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Drummond Fraser
ParticipantJennifer,
Our heart goes out to you. Most people can only dream of having a companion like that. It sounds like both you and Dax were blessed. The problem with having a friend like that in your life is the enormity of the hole they leave behind. Our deepest condolences for your loss.
Drummond and Amanda Fraser
ParticipantWow! That looks like a hoot, Jennifer! I’d be very willing to give the old and new style a try. It looks like some of the NESJA events are North of the border, too (What on earth is the Eleven Town Race?). I’d be interested to know details about the equipment, how to approach training, and how the ‘old style’ works.
Drummond
ParticipantJonny,
You are most welcome. There are certainly a lot of people on this site that could give you the benefit of their personal experience concerning establishing the lifestyle you are looking for. Some have spent many years working a regular job while gradually building their farm over time. There are a few who seem to have done well through direct marketting and doing something to add value to their farm produce (bread, cheese, etc), and there certainly are a growing number of young Gen Ys starting up interesting farm businesses. Either way, it is likely a long term effort to get fully established. I’ll leave with a quote though: “Find something you really enjoy as a job, and extend your weekend by five days”.
Cheers,
Drummond
ParticipantRory, thank you for the post. I hope I get the chance to speak to you at the NEAPFD about how you run your operation. How many animals are feeding hay to over the winter? How do you get the hay from the barn to them? Thanks again.
Drummond
ParticipantI’m no expert and would defer to Carl and others with more experience on this. I think you would have to be careful about the draft. You certainly would have to be conservative with the load you put in it. However, the SFJ Winter 2008 edition features an article on a one horse farm (“Such a One Horse Outfit”, Robert Wright LeRoy, Michigan) that includes pictures of spreading with a single, so others have done this.
You also have some other options. There are small spreaders built for garden tractors and ATVs that should be easy for your Belgian with a forecart (see this clip for an example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajLUHYftPAU). One such spreader was featured in SFJ Spring 1999 (Country Manufacturing #600 spreader) in an article on the King Economy tractor. Another option may be to go with a three horse hitch using your other, lighter horses teamed with the Belgian, on a standard sized ground drive spreader. Lots of folks have used Quarter Horses for light draft work.
BTW, I’ve seen a number of back issues of SFJ featuring farming with single heavy drafts and creative equipment adaptations that allowed all the farm work to be done with one horse. You may want to look there for some references and even look up the farmers featured. I remember the author of one article saying that in much of Europe the tradition had been for small (30-40 acre) farms using a single heavy horse, so the knowledge is out there.
Final note: take everything I say with a grain of salt; I’m a well read greenhorn, with good mentors, gradually building up my own experience. Best of luck. Your experiences could be very valuable to others considering the same.
ParticipantJennifer,
I think you will get a kick out of these, courtesy of The Iowa State University archives:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aauVlNjg2Kk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhvbnR2AA3w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_BBALStCnY&feature=relatedI found the commentary as interesting as the footage (more so at times).
Drummond
ParticipantThank you Kevin.
What a resource that book is! I am hoping to find plans, including all the dimensions of the lumber (including recommended types of wood) and parts, that would give me enough info to build, preferably a beaverslide stacker, from scratch. A more talented craftsman than I could probably work off the diagrams and pictures in the book. There likely is enough there to do some of the other types of stackers, although it would take me a bit to figure out the pulley systems.
There is a good layout describing the re-building of a buckrake from just the hardware. It would be helpful to have a source for the hardware (which was not traditionally used in my part of the world), but reasonable alternatives can likely be made or bought from the local hardware store.
I am also hoping that there are some resident experts on this site that can speak to putting up large stacks of loose hay, and offer some advice for setting up and doing the work. What a great clinic this would make, or even a demo at NEAPFD!
Drummond
ParticipantWhat a demo that must have been! Thanks.
Drummond
ParticipantJust to give Carl added reason to head into town, here is another very unusual (to me anyway) piece of equipment for loading loose hay or straw by horse. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPdqd925Dc0&feature=related
PS Does anyone have any idea what this loader is called, or where one might find one?
ParticipantI can feel your frustration. Sorry. I can’t think of what I could do to make the clips more accessible. I hope you enjoy them when you get the chance.
ParticipantBarw,
I think what I’ll do is write to Small Farmer’s Journal and ask their help with this. If I make any headway I’ll post a new thread with the information. It sounds like we have similar interests with regards to putting up hay. Let me know if you find anything about a source, or plans, for buck rakes, and any tips on training a team to the buck rake.
ParticipantWell done Jonny B! What a great example of community in action.
ParticipantYou’re very welcome. I just stumbled across them while doing a search on youtube, and thought I’d found something special with the 1930’s footage. I would love to see the entire film, and will likely make a request to the person who posted them. I think it would be great to gather an archive of old footage of the working horses in the early 20th century.
It never ceases to amaze me the efficiency and effectiveness of the old direct action machinery, and what was possible with horses alone.
Thank you for the welcome.
Drummond
ParticipantThank you for posting this. I’m very interested, but I’ve searched ebay without any luck. Would you be able to post the link, or is it already sold?
ParticipantThat’s a generous offer, and I may take you up on it. First, though, I’m going to see what local expertise I can find, given that this is going to be an ongoing issue as we expand our fleet. I’m hoping that there will be a restoration or repair clinic at the NEAPFD this year.
How is your Face Book project going?
Drummond
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