[J-L]

It’s an excellent idea. I have done it with many of them and even had a very nervous team that I went a step further with.
They were pretty unruly and a little barn sour, also wouldn’t stand at gates or in the stackyards, etc. What I did was to back them up to a good, solid brace in my fence by the corral and chain the back axle of my haywagon to the brace (making sure the chain wouldn’t come undone and my equipment was in good shape) and let them stand, hitched to the wagon. They nervously swept that tongue back and forth for a few hours. I kept an eye on them and when they decided to stand patiently, I’d go unharness them. They received this treatment daily for better than a week and eventually got to be good at standing.
I agree whole heartedly with the idea of having the team you’re using harnessed much of the time. I do this right at morning chores much of the time and if/when the situation arises when you can either use the team or a tractor it makes the team a viable choice as they are already harnessed.

[J-L]

My neighbor has a 556 and put’s up 1000-1200 bales per year with it. Says he loves it, but I’m sure there are lemons in every color of equipment. I noticed the twine on the outside wrap being that close to the edge on his bales as well. Makes nice, tight bales though.
My baler is a 535 JD and has been very good to me. It also makes a good bale and they tend not to rot in the stack as bad as the bales from my Uncle’s New Holland.

[J-L]

Rod, I agree with Donn about the size match (to be specific, not calling anyone an animal;)).
I routinely work small mules and bigger mules. One of my favorite teams to work is my Ruthie mule (14 hands, 900lb) with La Fonda (15.2 hands, 1250). They travel close to the same rate and have a similar feel on the bridle.
I have another little mule about Ruth’s size and weight, I work her with Ruth quite a lot but she’s a little more up on the bit and travels a little faster. Seems like I’m checking her back more.
Much of the time a ‘match’ is more for the sake of looks.

[J-L]

We’ve used brome grass in the past. At one time (before the bad drought in ’02) We had 80 acres of brome/alfalfa. Great hay. Horses and cattle loved it. The ground we had it on was perfect for that, much sand and rock. Needs replanted now.

[J-L]

Grandad I saw a set up as you’re describing. A friend of mine fab’d it for his sleigh ride business at the ski resorts in Utah. It is handy for him to use as it will let all three head hold back loads on the slopes. I think he used a three wide neck yoke as well.
For what I use 3 for it isn’t worth the effort. Two can back and hold what I need them to.
I go on a trip like the one you have pictured most every year in the mountains by me. Just a lot of fun. You can pack a nice camp in on a wagon and only use two (or three) head to do it vs. 6 or more pack horses/mules. We take some saddle horses with and do some fishing.

[J-L]

I forgot to ask how you put your hay up. Round bales, small square, big squares?
I do small squares and round bales. Have set ups for feeding round bales that are easy enough to make and cheap (for us ranchers cheap is good).

[J-L]

Go with 3 abreast. I use it quite a little and it’s surprising how much horse power it gives you. Once your stub lines are set up it’s a piece of cake and when your horses get used to it they can become almost as handy as a pair in tight spots.
I have a 3 horse tongue evener and a 3 horse field evener. The field evener is what I use on my forecart and the tongue evener on a wagon (could use on a sleigh too) but it’s longer and you have to drill another hole for it.

[J-L]

There is a lot of the Garrison grass around here to. You have it right that when you cut it early it’s good feed. Wait ’til it’s 4 ton to the acre and it’s like feeding straw. Even at my elevation it can have a fair amount of regrowth and that is good pasture. My place has a few stands of the Creeping Meadow Foxtail variety. Not quite as water hungry and a little less yield, but better cow hay in my book.

