7 horse hitch plowing

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  • May 2, 2010 at 5:08 pm #41628
    Draft Horse Photos
    Participant

    I got pretty beat up when I joined this forum last year and first posted my favorite photo of Charles Orme driving his 7 horse hitch because I did not show enough details in the photos I posted. So this year when Charles hooked up his 7 at the Kentucky State Horse Plowing Contest, I made sure to capture a lot more photos showing how he had them hooked. He also had a Pioneer 2 bottom gang plow with an electric/hydralic lift system to raise the plows out of the ground when he completed each pass. He asked me to be sure to take photos that captured the new plow for him. I will include links to a couple of those photos in a separate post. More photos are posted on my website at http://www.DraftHorsePhotos.com. Click on the 2010 Ky State Plowing Contest link. Here are links to a few photos that show the way Charles had his hitch rigged up:

    2010-04-17-387-026.jpg
    2010-04-17-387-039.jpg
    2010-04-17-543.jpg

    May 2, 2010 at 5:17 pm #59881
    Draft Horse Photos
    Participant

    Here are the links to photos showing the Pioneer gangplow mentioned in my first post on this thread:

    2010-04-17-635-099.jpg
    2010-04-17-636.jpg

    Rick Conley
    http://www.DraftHorsePhotos.com

    May 2, 2010 at 5:37 pm #59874
    CharlyBonifaz
    Member

    Thanks!! 😀

    May 2, 2010 at 6:38 pm #59872
    grey
    Participant

    Those are great photos! Thank you!

    I know I’ve rattled on at length about point of hitch and maintaining the shoulder/collar/hames angle, but the third photo in the first post is a great illustration. It shows one of those uncommon instances (this instance being the rope-and-pulley hitch) where the point of hitch is high enough that the belly band and market strap should be adjusted to keep the collar lying correctly against the shoulder, for maximum comfort and efficiency of labor. A wide belly band would also increase the horse’s comfort.

    The photo shows a slight kink in the traces where the belly band is anchoring the tugs down somewhat, but not much.

    With this many animals, it is highly unlikely that any one horse will be substantially inconvenienced. The horsepower provided is far more than is required, so the teamster doesn’t have to milk out every detail to the horses’ advantage.

    However, if a person were to increase the work load (fewer horses, more shares in the soil, heavier soil, longer work day, etc.) and make a habit of it, it would be effective to outfit the lead set of horses with wider belly bands and adjust the market strap/belly band ratio to keep the front part of the tugs 90 degrees to the shoulder.

    May 2, 2010 at 7:47 pm #59875
    CharlyBonifaz
    Member

    @grey
    when I saw that picture, I actually had your voice in my ear
    @all
    front horses are with lines, so this is where the stearing is
    horses in the back are “lead” by being hooked to the traces of the front horses?

    May 2, 2010 at 8:50 pm #59878
    Andy Carson
    Moderator

    I am just curious… What is the advantage of setting up the horses with 3 leaders and 4 behind rather than 7 across? It would be a wide hitch, but the field looks big and flat. It would maintain an efficient line of draft. Is turning the limitation?

    May 3, 2010 at 1:07 am #59871
    Plowboy
    Participant

    Hitching too many horses abreast causes side draft on the horses when plowing. The hitch point and the center of draft are too far off on a two bottom to track right. Even 4 abreast is pushing it even with an equalizer evener. Tandem hitches are the way to go. Myself i prefer even numbers as it eliminates alot of leverage concerns that you may have in an odd numbered hitch. I just got finished plowing with six on a two bottom for two days with a straight on rope and pulley hitch. Simple direct and efficient! THe only reason to use seven is if you wanted to use 8 and one came up lame.

    May 3, 2010 at 1:57 am #59873
    OldKat
    Participant

    Sorry to hear that you got beat up for not posting pictures with enough detail last year. Happy it didn’t stop you from posting more this year though! GREAT pictures; wish I had those skills. Please post more often.

    Going to your website now to see more of your work.

    May 3, 2010 at 2:06 am #59870
    Carl Russell
    Moderator

    Thanks Rick, It is satisfying to see pictures with these details. Truthfully, I thank you. I know the “market” would rather see heads, but I truly appreciate your gesture. And they definitely show your skill and eye as well.

    Grey. Thanks for beating the drum.

    Carl

    May 3, 2010 at 2:40 am #59879
    Andy Carson
    Moderator

    @Plowboy 17967 wrote:

    Hitching too many horses abreast causes side draft on the horses when plowing. The hitch point and the center of draft are too far off on a two bottom to track right.

    Thanks Plowboy, I figured there must be a good reason I have never seen more than four abreast…

    May 11, 2010 at 6:29 pm #59877
    wally b
    Participant

    What I don’t understand is how you can do a rope and pully hitch with 3 and 4. It looks like the near horse in the rear is hooked directly to the evener. Wouldn’t that horse be pulling against the two horses on the other arm of the evener? And then there would be an imbalance of 3 on the left pulling against 4 on the right. Am I missing something?

    wally b
    oregon

    May 11, 2010 at 6:56 pm #59882
    jac
    Participant

    Hi Wally, the near horses evener will have a heavy offset to the right so that the horse has a lever advantage over the others..
    John

    May 11, 2010 at 7:07 pm #59880
    mitchmaine
    Participant

    hey john, i see what you mean. i was thinking the same as wally, but in the 2nd picture the near horse has a two to one advantage to the lead and wheel horse next to him on the same evener, equalling it out. thanks for pointing that out.

    May 12, 2010 at 10:01 am #59883
    jac
    Participant

    In fact it looks as though the near wheel horse has his off fore leg over the rope. It must be hard to keep it all together on the turns..
    John

    Scrub that.. just the angle of the foto.. sorry
    John

    May 13, 2010 at 5:36 pm #59876
    TBigLug
    Participant

    Thanks for the pictures. Looks like alot of fun.

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