel to replace the plywood sides. There will be a lot of welding and I'll rent a plasma cutter to make cutting metal and punching holes easier and faster. But I can't do any of that until the weather is warm enough to be welding outside. I will try to make a video of that and post it. Thanks for the encouragement!

[@djzatka]

@@mhleather No worries, we all are here to support

[@mub3ady]

Would be awesome if you could make a video of the project (how to make) a lot of people would be grateful.

[@mhleather]

Would be really helpful, you're right, but I'm a terrible video maker, and it would take a lot of planning to shoot a useful video. I appreciate the idea and I'll think about it.

[@mhleather]

Email me at [e-mail] and I'll send you the write up I have. It's a good starting point.

[@mub3ady]

@@mhleather so kind of you, thank you so much.

[@shemwayman1146]

HOW CAN I BUY ONE?

[@mhleather]

You can't - I'm not interested in building them for sale (I don't consider it perfected yet), but you can build your own if you can weld. ☺

[@panoramacdp3221]

Como vc fez me ensinar

[@stevematthews684]

That looks very much like a current mfgt. Lenco Stone Picker. kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5u3Z5eJhrhjkKM Yes...just like the old Thomas Rock Picker. Great job on the DIY!

[@mhleather]

I saw the Lenco for the first time last week. It's similar but a lot bigger, and looks hydraulic which is not something I could do in a homemade picker. And I'm not sure it would fit through my arena gate. But you're right, it's the same idea. And thank you!