Baling Hay With Horses

Hi Neal, yes baling with horses and mules is great. I use a 24 hp PTO forecart with a four abreast hitch. I pull the baler(NH 68?) and a flat wagon were someone stacks the bales. Nice work, walking on the wagon, stacking bales as they come off. When it is my wife stacking the bales, I call her the hay babe, she seems to like it. Just this winter I added some brakes to my cart. There are a few places on our farm were the turn at the end of the row is down hill and if the wagon is almost full I might for go turning around to fill it. Now I don’t have to. You can see a couple pictures here. I have made 2,000 or 2,500 bales in the past, hope to make 3,000 this year. Donn

Hi George, yes two horses will readily pull a baler. The reason I use four is two for the baler and two for the wagon load of hay. I have always had good luck with the older NH balers. Look for one that “hasn’t made too many bales” as they say.

As for mules, the truth of the matter is I just really like them. I think they are a great size for farm work. They are fast walkers. You need to be careful in their initial training to make sure and not rush them or skip anything. Buying older mules can be more problematic than an older horse but that is just a gut feel I have based on a few experiences.

Hi Neal, Yes the Amish use a haybine with a motor on it. They make a two wheeled tongue truck that gives them room for a seat. you could also pull it with a fore cart. I put the engine on the forecart so I could use it for more than one task. The Honda 24 hp. motor works great for me – only runs about half throttle and not working hard at all. I am not much of a mechanic so a new key starting motor was important to me. Quiet too.

Sorry my message is alittle short but I am trying to beat the computer before it times me out. Have a little computer problem, must get fixed. Donn

Here one of us using 2 NH 68,s and a couple of horse side delivery rakes, no the plunger motion is lost when the baler is under load and at rest its not enuff to tighten the tugs. I prefer the ground drive cart but its made from an old cockshutt 30 and a bearing locked up in the trans so until then I’ll use the motors.

Thanks just two types of horses for me, Percheron’s and blacks, the rest are just horses. HE, HE, the dual makes it pull easier in ruff ground

What old, square type balers would be considered lighter in weight and suitable for my Halflinger team to pull? Assumes a powered forcart (1000# plus) or an engine conversion on the baler. I have had JD 14t and 24 T models in the past and ran them with a 29 hp Ford 2000 (with a wagon on the back). Would one of these old models be a good choice or is there better and lighter units that can be suggested?

Hi, not sure what a belly backer is so I might have one and not know, but most tugs up here have a ring in the tug right at the belly band and back pad, there is a short heavy tug from there to the collar and a lighter long tug to the chains, We use western breaching most of the time but I do have a set of yankee breaching and two sets of twin neck yokes.