[J-L]

It’s a bad feeling watching them leave isn’t it? Been there myself. I might have been all for working him with a solid horse in the woods for a while before skidding by himself…who knows. And hindsight is 20/20 as they say. Don’t beat yourself up too much and learn from it. Maybe a little more preparation was in order.
I agree not to punish him for it, he was just doing what was natural when scared. Also agree that you did right by getting him back in there for a while. I think you can get him over all that.
Just out of curiosity, why were you worried about the hunters? Is it horse season where you were at?:D

[J-L]

Thanks for the expanation. Sounds like a very good idea and I wish you guys luck with your operation. Might have to drop by some time.
Glad to hear of your luck hunting. We had some good luck this way and a freezer full of venison and sausages.
I don’t know about plowing your ground the first time. Could be a tough job with as much clay as there is around there and if it’s sodded in.
Do others fall seed alfalfa there? I know we can’t here but we are almost 2000′ higher in elevation and have quite a little wind that bares the ground off as well as a lot of late frost. We’ve always drilled alfalfa around the 1st of May with a nurse crop of oats.
Enjoyed reading your posts and good luck.

[J-L]

Glad to hear from another cow man. I run a small cow/calf operation in Wyoming. Feeding cows is still a good job for teams. To me they can save you a great deal of wear and tear on tractors or trucks (sure don’t have to tell a Canadian about cold starting diesels), not to mention fuel costs.
There are a lot of knowledgable and experienced people on here and they are very willing to share it.
Are you set up to feed cattle with your horses yet?

[J-L]

You are only about 5 hours from me blue. That Worland country is some pretty good farm ground. Looks like you are getting ready to do some mechanicing with your pile of equipment. Sometimes that can be fun too.
I think your hostel idea sounds interesting, can you expound on it a little? How does it work?
Seems like there are more horses working on the west side of the state than your area and east. Where ever the farming is good, the tractor has completely taken over. Where there are more cows and more snow there are still horses working (usually feeding cattle).
I have a friend who farms up there around Worland. He’s a bigger farmer and very much into his big equipment. Last year his operating loan was $1.25 million dollars. I just don’t see the fun in that. Hard working and good man that he is, that is a very fundamental difference between he and I.
If you get to plowing and want to do a plow day or something, let me know. I know a few teamsters that might be able to come up and help.
I get up that way every so often and might have to look you folks up. I like the looks of your bay horse in the pictures by the way.

[J-L]

We actually had a few good candidates here at the local level. I’m not sure how the elections turned out. There are times when we’ve had folks run in one party or another just to get on the ticket. It doesn’t always matter the party affiliation at times.
It would be nice if there were a better chance for the third party (or more) folks to do well in any election. I have to agree that elections seem to be influenced to a huge degree by mainstream media. Too bad people in general won’t look just a little deeper.
I feel for you guys in rural NY. Tough to outvote a huge block like NYC. We see that (in much smaller form) with Cheyenne and Casper (both about 40-50 thousand people). Big cities in a state with less than a half million people. Still there are enough ties to agriculture to help us in the long run.

[J-L]

I’m in a similar situation as Big Horses. We do a lot of cow work with our saddle horses and the country we live in (SW WY) is a big pile of rocks. Without shoes on your horses you’d be afoot in short order. The rest of the year they’re barefoot, except for one or two who I’ll have shoes on for riding around cattle in the mountains.
I’ve been using mules for quite a while on my feed trail. No shoes necessary on my mules for most anything. When hauling hay from another part of the ranch there is about 2 or 3 miles of gravel road. The barefoot mules hold up alright to this, the barefoot horses can’t do it for that long without getting tender and broke up feet.
Just for the feeding aspect I’ve always been running bare foot. When it’s been icy and having to pull bigger loads, there are times when I’ve thought about sharp shoeing one team at least.
Barefoot all the time isn’t an option for me or most folks in this part of the country. Shoeing all the time sure isn’t good for your horses either though.

[J-L]

Right now I’m wearing my Tony Lama cowboy boots. These have more of a cushion sole than good riding boots but are a good compromise when I have to do some work on my feet and ride in the same day (right now waiting for my helpers to go sort cows and castrate a few calves). In the hayfield I wear these or my Red Wing work boots. In the early winter/late spring it’s muck boots. Dead of winter (Thanksgiving-Easter) it’s usually some warm snow boots.

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