[jac]

Have to agree with Larry.. you might find that a big percentage of folk on this forum has a tractor.. ours is a 1950s Fordson that I’v spent years gradualy doing less and less with as my skills and equipment levels built up..definaitly dont beat yourself up over it.. enjoy the extra time the tractor might free up for you to work the horses..
John

[jac]

Was that out in 71 !!!!:eek: Britain has gave the world some top comedians.. Norman Wisdom.. Wallace and Gromit.. even Stan Laurel !!! but I like a lot of American humor too..Abbot and Costello were side splitters and dont start me on Bilko !!the late John Candy in Uncle Buck,Planes,Trains and Automobiles and Cool Running.. brilliant:D.. you just got to laugh..lifes too short not to…
John

[jac]

I suppose with all of these alternative options testing with dung samples is the only option.. but then we have to ask ourselves if we realy want to use one of our team mates as a benchmark while we conduct our testing.???
John

[jac]

What a great selling slogan and gaurantee rolled into one.. We have nothing like that over here, but then the do gooders would never allow pulling contests… They cartainly look neat..I take it the ones in SFJ are made by someone under licence.. Andrus Custom is th name on the advert ??..
John

[jac]

It does seem that all the older methods were swept away with the quick fix convinence of the modern way. but now the down sides are being made more obvious with the residual poisons and parasitic resistance, which I think will cause problems before long.
John

[jac]

I seem to remember an old advert that was reproduced in a book for sprung loaded equalisers. This thread has got me thinking about the draft buffer theory. To my mind a team doing heavy discing for example will have a far heavier draft on ploughed land but have an extra buffer effect with each foot print in the form of compression beneath the hoof and a slight slipage..as opposed to the team doing harrowing on pasture with heavy draft but not as much.. if any.. slip or compression of foot.. so lose out on a small amount of buffer effect.. Just my way of seeing it.. The Pioneer advert does state the spring will help in sudden load situations…
John

[jac]

Pioneer do a neat spring hitch set up for their sulky plows ..dono if that would be any use for what you need ??
John

[jac]

Hey Bivol I laughed too.. but then I split my sides at the Simpsons which I recon has to be one of the funniest cartoons since Tom & Jerry:D..
John

[jac]

Our horses have to cope with the extremes of work at home and the public parades we do in the summer. Our public might number 3000. The 2 geldings i use now have done this for 10yrs. My lines are buckled together once the cross checks have been connected but I have them looped in big loops and make sure i have no contact with their bits till im in the box seat. Another thing Iv managed to teach them is not to move JUST on the “kiss” or “click”.. the reason behind this is the public seem to want to “kiss” or “click” a horse as they approach them and the amount of hitch horses Iv seen over the years that have lunged or just went to take a step purely on that sound alone :eek:!!! I made a mental note early on that if i was in a public situation mine wouldnt do that, Took a lot of repetition but now my team wont move till I give them a slight message down the line a second before the “kiss”.. No line contact… and anyone can approach now without me worrying about trampled children.. Tho I never get complacent.. The 2 mares are still learning this but I dont think they will do the parades. I’ll keep them for the work at home..
John

[jac]

Hi Charlie.. been doing a worm count with our vet and have it down to twice a year but still with ivomec/dectamax. I had no idea it took so long to degrade in the soil. These issues might seem trivial but I think often of the long term residual build up of poison in both humans and animals.. I keep telling myself that the huge super markets could not operate without food addatives and preservatives because of the stupid distances they move food about.. Im drifting off the topic:D starting to rant again….
John

[jac]

I know what you mean OldKat.. Roundup and ivermectine and modern agriculture has it sorted…NOT !!. But it just goes to show how easy it is to get on that bandwagon and how hard it is to get off again. All these modern products seemed like a good idea but now the resistance issue is becoming apparant in all aspects of our lives..antibiotics is another… I hadnt given the humble dung beetle a thought in this.. just the earth worm. Would the collected droppings of 5 Clydes for 3 days with wormer present in my manure pile cause problems for the worm activity for example ? I have to admit im at the bottom of my curve to a sustainable life for my family and animals but even taking small steps opens up a multitude of questions at each step …
John

[jac]

Why is it the simplest ideas are always the last ones I think of 😀 Sometimes I think I over complicate my life.. thank you for your replies on this…
John

[jac]

I had what I call 2 “unconcious” mentors… that is to say they didnt know they were tuning a small boy to want to work draft horses. To grow up in the 50s and 60s was perhaps the worst decades regards draft animals.. certainly in Scotland. A great many of the older ones at that time got swept away with the modern way of tractors and although sad at the demise of the horse were glad to have an easier way to get the work done.. No worries of global warming or finite resources then.. So when my time came to buy my first horse when I was 19yrs old, my grandmother on dads side and grandfather on mothers were very supportive but thought it was just a nice hobby and I’d “probably grow out of it”:D.. But years of listening had paid off… I think:D and 31yrs later im still here and still learning daily…
John

[jac]

Used to be that every farm in our neighbourhood had a big gasoline lister for the vaccum pump. I can remember ours banging away in its little shed. One of my uncles tried to make a better silencer out of an old 10 gallon milk can . the exaust entered the bottom and a pipe took the gasses out through the roof. It worked well till someone jammed the lid down tight.. it was ment to be just lightly placed apparantly.. The resulting bang had clusters being kicked off and the collie dog running for cover:D A good engine though and Bivol makes valid points regards the sustainability aspect. The modern throwaway engines of today need to work at much higher speeds and can only run on perfect fuel.. good topic.. would those engines be any use for a baler i wonder ??
John

[jac]

CPL is a real curse Henk.. The fact it sort of lies dormant for the 1st 10 or so years means the horses have been bred and thus start a new generation. Our American cousins be warned !!! ….. I suspect that the showing world has had a hand in altering breeds over the years away from the ideal for farm work and towards a more “hitchy” type.I hear many older people at the ringside of shows bemoaning the exrta daylight below a modern Clyde…. Market forces i suppose… I know that anyone presenting a Clyde of less than 17hands at a show stands down the line..regardless of conformation.. and told their horse is “too small”.. My own personal gripe with the Suffolk Society in England is their refusal to recognise any American import. If a Suffolk is pure bred, its pure bred no matter what side of the pond its from…
John

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