Hitching to Single Horse Mower

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  • August 6, 2010 at 4:53 pm #41880
    Howling Farmer
    Participant

    I am a very small person dealing with a very heavy mower. Probably most larger people with single horse mowers can lift the mower up to hitch, but hitching for me involves jacking the mower up with the jack for my truck, then balancing the tongue on a 4X4 with square boards on the ends, then putting wood under the jack and jacking it up some more and adding another piece of wood under the tongue. The jack alone won’t jack it high enough for me to clip the shaft loops onto the harness and the configuration of bars etc. under the mower is such that I can’t stick enough boards under the jack to begin with. I know this is probably confusing…

    I think eventually my neighbor can make me a dolly wheel for a single horse mower, but the one I bought for 2-horse mowers is very heavy and the mower is already heavy for my Haflinger to pull. Also, it’s not really set up to work with a single horse mower.

    But in the meantime…any suggestions? I’m thinking of trying to come up with a stand that I can stick under the tongue or shaft attachment when the mower is still hitched to the horse. My only concern is that if it wasn’t all lined up right, everything might topple and crash. Probably Milt wouldn’t care, but I thought I’d see if anyone else ever had this problem and figured out how to deal with it.

    Thanks!
    Leslie

    August 6, 2010 at 6:28 pm #61630
    CharlyBonifaz
    Member

    where do you keep it when not in use? any chance of a block/tackle system f.e. under the roof of your barn?

    August 6, 2010 at 7:34 pm #61631
    mitchmaine
    Participant

    hi leslie,
    in any tractor dealership, they sell a generic implement jack/stand. its a screw jack and has a lot of vertical lift. you might be able to fasten it to your mower, and when you hook to your horse, back the jack down, pull a pin and separate it from your mower so you don’t have to lug it around with you. then when you finish your mowing, hook it back on and crank it up and take the weight off your horse, and hold the mower til next time. you might be able to block it up too taking some of the weight off the jack if you don’t use it for long periods. might be worth a try. good luck with it.

    mitch

    August 7, 2010 at 1:15 am #61633
    Howling Farmer
    Participant

    Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, the mower is stored outside as our barn is small and already full. That’s a good idea to find a jack that could attach to the mower. That way I don’t have to worry about a crash to the ground.
    Leslie

    August 7, 2010 at 3:36 am #61632
    Rustedthrough
    Participant

    The dead weight of the mower does not dictate the amount of force required to pull it. We have found that the dolly wheel systems as used by the Amish in northern Indiana and Southern Michigan (probably used more widely) seem to reduce the fatigue in both horses and oxen, as well as people. The dollies around here break the tongue, so the mower’s tongue weight is carried by the dolly wheel, the tongue to the animal provides only draft and direction. When hitching, only the weight of the tongue itself needs to be lifted. When pulled, the third wheel will add some resistance, but if this wheel is large in diameter and width, like the wheel on I&J plows/ over row cultivators or a JD Gator, the increased rolling resistance is compensated for by the the reduced lifting force required, unless you are mowing in three inches of standing water in red clay. If you have a fore cart, try hooking it to the mower and taking a few passes, timing the turns will take some getting used to, and backing will be a challenge, but your haflinger will love you for it.

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