[Carl Russell]

I always took off the collars when I yoked my cattle but they could, and would, hold back a pretty good load, and even back a load with just their horns.

I tried britchen on them, but found they didn’t like it much, the load seemed to push them more than without.
Carl

[Carl Russell]

Nice hitch!!! Now we’re logging!!!

Bivol, Howie, thanks so much to both of you. This is truly interesting. Where else could you expect to find such a cultural exchange.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

When working the horses, I often head right back to the barn, or trailer from the last load to the landing, so it’s not just wet, but warm, producing sweat, so I blanket them to wick away the moisture as they cool down slowly, so as not to chill. Almost every time they are turned out after some hay and grain, they roll in the snow, warm body, melting snow, but as long as they have had that cool-down period, I don’t worry.

I am much more concerned about the cold rain, or freezing rain, which penetrates their coat faster than they are warming themselves. Same thing goes for wind, although a wet horse in the cold wind is more concerning to me than a dry horse that has the ability to move around.

If they are really wet, or sweaty, and it is really cold, and I don’t think the cool-down period will coincide with my evening schedule of chores and family, I will just leave them in with the blanket on, maybe for the night, or for a couple of hours until I come back to water them for the evening, then take off the blanket and turn ’em out.

I try not to leave blankets on too long, or use them too often, as they do interfere with the horse getting a good coat. I will almost always blanket them for the trailer ride home after working them for the day, because of the wind (Stock Trailer), and it’s easy, then take the blanket of when unloading at home.

A well-fed and active horse can handle some pretty extreme conditions, but every owner, or teamster will develop habits that are suited to their own situations.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Gulo, I know it’s like comparing apples and oranges, as I have never seen a padded collar on working cattle. I was just theorizing based on what I know about cattle lifting heavy loads of logs with a bow yoke.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Just remember, just because you’re having fun, doesn’t mean it’s not work. Any time you take out a horse, or a piece of equipment, it’s an investment in what’s to come. Have fun out there. Carl

[Carl Russell]

I have never used the three pad collar, but have both head yoke, and bow yoke. The power of the ox as far as I can see, is in the lift between the front legs and the neck. Using their hind end as a counterbalance, they extend their head ans neck upward. With this image in mind, I would have to say that any device using the shoulder would probably be fine for light draft, but it would not take advantage of the ox’s ability to lift. The shoulder collar works for the horse because they lift with their hind end, extending their hind legs, and lifting their front end off the ground. The ox just doesn’t have that much strength in their back.

All this pertains to heavy loads.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

I don’t worry about a cold horse, nor a wet horse, but a cold wet horse is another thing. My horses are out 24-7-365, with the exception of freezing rain.

I only blanket them if they are still sweaty after work, with a wool blanket to wick away moisture. Even -20, they are out, and they are always psyched to get out of the barn.

I think a wind break is a good idea, humane maybe. My turn out is on the leeward side of a small forested hill, which gives pretty good protection.

People who ask you questions like that are really just expressing their concern, and showing their lack of experience. If you get into the habit of coddling your horse because you think it’s cold, before you know it, you’ll be staying in the barn with her.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Tevis,
I think with shafts, you may find that a britchen harness will come in handy anyway, affording shaft loops, back-pad, and hold-backs. Then you won’t have to modify the shafts.
Carl

[Carl Russell]

There are many real and significant reasons why trees decline in health. Some times it seems to be species specific, and often there are diseases that can be epidemic. However, it is my perspective that managing woodland is much like any other cultivation project, and if you keep your eye on growing crop trees with purposeful objectives to harvest marketable timber, then you develop a continuum of cutting. This way the harvest is focused, and regular, and even though there is still the possibility that disease complexes can cause detriment, at least your approach to the woodlot is more proactive, rather than reactive.

I am just about to cut a load of ash, and have found prices from $250-$600/MBF, depending on quality.

Donn there used to be an ash market in Hancock, NY. I think they made blanks for Louiseville Slugger.

Mark, ash has a distinctive pith, just as you describe.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Thanks Simon, that is an excellent lesson. Carl

[Carl Russell]

Plowboy;578 wrote:

Whatis the difference between the Brabant and the Ardennes? We have some folks around here with Brabants but no one with Ardennes so I have never seen them only in pictures but they seem similar. Can you clear this up Simon?

Hey Gulo, thanks for bringing this thread back up, as I had forgotten about Plowboy’s question. I was talking with Anne Harper this fall. She was breeding Brabants in Vermont in the 80’s, and is responsible for much of the Brabant blood on this continent. She now has a pair of blue roan mares.

She told me the difference between Ardennes and Brabant, is that Ardennes are a smaller variety of the same breed. There apparently is a region in Belgium called Ardennes, where for generations anytime the Brabant breeders get a horse that is a little lighter they send it down to Ardennes. In this way they keep the Large variety, and Light variety separate and true.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Yesterday I listened to a post-peak oil radio talk show interview of a woman who has written a book about her work to live with her family in a way that reduces their consumption. It is titled Depletion and Abundance. Many of her points are excellent, and her methods applaudable, but everything she’s doing is in the context of the modern lifestyle….no mention about animal power.

I too have found glazing of the eyes to be the most common response when I suggest animal power. It is indicative of the entrenched paradigm. There are so many assumptions that direct our modern experience that generations have grown up under.

For me, it comes down to the difference between “Reality”, and “Perception”. Petroleum has given us such an amazing source of energy that we have been able to separate ourselves from the realities of life on
Earth, and created a perceived level of success and security. It’s like magic!! And it works so well that it is hard not to become attracted to.

It will be a drastic, and brutal awakening for so many people that I doubt that there will be enough awareness to actually undertake any level of education or change, and most will struggle to hold onto the only thing that they know. It will only add to their fear when it’s proven to be a smoke-screen, or veil, mirage, with no substance.

With over twenty years of experience using animals to make my livelihood, I feel well prepared for many of these challenges, personally, but as J-L says, my biggest worry is what to do about the frightened masses.

It used to be “Where am I going, and why am I in this hand-basket?”. Now it’s, “and why am I in here with all of them?”

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Right on Gulo.

We are a social people, so it is hard not to look at the large community represented by geo-economic-political institutions, especially as we have all grown up in societies predisposed to those allegiances. It is truly frightening to think of the frantic acts that these artificial power-structures will manifest in their attempts to grab onto something solid.

It will take a lot of faith as we find and hold those REAL things close to us, to keep from being swept over the cliff with the BIGGIES (Blue Meanies???).

Even among die-hard sustainable-ists it is a hard sell when one talks about backing away from the political process, and focusing on family/neighborhood survival, but I agree that NOW is the time, and it is our only hope.

Those of us close to the ground have a lot of things going for us.

Hang on.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Here’s another view of the britchen, snug even when unhitched.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

I never saw them, but I know of some who did, and they give good reviews. I know they featured the tree farm of Les Barden in Farmington, NH, an excellent example of crop tree management, working landscape, and animal-powered forestry.

Carl

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