[Carl Russell]

I was misunderstood. I do not stop my horses with the reins. I speak the command at a time when I know that they have a good connection to the bit, by way of the tension I feel. This is because as soon as I say whoa, I begin to release tension, so that when they are stopped, there is no tension. Total release, reward. The thing is, horses don’t know whoa from duh! unless you teach them, and continue to consistently reinforce the same meaning. So voice is the ultimate goal, but you can use the reins to subtly describe the meaning to them. They can not understand a spoken explanation, but they very much understand physical guidance in the form of pressure and release, and when used properly in conjunction with the expected behavior.

More later, gotta run interference between a bull and a milker, Carl

[Carl Russell]

Jason, sounds great. Let me know if you want me to create a linkable category to the restorative forestry site. We have more capacity here to broaden the web, and we are glad to give people direct access to your site, without having to burrow down into diverse text to find links.

This also goes for any body else that has similar sites of interest.

Thanks Jason for continuing to forge on. Carl

[Carl Russell]

Rod,
When I tell my horses to stop, I don’t just expect that they stop moving their feet. I expect them to show me that they are not going to move. Any animal will stop, but it is the willingness to stand that you need to condition them to.

Neil’s advice to keep hold of the lines is good, and should be a good place to start. If you have to work on something that distracts you, then it would be good to park them, as the other Neal suggests, or take them back to the barn and get your stuff together first.

When I stop my horses, I release the light tension that I have on the bit while driving, BUT not until they show me what I am looking for. In other words, whoa is not just a button that I push to get the thing to stop. As I am preparing to stop, especially with horses that need the point reinforced, I make sure that they are paying attention to me, reaffirm my tension on the lines, say whoa, and as they begin to stop, I let off tension.

All the while I am assessing the body language. I only give complete release when they show me a comfortable stance. And I keep an eye on them, because if I see that comfortable stance breaking down, I will restart them before they start on their own.

Some days this means that as much as I want to get meaningful “work” done, I have to pick chores that lend themselves to this exercise.

I use this method of releasing pressure at whoa, so that they understand that when the lines are slack, they stand, especially since I have conditioned them to give me a “stand” behavior before I give them complete release. Before I leave them to open gates, or hitch logs, or pieces of equipment, I practice moving away and watching their behavior to make sure that they are steady. The key is to get the correct response from the beginning, because if you think you will trick them into standing a little bit longer each time, then they probably haven’t completely given into the whoa thing.

I never “trust” that they will stand. I know that I can tell if they are going to stand, but as Neil says it is the unexpected that can ruin your day. For exercises like tree felling, I back my log cart up to a tree and wrap a choker around. They are already conditioned to stand so they don’t spend their time jumping and slamming to get free, but just in case something happens, I won’t find them when I’m limbing out the tree, and I won’t have to walk out of the woods(and they won’t run over my kids coming to visit).

When I have hitches down, I skid one out onto the main trail and “park” them with the hitch, then go back and cut another. They are far enough from where I am so that I won’t hit them, and last fall a really big pine I cut was a few feet taller that I thought and the top landed near enough to fluff their whiskers with wind, and they just watched it fall and waited for me to get back on the cart before they moved an inch.

The only problem I have with taking the lines with me, is that moving the lines is a clue to my horses that I am getting ready to drive, and I have found that keeps them more ready, and not completely relaxed.

I hope things work out for you, Carl

[Carl Russell]

Rod, never lose that sense of not trusting them, now that you have it. They may be excellent horses, but it is not their job to be trustworthy. Their job is to be trusting. They obviously don’t realize that when you say whoa, you mean stand. You will have to condition them to know that even when they are stopped, you are still driving them, and they need to be paying attention to you, and waiting for you. It will involve a lot of what you were doing after the incident. Good luck, Carl

[Carl Russell]

On the slop at the bolt, there are bushings and washers designed to adjust the trace up or down depending on the positioning of the trace in relation to the point of the shoulder. Rule of thumb; the bottom of the trace should be positioned about the width of an adult hand with fingers spread, from the tip of the thumb to the tip of pinky finger, up from the point of the shoulder.

