[Carl Russell]

The latter collars probably fit better!!! Carl

[Carl Russell]

Thanx Stephen, Nice intro.
Welcome. Carl

[Carl Russell]

By the way, we have been getting excellent response to our “pledge” drive. Thank you all so much for your generosity, and positive feed-back about the value of the site. Carl

[Carl Russell]

Donn, that is a distinct possibility. It may make sense to continue this discussion, so we can develop an acceptable “Advertisement Scheme” that we all can agree on, then someone can pursue that aspect of fund raising. Thanks Donn, Carl

[Carl Russell]

Jenn, Sounds like you’ve got a good plan, and handle on the situation.

I just had a few more thoughts.

Whenever I work with beginner animals, (having a clear picture of what I expect) I tend to push the envelope. One reason is to advance the animal toward the goal, the other is to measure where they are in the process. No two animals are the same in how they process, and accept direction, so I am constantly teasing them to get them to show me where they are by how they react.

This also helps in another way, by keeping me in front as the instigator/leader. A young horse like Peanut is growing mentally as well, and he is motivated instinctively to test and demonstrate his growing awareness. It does require a clear vision, and a box full of trick to stay ahead of him. As you found out when you started working on trailer loading, your vision and initiative is attractive to him.

I agree with Kristin that saddling him will be a good use of your skills and experience.

Ted should also help to form that picture of the steps toward working that Plowboy describes. I use the same time-line as he describes, but I have a lot of experience in the work that I expect to perform.

But all-in-all, anything that you can throw into the mix that keeps his focus on you as the brave and intelligent motivator will advance your cause.

You may also be getting a lesson in facilities, as if you want to push him in an enclosure, you’ll need a taller fence. One of my early mentors was known for getting horses that had spent years on pasture, unapproachable in all ways, and getting them back on track. All of his fence posts were telephone poles, and everything looked incredibly over-built, but his philosophy was he had to be completely confident that the experience was just between himself and the horse, so that eventually the horse would understand that as well.This isn’t exactly your situation, but now that Peanut has an out, you have lost a certain point of confidence. It is not so much a set-back, as an opportunity to learn and adapt, to show your leadership.

Oh well just a few thoughts, Carl

[Carl Russell]

Jenn, Just remember that you are as unclear about the situation as Peanut is. So if he will gain from exposure to Ted, so will you. It will do you very little good if Peanut figures it out, but you’re still back at the place where he left you.

Find the time when you can take off from work, and put in the time with Ted yourself. THAT will be the best money ever spent, because it isn’t about how much time you spend training, it’s about how you spend the time when you’re training. If Ted can make headway, you need to see how he does it, and bring that home with you.

Good luck, Carl

[Carl Russell]

Welcome Elke, It is astounding to me to have folks from all over the world participating on this site. Thank you for contributing. Carl

[Carl Russell]

Yes he does. He lives in Farmington, NH 603-332-0082.

I know he is distracted for the next month or so with some hip replacement surgery, but he is generally quite approachable, and will gladly send you the plans.

It may be hard to reach him by phone, his mailing address is;
Les Barden
Barden Tree Farm
279 Meaderboro Rd.
Farmington, NH 03835

And to bring this discussion full circle, Les has made a very informative video about the D-ring harness. It is about 45 minutes long, and shows exactly how to adjust it to provide the attributes that make the D-ring a valuable and effective harnessing system.

Videos tell all!!

Carl

[Carl Russell]

We have an pure bred American Canardly (Can ‘ardly tell exactly what breed it is). Mostly Black Lab. He does keep the predators away. Excellent companion, and he loves the Dominiquer’s dog.

Unfortunately, I never have many tasks to ask of a dog, so I usually just end up with good natured predator control. I often considered hunting dogs, but I like to hunt quite and alone, and I like to work livestock in ways that the dog, to this point, has not been required. They usually last so long that I don’t work that hard at finding the perfect animal, and having a working dog seems to require a fair amount of effort to keep them busy, so we have Jake the Protector.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Matt, We have raised several Jersey bulls over the years, and never have ringed them. I have had good luck with handling them with a rope halter, starting young. It’s important to take them seriously, because they are always unpredictable. I try to keep them off a bit, no loving etc., but approachable when fed, accepting a halter to be led, basically not letting them get wild. I’ve had good luck with being able to handle them with halter only. However, they never stayed much more than 2 years.(they keep easier in the freezer). Carl

[Carl Russell]

I’m attaching a photo of Les Barden with D-ring harness adjusted correctly, showing all pole weight completely on the back-pad. Carl

[Carl Russell]

What part of PA is the farm show in? Did you check with Howie on this site?
Carl

[Carl Russell]

Rod, My experience with an old JD ground drive spreader is that it works great for composted piled manure. It will throw out scabs of hay etc, and shred them a bit, but you are apt to have pretty clumpy application.

I think that kind of pack is tough on all spreaders, ever think of making windrows and composting it before spreading it?

The old spreaders are easy to operate, and to maintain, mine was old when I got it, and I’ve gotten a lot of use out of it. Rebuilt the chain and bed a few times though. Good luck, Carl

[Carl Russell]

These are excellent suggestions and I’m glad you are open to the discussion. The fact of the matter is that a site like this could, in the best of circumstances be seen as an educational and outreach expense for an organization with more secure funding mechanisms. Right now NEAPFD is only a sole proprietorship (Lisa & I), and truthfully the expense here doesn’t justify itself financially.

There are several good and reasonable affordable ways to start to gain more financial support. I like the idea of having a charge for non-obtrusive advertisement, but the value may not be high, and there is the behind the scenes logistical effort (cost), that I don’t want to do right now. As valuable as this site is, it doesn’t help me get taters dug, or wood in, and I want to keep management time on this site to a minimum.

My appeal right now is just to let you all know what the costs appear to be after our first year. I really didn’t start this as another business enterprise. I don’t even want to run it like a business.

I see it more as a club house. Lisa and I have provided the structure, now we need some amenities. Some one has some old storm windows, a screen door, a couple of couches, a wood stove, someone already sprung for a new roof (Thank You, Jenn), some may bring cool-aid and cookies, others, only warm smiles and good stories. I do not want to limit membership, nor do I want to put up a neon sign, just a few posters for eye candy.

I will continue to explore ways to set up value associated with some of the resources we have created here. I am truly pleased with what we all have made this site into. Lisa and I are extremely proud to be part of a facility like this that has the potential to manifest the network we all depend on, and we don’t feel put upon, or unfairly overworked, but if we don’t level with you all now, it could get out of hand.

Thanks for your consideration.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Additionally, to continue description of fitting the d-ring for the sake of conversation, the collar should fit the neck, and hames fit the collar so that the point of draft (where the trace meets the hame) should be 6-8 ” above the point of the shoulder.

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