[Goranson Farm]

Second try with the picture

[Goranson Farm]

Here is the best pic I could find from this summer. The reservoir is above the pump. The large deep cycle RV/Marine battery is connected via cables. To hold the battery in place I welded up a small holder of 1″ angle iron and bolted it to the floor on the opposite side of the cart. The Battery was secured with a small bungee cord. I thought about making it a single unit but the weight of the pump, reservoir, and battery would have made it a bear to lug around and would have reduced accessibility. The hydraulic cylinder on the drill has a relatively short stroke which is part of why I got away with mounting the pump vertically. I’m not 100% sure if this would work with implements requiring a greater volume of hydraulic fluid. I’m pretty sure you would have enough power to raise and lower a rake 20 times. Wish mine had a float option.

I can’t take credit for the vertical mounting of the pump, Zack Messier dreamed that one up. Makes getting on and off the cart much easier.

[Goranson Farm]

We built a hydraulic unit for our 510 grain drill this past summer using the 12 volt pump with a 4 way valve (power up power down) off an old dump truck. It is awesome! I highly recommend a valve which gives you the option of down pressure. Its quiet, fast, and requires minimal charging. A solar panel would be ideal but it’s pretty easy to throw a charger on it after a couple days of use. We mounted it vertically on a 2×2 steal post which easily slides in and out of the seat holders of our white horse fore cart.

[Goranson Farm]

So Jared, You use a western or D-Ring with that belt set up?

[Goranson Farm]

Hi Jeroen,

I work my horses within a raised bed system in which the team is 6 feet apart. I found that I can spread the two horses adequately by extending the length of the evener+yoke to 6ft and lengthening each stub line by about 12 inches with a short loop of rope. The outside line requires no adjustment. I love the rope additions as I can easily go from my bed implements to standard 40in eveners and yokes by just dropping the small section of rope. If I was driving them loose (without a pole) I would definitely use a jokey yoke in the front and back. The evener and yoke provide necessary structure. Defined pathways for the horses help tremendously as well.

[Goranson Farm]

Dresden, Maine.

Thanks,

Carl

[Goranson Farm]

Hi Brad,

Wondering what you mean by “roll and pole” on the first set of runners and “connector arm”

Carl

[Goranson Farm]

How about a 4 star tedder?

[Goranson Farm]

Hi lizzy,

As a young teamster to feel you have the experience and then the opportunity to offer a perspective. I think you should start looking for a second horse. Take it slow and shop around. Go look at horses that are not perfect and practice shopping. Its worth the time and expense. You come away from each interaction with a clearer idea and picture of the right horse.

What I’ve learned about buying horses:
Don’t buy a horse that was trained, handled and worked, by a single person.
Insist on a trial period.
Make sure they pick up their feet and can be trimmed without stocks.

All basic, but worthwhile. Good luck in your search.
Give Ani a hug for me and tell her that Abby misses her.

Carl

[Goranson Farm]

Have to hit the hay but thought I would take a moment to post another photo. Almost done, just have to trim some brackets and add the torsion and tine weeders. The tooling for the center row is not set up.

Erika, We ended up rigging up lift mechanisms for each gang. Super slick! The side shift which narrows/widens the toolbars works incredibly well. Jonathan and I were about 2 inches off 6 foot centers with the wheel base. When we were assembling the frame I didn’t think it would be much of an issue but it definitely has had a substantial impact.

Carl

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[Goranson Farm]

I tried to make another post with pictures of the cultivator but for some reason it didn’t go through.

With the horses spread 6′ I was worried about slop within the hitch and was wondering if the “straight” yoke would provide more rigidity/structure and cut down weight. Sounds like there are some potential sacrifices… I currently have a plug style yoke for this machine that lines up well with the evener. It was built with jockey yokes in mind if running a D-ring.

Line set up on the cultivator:
Donn, you asked how I will be driving this hitch. I’m going to start another thread concerning the cultivator fabrication but will get into a little of it here. My cultivator uses the frame of a McD single row riding cultivator. Jonathan and I simply extended the wheels out to 6′. I was planning to add line extensions to a set of team lines to compensate for the increased distance between the horses. The each horse will be walking down the tractor tire wheel tracks as our tractor tires are on 6′ centers. I’m hoping this will provide a firm path for each horse to follow. All the fine driving/cultivation adjustments I’ll be making with the foot peddle steering.

Thanks for all the input! It is extremely helpful.

carl

[Goranson Farm]

Thanks Jay,

Is this a spread stick?

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[Goranson Farm]

Did a bit more research and found photos of several John Deere two row riding cultivators. Still can’t get the necessary photos to determine how the toolbar spacing was changed via the central lever. Don’t know if McCormick Deering even made a two row.
Here is a shot

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[Goranson Farm]

Thanks for the Advice. I’ve hitched Princess twice since that post (about half what I would like to). There was no kicking out either of those times. She definitely thought about it though:) There were moments of anxiety, but by the time we got back to the barn she was calm and we ended on a positive note.
I’ve been thinking about her anxiety a lot lately, primarily its source. Earlier this week I felt that the majority of these “outbursts” were little temper tantrums. Its a nice little dialectic, she wants to head back to the barn and I am asking her to continue walking in our circle. I’m beginning to think of anxiety more generally and have been making an asserted effort to structure out training sessions to avoid this conflict. But I can honestly say that there hasn’t been one time hitching her single that hasn’t been accompanied with one or multiple moments where our objectives don’t align. Even when I ground drive her in the round pen (the place where both of us feel safest) there are still moments. I don’t know what to do about this other then to keep on hitching her and see if repetitions massage it out. Based on my experience I think they have.
Working her single has had a profound impact on our day to day relationship. She doesn’t pin her ears at me ever single time I walk by… I think thats huge!!!! Progression to a more challenging task, though provoking moments of anxiety, has strengthened our foundation and made day to day things like picking up her feet small potatoes. She wouldn’t let me touch her flank last yr.

In response to backing:
I use backing as a tool to move their feet. I have more control with a single horse in reverse than forward. When moving forward she is more apt to swing around on me, side step her way off the track I’m looking for us to follow, flat out stop, or bolt 4-5 feet. I see this as a reflection of my skill level as ideally I would never get myself into these situations. But, the reality is they happen and I have needed to find ways to regain control of her feet. With this clear direction (I focus on the exact placement of each foot) and then release by stopping we work work through it. I think the backing does generate anxiety but it also brings us together. If I time the release correctly the anxiety dissipates and we continue working. Like you said, I only use this tool when things get hairy… My first impulse if I don’t feel a tremendous amount of energy forward is to push her through it or stop and give her a moment to check out the scary thing.

On the Purpose Front:
I’m ready and rearing to go get some stuff done with this horse… I just don’t think we are there yet. I’ve been spending our sessions getting her used to being around the farm as a single horse. This is taking us some time. If we had snow we would be out grooming trails. I’ve got some wood down but I want her to stand calmly while I hitch before we start in on it. So we have been hitching and unhitching in a relatively safe place. If I establish a clear habit in a more controlled environment I think it will pay off down the road. I do think purpose would help Princess and I focus. My guess is in a couple weeks we will be able to blend training and tasks on the farm. The goal is to twitch 7 cord of firewood with this girl for our maple syrup operation and sawlogs for two 10×10 apprentice cabins.

Thanks again and hope all is well!

• This reply was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by Goranson Farm.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by Goranson Farm.

[Goranson Farm]

Hi Donn,

Cool photos! Is it designed with loose hay in mind or some other purpose?

Carl

• This reply was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by Goranson Farm.

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