I have not bought new harness, I’ve been able to find really good used ones. Again Les Barden has had a few harnesses built by some good leather-workers in NH. I have had really difficult times working with Amish harnesses makers, because of the distance, and the difficulty of adequately describing the desired product by mail. This is not to say they don’t do a good job, I was unable to have a successful transaction. There are many different assumptions about harnesses based on regional preferences that it can be hard to overcome that.

Good luck, Carl

[Carl Russell]

This week, as it was pouring rain and quite soggy on the land, I decided to attend a conference on Sustainable Agriculture at the Vermont Law School, entitled Food, Fuel, & the Future of Farming. As you might imagine there were many well-informed panelists speaking about global and national trends and challenges, experts in economics, policy, agricultural/social activism,and law. There were a few farmers (and loggers) in the audience, but in minority.

Because CAFO’s and industrial Ag control so much of our food, this is where most people focus their attention, making statements like “Animal husbandry no longer exists in this country”, “The production of livestock is extremely detrimental to our global environment”. However there were some very clear minds like an economist who is brave enough to see the shifting of costs that goes on in huge industrial ag so that society at large has to pick up the tab, and he presented excellent arguments to show how biological systems can not provide “economy of scale” required from the huge capital investments made in infrastructure.

I was glad to have sat through the two days. It was really good for me to hear how the high-brow see this situation from desk and paper. It also made me feel really good about what is happening in the community that I know.

When we as a culture, centralize our food system to attain some theoretical level of efficiency, that efficiency has to come from the human systems that are represented by financial capital, technology, and infrastructure. The centralization has driven the growth of volume production and wholesale marketing, which has necessitated the investment in infrastructure.

Because land-use has a magical feature of producing resources from natural processes, we have been depending in a lot of ways on that natural capital as one of the sources of surplus, or profit, to cover the cost, and that has led to so much degradation of ecosystems world-wide.

By operating under this front loaded, capital intensive, technologically burdensome system we (as a culture) have lost site of the importance of the biological system that is literally squeezed in the middle.

By developing relational markets for farm fresh food like raw milk, on-farm slaughtered meat, local grains, CSA veggies, etc. farmers can have much more control over their markets. With that kind control there is more room for diversification and low volume production.

But this is not enough without a reduction in consumption. Relational marketing significantly reduces distribution costs, or at least it lets the consumer absorb it directly. But there is still a large cultural acceptance of the heavy use of energy that characterizes so much of our food production system. By tying up energy and resources in equipment and infrastructure, we create an economic expectation from the Earth to be able to cover that cost.

However, when we practice land-uses that restore the biological processes, and employ low energy or live power (draft animals, hand labor), or non-energy (gravity fed water) systems that reduce the investment and consumption, while increasing the return through relational marketing of a diversity of products, we can have lower expectations from our natural capital, and we can leave that capital alone just like money in the bank only better, and gain a truly sustainable food system.

So when I told people at this conference that I know people who actually are doing this, that they are everywhere, even though they don’t hit the radar screen that they are looking at, many were very intrigued. Who knows if they can actually break down their preconceptions.

But it really doesn’t matter to me, because I was re-energized by my recognition of all the incredible work that is being done at the ground level by real people with real vision and understanding, and I’m proud to be a part of that community.

Thank you all, Carl

[Carl Russell]

Jason,

Sounds like a great idea. At least based on our region, and from articles in SFJ and others, these small regional gatherings are getting a lot of interest. Especially if the event is about more than hooves and harnesses, the community building, networking, and mutual initiatives that come from them are going to be very important to us as we shift to more sustainable, renewable, and restorative land-use practices.

For you and all others to know, this site was the result of discussions at 2007 Northeast Animal-Power Field Days, and there are a lot of users who live in this region, BUT it was not designed to limit, nor to specifically orient the participation to the Northeast. We all appreciate the contributions from everyone, from next door to the far reaches of our planet. We would be very pleased to see this forum used as a platform to develop networks and outreach in any other region.

Good luck and let us know if we can help, Carl

[Carl Russell]

Good to see you here Eric.

