[jac]

Hey guys I am well impressed with both Simons and Johns system but have a question.. all the fotos seem to feature either new england d or scandinavian harness.. is there any way my western breeching harness can be converted to work with the shortened shafts ??..
John

[jac]

Hi that is a really nice team you have and going well too. Only thots I have on the top foto regards the wheelers holding back is the broken line of draft in the pulley system. It may just be the way the foto is but mabey the droppers holding the rope at the wheelers collars needs lowered ? If the leaders tighten up the ropes and pull hard a downward pressure on the ropes would lead to pressure on the collars of the wheelers ? also if the leaders bottom out the pulley will they not have the effect of easing the collar forward off the wheelers shoulders and this may lead to a loss of confidence in the wheelers….. just a thot.. but great to see your mules and good luck with them..
John

[jac]

I am interested in the 5th wheel coupling.. tho thats not a good description as its not a wheel at all:o.. It looks like a pin set vertical in a bracket at an angle ?? does this prevent a castor effect ?? and those paralelagram shafts are a really cool idea that should perhaps be incorperated into farm equipment…
John

[jac]

Yea he was quite a character. Totally dedicated to the cause.I remember him at a ploughing match years ago and he did the whole match with the lines looped over the hames !!! I believe his triple system is now being sold over in the US under licence.
John

[jac]

Really neat rig. Is that similar to Doug Joiners ? I was at the late Charlie Pinneys open day when he was staying in Scotland and a man called Chris Wadsworth had a Scandanavian rig there. I did notice his horse had a rubbed area where the shaft was pegged so i guess the padding must be essential..
John

[jac]

Hey Ixy I agree:D.. could our American cousins be talking of the border collie perhaps ??..
John

[jac]

For what its worth combining peas is a sure fired way to bring on a heart attack or a nervous breakdown… If the sun is on them , then its not too bad.. soon as the sun goes off them shut the combine down. Other than that they are easy to thresh.. wide open concave and plenty wind and slow rotor speed should see a good sample. I can imagine cutting them greener would be a nightmare and the timing would need to be spot regards drying time.. too dry and a lot of peas will be left in the field… some of the small trailed combines can be pulled with horses ..
John

[jac]

Erika thank you for that. We over here seem to get the tourist image and you guys have the real picture. I think I have probably held the Amish up as the ideal horsemen and good sustainable farmers when as you say there is good and bad in there too..
John

[jac]

I suppose the Amish communities could be termed as some of the islands of humanity that Carl mentions..Individuals working alone might feel as tho they dont make a difference but as a group or community the concept of sustainable life begins to look a lot better…Was reading a bit on algea and how the boffins recon its the answer to our fuel needs.. I often wonder how a farmer using horses or oxen to produce energy for his farm compares to a farmer that produces bio fuel to power his tractors.. is natures energy production actually more efficient than anything we can make…
John

[jac]

So if a horse gets “behind” on the evener.. how much extra effort does he need to put in to catch up ?? because if he is behind does that not have the effect of shortening his side and will this not have the effect of making the weaker horse have an even bigger disadvantage:confused:…think I’ll just join the confused line:D..
John

[jac]

Welcome Craig… you certainly picked the right forum to be on.. this place has it all… decent folks and a mountain of info.
John

[jac]

Marshall this is only my opinion but I think “globalisation” is the downfall of this whole world economy and a crappy idea. We keep being told of “ecomomics of scale”… Well what do we do when a global market place isnt big enough to be economic ?? All we do is move round the world seeking out cheap places to build the things we need and then moan when the country in question wants a bigger slice of the cake.. this has the effect of lowering our spending power so we move to some place else leaving empty factories again. Unfortunately we are running out of places to exploit. How crass is it to have a coffee giant exporting coffee to us in the west when half the country is starving because of the mono culture of coffee leaves no room for actuall food !!
John

[jac]

Hi Mathew.. I dropped a picture of a street parade we did 2 years ago now and the the off side horse is Tyde. He is 20 plus. I tried to find the fotos of him haymaking last year. I think you need to know the individual horse. Seeing a potential horse at his owners yard is one thing, spending years with a horse and basicly being with him as the years roll, on puts you in a better position to judge if he is up to the workload. Some horses are in decline at 15.. others are still rocking at 20 plus… that old black horse can still kick up a storm. A lot depends on the planned work. Old age doesnt come itself and 15 plus can rear a few problems.. teeth cavities being one. In Clydes CPL is another real issue… Me personally I would go for the younger horses and keep him, that way you and hi grow into the older horse situation.. best of luck..
John

[jac]

Good point on the domestic production Rod. Im not so sure these countries would collapse, surely they would knuckle down and get on with rebuilding their country… Cuba did..
Bivol a lot of the steel workers that were in the industry are retired now and youngsters dont want to get their hands dirty nowadays. Getting skilled workers for agriculture is a real problem now. I didnt know JCB were in India cousin Jack..
John

[jac]

Bivol it really is that bad… Case New Holland assemble parts imported from other countries , Massey Fergusson are now made in France as the last plant closed a few years ago so no we donts make agricultural tractors in the UK now JCB still make excavators tho:)
John

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