[dominiquer60]

Jason makes a great point. I am weaning myself off of a reasonably lucrative profession this year. While most people understand that I am moving on to realize my dream of living and working on a small diversified farm with a man that I would like to grow old with, some folks really don’t get it. Just this morning I was saying goodbye to someone and their reaction was, “why you can make so much money down here, it would be silly not to take this opportunity.” I had to explain to her that my goal from the beginning was to make money and that I have, but now I am ready to move on and make a living at a place that I have been looking for since I was a child.

When I started this job, my goal was to save money so that I could start a market garden which would hopefully include horse power. The best way to do this I decided, was to live like I was dirt poor while I was saving. Sure I bought a few things that I didn’t really need, and I did a little back roads traveling, but in the end I accepted that I was going to have a limited income for the rest of my life. I don’t have to invest in land after all and I will start with Ox power and have a fleet of tractors available at all times, that is just luck I guess. My vegetable mentor told me that vegetable farming is like having children, you can plan all you want but you will never be fully prepared for what is to come, just jump in an do it if that is what you truly want. Diving into poverty, well deeper poverty, has helped me learn skills that I have always wanted, but never thought that I would learn, I am happy that I made that decision and it has prepared me well for my future.

Good Luck with all of life’s adventures, follow your dreams and remember when you give up wealth as the IRS sees it, you gain in riches and freedom in other ways. I don’t care what the government thinks, but Carl and Jason are two of the richest men alive and I imagine so are many of the others here on DAP.

Erika

[dominiquer60]

My money is on you ending up with a fine pair of young mules 🙂

I am glad that you have such a good mentor so close, before you know it you’ll be returning the favor to someone else 😉

[dominiquer60]

There are differences in the angle of the beam meant for 2 horse work versus 3 horse work. I am totally open to correction on this one, but if memory serves me a 3 horse beam will angle towards the land side more than a 2 horse plow, if a right hand plow it will be left of straight from the working position perspective. It is possible to work it one way or another, just keep it in mind while trying to fine tune your team and plow. I believe that it is possible to ad shims to get a better angle to 3 horse on a 2 horse beam. I hope you keep us updated, it is always interesting to see what works for others.

After writing this I continued packing for my return to the Northeast and realized that I have had Mr. Miller’s Plow book with me this entire trip, oh well, but it does confirm my memory. A 3 horse plow is “landed” or bent toward the land side with up to a 3″ difference at the center of the beam. “The classic two horse plow has a wide range of adjustment for width of furrow so that three horses can be used with a two horse plow but the work will be less than satisfactory.” He goes on to recommend that you find the plow that is matched to the number of horses that you plan to use.

Personally, do what works for you, I am just thrilled that I remembered something correctly, not always easy for a blond of Polish decent 🙂

Erika

[dominiquer60]

I could get away with using a tractor to pull a walking plow when I lived on fine sandy loam, but where I live now I would have to be really selective about which ground I try this on. I have been warned by a mentor that Tractor+Walking Plow+Rocky Ground can easily = Broken Plow Point. Animals can feel the resistance of a rock and may stop, and can be trained to stop and slowly roll the rock out, tractors just keep going with or with out your plow point. I have not experienced this, but have been fairly warned.

Erika

[dominiquer60]

Another idea for furrow training is to make an initial pass or two with a tractor or by an experienced team, it gives you and your horses something to follow. You could also practice driving with one horse in the furrow and one on land before you use the plow, that way they get a better idea of what is expected of them. It sounds like you are close to Billings I know that there are some good folks to watch that are very open to questions, I may try to make it there for the same reason.

Did you buy the plow from someone that had used it, is it something that no one can remember using? How wide is the share? How big are your animals? If you set the plow up on a board or level ground: A is there a gap between the bottom and the board? B what is the height between the board and the Bridle(where you hitch the clevis)? C If you eyeball the land side of the plow bottom, what angle does the beam take (veers left or right or more straight on)?
The answers to these questions would help determine if the plow is usable if the plow has not been used by the person that you purchased it from.

Erika

[dominiquer60]

I have been told that chickens are very easy to overdose with ivermectin. It appears that there is a lower concentration formula for pets available in the UK, prescribed by vets, but not licensed for poultry use. It states that you should wait 28 days until slaughtering for human consumption. 28 days seems like a lot to me especially for a bird, so it makes me wonder about eating the eggs of a treated bird. To get back to the specifics of your questions, I don’t know how much Ivermectin breaks down inside the horse or how it would effect your birds after eating through the manure, it is certainly something to be concerned about until proven otherwise.
http://poultrykeeper.com/poultry-medication/poultry-medication/ivermectin-for-worms-lice-mites.html

[dominiquer60]

Just a different perspective on pigs and horses, ironically we have a similar situation here in affluent West Palm Beach of all places.

I braid every week end at the Keck Stable just after sun up, when horses get turned out for the morning, behind and next to the Keck Stables are Stables A and B. The Kecks have a pet pot belly pig named Benny. Every morning the grooms come and feed Benny along with the horses and Benny is then free to roam. He loves to clean up horse feed and graze out in the paddocks.

The Keck horses are of course at ease with nonthreatening Benny, so they don’t ever snort fire at him. Usually Benny likes to cross the border and roam around behind Stable A. Initially the Stable A horses were rather concerned when they first met Benny, but the grooms and manager just let the horses get over it on there own terms running and snorting around in their paddocks. It took the Stable A horses little time to accept Benny and stop snorting fire.