Fred Merriam at Acme Carriage Works in Braintree, may be a good resource. Some of his stuff is wicked expensive, but he knows wagons etc, and wheels, and he often has used equipment around that may get you an affordable sturdy start. http://www.acmecarriage.com
Looks like a great project.
Good luck,
Carl

[Carl Russell]

[ATTACH]I drew a sketch of the neck yoke.jpg” /> Carl

[Carl Russell]

No it isn’t a straight yoke. My neck yoke is made from an old evener style neck yoke, that was originally wood, with a spread chain, but the wood is replaced with 1 1/2″ pipe. The chain connects the two “pony” yokes, with the ring at the center. The “pony” yokes are spread apart by the long evener, and the tension is carried through the chain to the ring. It looks like a straight yoke because I wrap the chain around the main evener pipe to reduce the overall depth of the yoke. By twisting it thus, the “pony” yokes are actually a bit forward of the main evener pipe, (reverse of how it would be normally) making the whole thing quite compact. Also there are rings welded into the end of the “pony” yoke pipes for the hold-back hooks, which also saves a couple of inches.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Hey James, Long time no see. Sorry to hear about the storm, hang on. Carl

[Carl Russell]

No book, but there is a video. You can get it through Berry Brook Ox Supply, or New England Ox Supply (contact info in “Organization” category at the bottom of the index page.

I’ve been in contact with Les to use one of NEAPFD workshop slots to review the video. I think it will be a great way to go over all the details, because it is very well organized, and the live animal demonstration, while an excellent example opportunity, tends to get distracted, and not everyone can hear/see/etc.

I have a copy of the video, but someday we should put out a pamphlet or some such so that you can take it to the barn, field, or woods, like the stained and tattered “Work Horse Handbook” in my collection.

Have fun out there, Carl

p.s. Can you see what I mean about the length of the front trace? Even at 90*, if the front trace is 24″-28″, then the D-ring will be positioned way down by the belly. I know that it can seem disruptive to have to find a solution like trace lengths, especially if the current ones are in good shape, but in the long run it will be much more effective. It’s just indicative of the misconceptions in conventional thinking about the D-ring harness. It is based on sound mechanical and physical principles,which when adhered to, offer comfort and functionality to the working horse surpassing any other harnessing system.

Anyone is welcome to call, and visit Les Barden in Farmington, NH. He is open, friendly, and serious about the use of animal power. Any conversation with him will be well worth the effort, and a visit to his farm will set goals that you have been trying to envision for years.
Les Barden’s phone #603-332-0082

[Carl Russell]

22″ from bolt to ring on my horses (16.2H) puts the D-ring in a place that can have good effect on the lifting of the pole. If it is down too low on the horse the pole will not ride high enough, even with the correct tension between neck-yoke and evener. I know this doesn’t have to do directly with your question, but it may have importance in answering it. I found with harnesses that I have looked at, and even with traces that I have ordered, that most harness makers make the front trace too long. Walt Bryan clued me into this many years ago, he used to cut the swivel clips off standard traces to shorten them, and just ran the hame bolt through where the clip had been. Then I started getting mine made by some local leather worker, leather outers with three layers of seat belt nylon looped on the inside. Wear great and don’t break. $150 a pair? or something like that (those numbers, whoosh!)Carl

[Carl Russell]

Actually a better photo is on the first page of “Working Horse” in the gallery. I titled it “Starting a new era”. Shows the team head on. Kind of hard to see really good detail but your can see how compact it is. Also shows the harness, and hold backs.
Carl

[Carl Russell]

Putting the yoke under the pole would work.

Also shortening the pole over-all as well. You only need a couple of heel links at the evener.

The linkage between the singletree and evener on the yoke can be shortened sometimes.

Are your front hold-backs short?

I don’t mean to second guess your harnessing, but if the D-ring is down too low that can also complicate pole height. 90* off the hame should be good unless the front trace is too long, which is often the case. I have had to get my traces custom-made for years to get the D-ring up where it should be. Don’t ask me the right length, these types of figures go in one side of my head and out the other, but I’ll put a tape on it tomorrow.

My spread chain neck yoke should be noticeable on at least one photo on the gallery. One photo comes to mind, of the team pulling loaded scoot uphill. I can’t load one right now as I am still without modem and working on Lisa’s computer.

Carl

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