Horse blocks
Feed, tack and tools on a Torbanlea horse block
Torbanlea is a small town on the old Burrum coalfield, minutes from Howard, ringed by five-to-forty-acre blocks. Horse properties, a few cattle or goats, and lots bought by people who have not built yet. The storage is specific: chaff that must stay dry, saddles that must not go mouldy, and one lockable place for everything else.
Torbanlea orders are packed at the Bundaberg yard
There is no container yard in Torbanlea to walk into. Stock leaves Bundaberg after the grade check that applies to that unit. On a feed store, that means cargo-worthy: inspected dry, sound floor, doors that seal. We email photos of the actual box, serial visible, if you ask, before it is delivered.
Say Torbanlea, not 'near Howard', when you enquire. The towns share a highway and not a postcode, and the pad you want — beside a stable, not on a town lot — changes the truck.
Chaff, saddles, and a slasher
Chaff, pellets and hay attract rats, and damp ruins them. A cargo-worthy container with intact floor and door seals keeps both out better than a tin shed. Put feed on pallets, not on the steel floor, and fit a vent. Sealed warm air sweats, and damp feed goes mouldy even when the roof is sound.
Leather hung in a closed steel box with no airflow moulds through a humid summer. Vents at both ends and a moisture absorber near the saddle racks stop that. A 20ft fitted as tack room and feed store is the set-up we see most. Hobby farms add a small tractor, a slasher and fencing gear. Steel and a slasher can live in an as-is unit — sold as seen, not as dry. Feed, tack and tools should not. People who have bought the land and not built yet usually want one lockable volume for the lot, which is when a 40ft beside the track makes more sense than two small sheds you will shift later.
Torbanlea is 4662; the neighbours are not
Torbanlea town is postcode 4662. Howard, Burrum Town and Burrum River next door are 4659. Walligan and Takura, toward the Bay, are 4655, with Toogoom. Mixing those codes up is how a delivery note gets the wrong turn.
If the property is addressed to Howard but the gate is on the Torbanlea side of the locality boundary, say both. The driver needs the road, not the historical coal town.
Gates hung for a float, and the wet corner
Most blocks are flat and open enough for a tilt-tray. The recurring miss is the gate: hung for a car and a horse float, not for a truck. Measure the gateway and look at the ground either side, especially after rain, when the sandy loam cuts up.
A 40ft sidelifter wants working room and firm level ground under its legs — in a horse paddock that usually means beside the track, not the middle of the grass. Move the horses to another paddock on the day. Put the box on ground that stays dry. The low corner that holds water after a storm is the corner that rots a floor over time. Keep it near the gate so a ute and float can reach it, and so a truck can come back if you ever move it. Bearers for the four corner castings, ready before we arrive, and the drop itself is short. The access guide below has the general dimensions; the gate width is the figure to send us.
Torbanlea. Questions from Torbanlea paddocks
Can a 20ft be set up as a tack room at Torbanlea?
Yes. Vents at both ends, saddle racks and hooks, feed on pallets, and a moisture absorber through summer. Cargo-worthy grade, not as-is.
Will rats get into a container of chaff?
A sound box with good door seals and an intact floor is much harder than a shed. Keep the doors closed, check the seals, and do not leave spills that advertise the feed.
Where should it stand in a horse paddock?
Level ground that drains, near the gate or the track, away from the corner that ponds. Horses in another paddock while the truck is there, bearers ready beforehand.
Is as-is good enough for a hobby farm?
For a slasher or steel posts, it can be, if you accept it is not sold watertight. For feed, tack or tools, choose cargo-worthy.
Howard one way, the Bay the other
Highway acreage and gum-lined drives are written up for Howard. Bay suburbs, if that is actually where the gear lives, are Hervey Bay. The city end of this highway stretch is Maryborough.
Quote for a Torbanlea paddock
Which road off the highway, what the horses need stored, and the gate width.
Rather talk? 07 4152 3388
Mon–Fri 7:30am–5pm, Sat 8am–12pm