[jac]

Therein lies the problem. Costly product !! the powers that be can never allow oil to be overly expensive because the whole world economy and food production depends on the stuff.. so in that light I fear the safety issues will be compromised every time to save a $$ for the share holders. I would be ok with dearer oil prices IF the extra money was going to increase the safety factors to prevent spills.. but we all know that they would jump on the band wagon and prop up the dividends.. am I being too hard on these guys ??? I take it this well is a harder than normal site to extract oil from, as per the “peak oil” scenario ?….
John

[jac]

In fact it looks as though the near wheel horse has his off fore leg over the rope. It must be hard to keep it all together on the turns..
John

Scrub that.. just the angle of the foto.. sorry
John

[jac]

Mitch you hit it right on the head when you mentioned the “good old days”!! We have the choice to pick and choose the bits we like from the whole draft horse history..the modern materials but not the sheer hard work that went with the good old days or modern vetenary practice and leave docking in the history books.. A hitch cart with an engine is just a tractor with 30 odd hp less and 3 or 4 live animals providing the pull. Im sure in 20 or 30 years from now the draft animal practitioners of the day will be picking some of our ideas and leaving others.
John

[jac]

Hi Wally, the near horses evener will have a heavy offset to the right so that the horse has a lever advantage over the others..
John

[jac]

I suppose its a bit like planes.. Stastisticaly speaking the safest way to travel but when one crashes.. total disaster..and who does the stastistics ??
John

[jac]

Marshall I wonder if that the bracket on the extreme right of the foto that looks to be concave with 2 holes, is for the pole ?? I know that it may seem odd because its a one horse machine but I seem to remember an article about some of these eastern bloc countries hitching a single horse to one side of a pole ?? .. unless its for taking a stub that has the shafts on it but the foto makes it look as though the horse would be walking in the crop. Perhaps Bivol can chip in if he see’s this..
John

[jac]

Hi Al… cant help you in the slightest but….. what a beautifull plow !!!! you guys are so lucky to have such a selection of old horse drawn machines to choose from in your own country..What I miss with the new equipment is the style that they built into everything back then..pinstiping, wooden handles and flowing lines. good luck with it…
John

[jac]

That worked Richard .Thanks.. Some interesting stuff on there for the small farmer..
John

[jac]

That little mower looks the business !! now we just need a translator. Thanks Richard.. perhaps some of these emerging ex iron curtain countries might have some new ideas…
John

[jac]

Thats an interesting idea.. A few years ago I asked the local engineering college if they wanted a horse drawn mower to use as a project for the students to try and design a new mower with modern materials. The teacher was keen on the idea but as soon as he tried to take it further the government “letsmakelifeawkward” brigade stepped in and kyboshed the project… The No. 9 was never exported over here to my knowlege, we got the No. 7 I think ?…Anyway.. from what I hear it must be the Rolls Royce of mowers.. One thing about castings is the noise and vibration absorbsion qualities you dont get with steel. There seems to be a few new parts being made now for the old mowers . Youre right tho, a good fabricator could make a frame with the right gearing, there has been a few farmer built mowers over the years. I have a friend in Poland who is trying to find if there are any manufactuers in Eastern Europe who might make a horse mower.. Im afraid it boils back to the old ££$$ again.. amount of money to make the relevant jigs and such, against units sold…
John

[jac]

Over here there was a debate whether organic farmers that used tractors could or should still have the “organic” title because of the extra fossilised fuel used for cultivations and weed control compared to the draft animal powered farm. I had a glimmer of hope that draft animals might be brought to the fore… but as usual it got swept aside…
John

[jac]

An old man told me many years ago that you’re not a real horseman till you’ve had 3 runaways… seriously though sometimes all it takes is a team that is normally “bombproof” to be put to a strange vehicle that pulls/sounds/feels strange. They may be allright at the walk but a change of pace can send all sorts of messages..especially at these speed trial obstical cources . I firmly believe the horses sense the excitement and anticipation. Well done that man for avoiding a complete disaster !! that situation can tell the real teamster from someone that drives now and then who may have froze.. We have these speed trials over here and most of the horses get more fired up as they progress through the course to the point of being on the point of runaway as they leave the ring. Ive said for years they should make the turns a lot tighter with a few reversing maneuvers to slow it down and make it more skillfull but its all show folk we have over here and most can only get there teams going round in a big circle.. there are a few exceptions of course and those guys mostly drove for the big breweries, Kevin Flynn being one notable driver, his father Mick was Prince Philips head groom and mentor… Anyway Rick these fotos are excellent, any chance of some ground drive balers:)??
John

[jac]

We use electric fences to keep the horses off the hay ground. Dont use rope but use the inch and half tape.. It seems to flap realy badly in the wind and usualy breaks the plasic clips eventualy.. so I put 4 or 5 twists in each span and it stopped the violent flapping.Got the idea thinking about those tall metal chimneys you see in factories that have a slow spiral running up the outside to stabalise them in high winds… The things you think of when out fencing !!??:rolleyes:
John

[jac]

Hey Jen if we’re all honest we’v all had days like that…when I tried out our old “Dux” plow for the 1st time it was a disaster. The mares knew what to do but I didnt. For me the most important thing is not to fall out with the horses and end the day on a good note.. BTW your description of the event was pure classic comedy and had me in stitches.. please forgive me.. I know I shouldt have laughed but the way you wrote it:) best of luck next time out…John

[jac]

The accumulator is a good idea but I wasnt sure if it would have enuf flow to keep a motor turning.. I think Im right to say hydraulic motors are greedy and need a lot of oil. As I said, it was only an idea i had.. trying to keep the horse drawn machine moving forwards…
John

[Author]

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