Now Stable A has some really choice patches of white clover next to the property line of Stable B and their paddocks (keep in mind each stable is on about 3 acres at most and packed together like sardines). The Stable B horses get nervous and upset every time Benny grazes the Stable A clover near their paddocks. They may snort fire and run around a little at first, but when Stable B’s employees realize the pig is involved they start screaming at the horses to calm down, and of course you all know what happens next. Benny quietly grazes away while the horses turn hysterical because their leader is getting them more upset. It happens every week, and at this point the horses barely get upset, but one snort wakes the female dog up and she is over at the Keck Barn telling them what to do with a pig that is not even trespassing on Stable B’s property.

It is a fine example of how horses can figure something out on their own if you give them the opportunity and also that the way that we react to a situation has a huge effect on how our animals will react to us and the situation.

To add a little more about the way the different Stables handle the animals. Stable B has a dog that does not come when called, it has to be kept tied up at all times. Benny will happily come when called especially when he sees you have a carrot for him. The pig ends up being better trained than most dogs in the neighborhood.

Erika

[dominiquer60]

I changed my oil today, cleaned out the back of my truck and did a little packing. I have my last work week in Florida ahead of me. Although this state has been good to my savings account, I want to be where I belong next year, at home.

I am excited to make a stop in Virginia to see some friends and possibly learn some new skills while I am at it. I am not sure when I will leave VA, but it would be nice to be home by Sunday to relieve Dale of his farmers market so he can stay home and work on things that he would rather be doing on a Sunday.

I’ll be sure to listen to “Homeward Bound” when I leave early Monday morning.

[dominiquer60]

Just happened to come across this ad in the Want Ad Digest, I don’t know anything about the owner or horse, but It can’t hurt to call. Sorry about the spelling, sometimes ads that are called in get butchered in translation.

SUFFOOK PUNCH MARE
draft, 16yrs, 16.2H,
$1500 Coxsackie, NY (518) 731-9745

[dominiquer60]

We have a lot of those big trucks parked in driveways all over suburban upstate NY, and the soccer mom SUV’s. The biggest problem is even if the 4 wheel drive aids them in getting off their suburban street and onto a high way, there is most likely an accident that slows them down because another 4 wheel drive vehicle owner mistakens the added traction of their vehicle as added high speed braking power on winter roads and ends up in a horrific wreck. Of course it is the driver that does the bad things and down here for every bad Hummer driver there are 20+ other bad drivers that drive anything. I think the best drivers down here are the illegals, they have the most to loose if they get caught, where as the Hummer/expensive vehicle drivers can afford a lawyer to get out of anything.

Example, the owner of the elite Equestrian Restaurant/Bar was driving home early one morning, supposedly sober, and failed to stop at a stop sign, unfortunately there was a 23 year old man crossing the road and the bar owner struck him and sent him flying into a canal to his death. There was not a handcuff or night in jail involved because he probably called his lawyer before he called 911.

[dominiquer60]

I winter in what I believe is the most Hummer dense population on the east coast, Eastern Palm Beach county. I can’t even drive 2 miles to get gas and water without passing multiple Hummers. The people that can afford them are driving them on pavement, and the roughest terrain they deal with are speed bumps at the horse show or the mall. While those of us on dirt roads are driving mostly beaters or good work vehicles for the landscaping/construction/farming lower class jobs. Big Horse I am glad your H3 works for you, but you have to admit when the high profile, Parris Hilton sunglass types that cut you off and double park, drive around like the sun shines out of you know what, it really gives the Hummer a bad reputation. Personally I cringe every time I come across one, especially the yellow ones.

[dominiquer60]

If it makes life easier I could bring my little ~40″ harrow for the competition. It is nice and small for singles or small teams, and would fit behind the calves on my way up. 🙂
Erika

[dominiquer60]

C
Cotswald sheep seem pleasant too, I have a friend that shows them at our fair and they are very gentle, their wool is long and forms very defined ringlets. Icelandics are very nice but they can by pricey.

I am sure some one else may have better details, preparing a fleece can take some time and a little skill. Even if you don’ t want to try it you should never throw hay over their heads and backs, the less hay you get into their fleece, the easier it is to clean for you or others. To prepare wool to spin you need to first have a good shearer that can cut the wool clean and close with single passes. Second cuts produce little short pieces, those are what cause our sweaters to get little pill balls on them. Once shorn the fleece can be stored away in clean plastic bag or skirted right away. Skirting involves unrolling the fleece flat and removing the belly wool, britching wool, matted neck wool, any hay or debris. Goal is to leave only the usable wool (80%) and remove the foreign material.

From here I am not sure of exact details, but you need to wash the wool. You can use the gentle cycle in your house or do it by hand, but you want to remove the lanolin oils and dirt, while not agitating or spinning it too much, otherwise is will felt on you, in which case start over with another fleece. Once dry you use carding combs to get the fibers to follow the same direction. When done correctly the fibers form a large loose fluffy strand of roving. Roving is what you use to spin yarn using a spinning wheel or a drop spindle. Hopefully that gives you a little idea about what is involved. Like anything the more you do it the better at it you will become.

Good Luck,

Erika

[dominiquer60]

C

If you are looking for purebreds, I used to work with a good sized flock of Romneys. The were nice to work with and the owners sold the meat at market and the wool to hand spinners. They can be white or natural colored and have a nice long staple fleece for spinning. The mothers were good and reasonably docile for being rarely handled. They also had some crosses, these were a little more high strung and flighty, but beautiful medium/fine length wool in every color imaginable. These are all I have to compare Romneys to. I had a friend in Scotland years ago, they used to have blackface, but gave them up because they were so wild. I liked working at the sheep farm and I learned a lot even though I don’t plan on having sheep. Good Luck with your sheep project and let us know what breed you decide on.

Erika

[dominiquer60]

They are a handsome pair!

Good Luck with them

Erika

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