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Hi Dave, here are some strategies that you could consider. Mix and match depending on your situation:
1. Lay down a day’s worth of wood ahead of time. This keeps horses active and engaged. Standing should be associated with rest. Rest=reward.
2. Try to anticipate when the horses are going to move and ask them to move before they do. You take the initiative.
3. Tow a hard line. Any movement while standing requires a reprimand. In my case, this equals a jerk on the line followed by “Hey”. Never allow them to initiate movement. Make sure they are still before asking them to go.
4. Frequent short stops while skidding. Reward them with rest when they are doing well and start them before they want to go.
5. Consider working a single horse at a time.
6. Have a clear vision of what you want to get accomplished. Show resolve and leadership through your attitude and actions.
7. Reward every try. Small steps.

Good luck!

George

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Ask the person who trucks your logs. Most truckers purchase log length firewood on the landing.

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Here some information from a thread I started awhile back:

Mower Modifications for Clipping Pasture

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Hi Carl, I would like to humbly suggest that stocks are not necessarily the solution to your problems. When I started with my team I was drawn to the idea of stocks for the same reasons you are (i.e. my horses were terrible when working on their feet). Stocks seemed like a safe effective tool to get the job done. However, stocks do not address the underlying issues of trust and respect that lead some horses to resist working on their feet.

I would argue that comfortable, safe handling of your horses’ feet at all times in a variety of different environments is fundamental to safe, effective horsemanship. I can cannot count the times I have had trace chains wrapped – often tight – around legs and feet while working in the woods. Extricating the horse from those situations requires absolute comfort and trust in working with their legs / feet.

I used a round pen to get my horses comfortable with me working on their feet. I would work with them in the center of the pen with no halter or lead rope. I used a long “carrot stick” or whip and would use it to rub their legs and feet at a safe distance. My vision was for them to stand still and accept this little by little. If they took off or kicked I would send them for a jog around the pen. Then I would try again. Small steps, consistency, and patience along with relatively short sessions 15-20 minutes/day paid off. For me, the ultimately goal was being able to pick up all four feet and work on them for a few minutes at a time without the horse moving or resisting me. I would always try to reward the smallest tries by releasing the pressure on them. I don’t remember how long it took but they both became comfortable and accepting of me working on their feet. Irregardless of the outcome, those sessions in the round pen were time well spent getting to know my horses better and vice versa.

I hope this “advice” did not come across the wrong way. Ultimately, we need to do what works for our own situation with our horses.

Good luck.

George

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I agree with Jay, the collar does not look too small. If anything it looks too big. Keep in mind there are collar sizes (e.g. 20″) and collar types: full face for a thinner neck (usually a draft cross), half sweeney (standard draft collar), and full sweeney (thick, stud-like neck). When that collar is sitting back on the shoulder you should be able to slip 4 fingers between the collar and the throat, much more than that and the collar is too big IMHO. You can play with this fit with collar pads and even a jack saddle pad that can go on the top of the collar. The fit around the side of the neck and collar should be even tighter. You should be able to get some fingers in there, but barely.

I cut my front tugs by putting the harness on the horse and detaching the front tug from the hames by removing the bolts that attach the tugs to the hames. You can then move the tug forward, get the d-ring where you want it, mark, measure and cut.

George

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Hi Will:

I have been following this thread with interest and am glad to hear that you are making progress with this mare. My experience is that a strong-willed horse can be very hard-working and dedicated once you gain their respect and trust.

Winston Churchill once said “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” Way to stick with it.

George

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Hi Walt:

Interesting pictures. Thanks for posting those on your FB page. It’s a little hard to tell, but it seems like you have 2 configurations – one pulling the foot back and the other pulling the foot up to a ring on the belly band. Do you have a preference? How much force do you to exert to pull the foot up? Are you trying to lift the foot or just exert some pressure on it? What range of reactions have you experienced from horses with this type of pressure exerted on them? I’d be interested to read about examples of successes and shortfalls using this technique.

George

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At least around here, Larch and Tamarack are considered the same tree.

George

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I usually figure adding 20% to the log foot scale (international) to get my desired board footage on a thin kerf bandsaw mill. I would add or subtract from that percentage depending on the quality of the logs. I would rather have a little extra lumber at the end compared with running short.

George

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Here’s another thread on halter/bridles: Halter / Bridle Thread

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We cut 11 acres over the past couple of days. Beautiful drying weather here – sunny, dry, and breezy. Hoping to start baling this afternoon.

George

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Hi Ed:

Even though it might not be 100%, you can’t get better than 4-5 days of no precip. I would cut! We don’t have that weather, but it is coming next week and I plan to mow. We put up 100 bales the week before last of some nice first cut hay (dandelions and all!). It dried up pretty well as there we very little moisture in the grass and in the ground.

Happy Mowing.

George

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I’ve never used a brush hog. The sickle bar has served me well in clipping pastures. No problem with regrowth.

George

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Hi Lars:

I don’t use any body conditioning methods per se. I just go out and do the work that needs to be done. I think having year-round work is the best way to keep horses in shape. I log in the fall and winter, spread manure in the spring, and make hay in the summer. These large jobs are peppered with smaller jobs (clipping pasture, gathering blocked wood with a wagon, etc.)

One issue that pops up for me is over-work during certain times of the year. This might also crop up with you having one horse that isn’t in great shape. After intense rounds of spreading manure or haymaking, I try to let them rest a day to recoup. You also don’t want to discourage your horse by asking her to do more than she can.

I think accomplishing “real work” as opposed to exercising your horse is also important for the horse and teamster. When you approach a task with focus and deliberation your horse picks up on that.

Good luck.

George

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