<P> Most current models have four wheels: two small swiveling front tires and two large drive tires in the back . Bush Hog mowers sometimes come with a small, pivoting fifth wheel mounted in the center behind the driver . Instead of controlling the swiveling tires to steer the machine, the large drive tires rotate independently of each other based on the driver's input . They may rotate in opposite directions . The mower can pivot around a point midway between the drive wheels (the classic z - turn), or it can pivot around either one of the drive wheels if one is stationary, or it can turn in a circle of any radius . Reversal of the direction of travel can be accomplished by causing both wheels to rotate in reverse . </P> <P> Steering controls differ on z - turn mowers . Instead of a steering wheel, most z - turns have two throttles that control the rotational speed and direction of each drive wheel . The throttles are typically moved by a seated driver who operates levers mounted waist to shoulder high . The mower's engine throttle is controlled separately, if at all . Some zero turn mowers are steered by a joystick or a steering wheel, the advantage of either one being the location of the hands may permit less fatigue during prolonged mowing and the use of a single hand for steering . </P> <P> In 1949, Warrensburg, MO resident Max Swisher invented the very first commercially available zero - turn mower and called it the "Ride King". It was a three - wheeled machine - one drive wheel in front and two in the rear . The patented system utilized the front wheel as the drive wheel that also was able to turn an amazing 360 degrees . The wheel was driven by the motor in the same direction 100% of the time . In order to reverse and / or utilize the zero turn capabilities, you simply turn the steering wheel 180 degrees and the mower would move in reverse . In 1963, John Regier was an employee of the Hesston Corporation, a manufacturer of farm and agricultural equipment . The company had recently engineered a device called the swather, which, propelled by a series of belts, cut hay, alfalfa and other farming materials and laid them out in windrows . The way the belts and pulleys operated allowed for counter - rotation--a process which particularly struck Regier . An idea came to him one day: What if he could incorporate the same technology into lawnmowers? </P> <P> "So he went home and invented this thing that was able to operate on the zero - turn radius," says Ken Raney, advertising manager at Hustler Turf . "He began selling them, but they weren't really taking off the way he wanted them to . Nobody knew the technology then, so nobody wanted to buy it ." Regier's patent was eventually sold to Hesston, which would eventually become Excel Industries--parent company of Hustler Turf . The mower was called--appropriately enough--the Hustler . </P>

Who made the very first zero turn lawn mower