[jac]

No luck guys…. we had a nice sunny day with a moderate wind, light shower of rain last night.. certainly unusual for Ayrshire ???? but not complaining as we’ll have the usual monsoon weather for the haymaking season followed by rain and wind for harvest time:rolleyes:
John

[jac]

Hi Kevin… I cant offer much advice on the agricultural side as such, but I have been doing draft tourism for 25yrs now in the form of wagon rides and promotions.. You have clearly done a lot of market research. The home made ice cream is always a winner.. Insurance is probly going to be top of the list and believe me it has to be water tight. Another small item that is important is plenty of signs/places for kids to wash their hands after handling animals. Britain has gone “cleanliness” daft to the point of being stupid !! I agree with you that making the 1st step is the hardest. I have spent years collecting the accoutraments that make horse work easy and am now reaping the benefits. You will have a lot of fun and so will your horses. I may just be lucky but I havent had a horse yet that didnt like human attention. One word of warning.. I mentioned this in another thread.. Most tourists when they approach horses seem to have the need to “kiss” or “click” them ??? That, as you know, is most teams message to “go”!!.. Not great when you have someones grandmother half way up the steps at the rear of your wagon..!!!:eek:..Another way that you can make extra money is to offer advertising {appropriate } on the side of your wagon. Perhaps a local market garden or farmers market.. Best of luck anyway and as we say in Scotland “power to your elbow”..
John

[jac]

Hi Robert… thats not a bad idea.I suppose something like one of those horse drawn timber forwarders would work with a clamshell bucket in place of the log grab ??. Dont know about the batery power tho.. might need a small engine to drive the pumps. I wonder if a small ground power or tread mill could be geared to drive hydraulic pumps…
John

[jac]

Being from Scotland I cannot comment on the really big teams like 8,10,12 and upwards. but I was wondering if that sort of hitch has the potential to compromise 2 or 3 horses without the teamster noticing especialy if they are on the upper limits for draft …or does the sheer scale of the hitch act as a buffer in its self ?.
John

[jac]

Andy Im not sure on that one.. Perhaps a delayed reaction that we might not even pick up on. a head rising for a second or even ears going flat for a second when we wouldnt expect it.. but I fear that any reaction would be over and dealt with by the animal before we could determine when it happened.. I suppose a video linked to sensors in the collar and then a bucket load of time watching the screen to try and see if a negative reaction from the horse coresponded to peaks or troughs in the draft/terrain… but that sounds like a project for NASA 🙂 Thank you all again for all the effort you guys have put into this..
John

[jac]

I have been reading this thread since it started with great interest and totaly applaude the work that has gone into this by all involvd. Have to admit Im not that great at the maths and physics tho… I was advised to ask you this question by a friend after he and I had discussed the subject, so here goes… Is there a possibility that, if we use too many mechanical draft buffers we insulate the horse/ox from the forces that, at present they can react to instantanously..balance, weight transfer ect.. way before we mere humans can see there is a problem ?.. A bit like when power steering was put on cars.. we lost the “feel” of the road….I read somewhere that the more a driver is insulated from the suroundings the less he is able to react.. Will the animals not have the same problems ?..
John

[jac]

Wee Jock from the Highlands of Scotland was in the finals of a major television quiz show… The presenter asked …” What does acoustic mean”??
Jock thought for a while and replied…. ” Its something for prodding cattle with”….

[jac]

Thank you guys..The base is a 3ft x 2ft angle iron frame that I intend to make a shallow tray to hold hoof picks, brushes and the small stuff. Wheels are my next thing so I can pull it around…I suppose it could be made wall mounted with a wide enough space so the collars arnt rubbing the wall..but I like the portable aspect..But hey !!!! Springs here so any more fabricating has to wait for now:D
John

[jac]

I have heard a figure of 500 cubic ft per ton but im certainly not very clever at figures and am sure there will be more replies that are more accurate than mine….
John

[jac]

Cart Horse Machinery was started by the late Charlie Pinney and.. I think… Chris Townsend.. Mr Townsend was/is the engineer and Charlie went to him with his ideas. His hitchcarts are being built in the States under licence by a company who’s name I cant remember right now…
John

[jac]

I think Mitch has pointed out an important issue here. That is exactly what I was meaning.. Somewhere I have a copy of an 1860 chart used by vehicle makers of the time regards traction line and splinter bar height, wheel height and wheel bases ect. As Carl says the draft or traction line is constant thru the different heights of horses. My point is that perhaps we need a new version of these old charts to suit the fact we pull modern tractor implements. I noticed yesterday when I was out with the slitter I made that the front of my hitch cart was light on the front wheel.. The eveners were already in the top hole so mabey I need to make a new mounting with higher holes ??..
John

[jac]

Carl when I mentioned draft point I ment at the trace end. Surely if a smaller horse is put to a vehicle designed for a taller horse and unless the point of hitch is lowered, then is the line of draft not going to come out somewhere behind the vehicle rather than between the wheel base and thus have the effect of not lifting but rather having a negative lift on the front axle? not a big prob on tar but if the horse has to go onto softer ground I feel the extra drft could be in issue.. By the same token I see a few tourist rigs over here with a very long wheel base on small tyres with a big Shire up front and have to wonder the amount of lift on the front axle which has surely got to be transfering extra work unnesisarily. This was my thinking behind the graf idea…
John

[jac]

Tim Carl and Andy.. forgive the basic questions I have to ask but Im afraid I left school way too soon it seems.. Do these findings upset the theory that 16.2 is the optimum height for a draft horse in any way ? Are ponies working at a disadvantage pulling full size equipment designed for tall draft horses..even with the increased number used ? I ask because we use 17.2/3 hand Clydes and I have allways been pedantic about the draft angles and hitch points. Reading these posts makes me realise I havent been so far off the mark..at least with my wagon work anyway.. but I wonder if there is a way to make a graph to show the ideal hitch point height for a given height of horse/ox and given weight of load for example ? It would be interesting to see how close to the mark some of the old machines that we in the 21st century assume to be made correctly regards hitch point, when in fact they might not have been. If these findings can be put to use then we can make the horse even more efficient than he already is.. Just some thoughts…
John

[jac]

Ah the Two Ronnies… Who can forget the “Four candles” sketch !!:D or the news reading at the end of the show.. classic stuff..
John

[jac]

Mike I dont think there is any advantage. In fact if I was building another one I’d make it with adjustable gangs so I could increase the soil movement.At present it only works straight ahead. I think mine might be heavier than the tiller though and might get more depth without the need for ballast. Surface water and compaction is our biggest problem over here. those blades go in a full 7″ and I realy just wanted a horse drawn version of what the tractor boys use..cept they use 72 blades on a 9ft machine and have to ballast it up to get penetration… also the hoes I looked at didnt have the clearance I wanted for the lifting frame.
John

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