[jac]

Bob I found that web site. Thers a lot of them on the subject of barefoot conditioning. We have 2 Clyde mares that have never been shod in there life. Our farier is willing to try it for me so we’ll keep you posted. The transition can take up to a year for horses that have had the shoes pulled. Its a lot faster for unshod horses that have only ever been trimmed conventionaly. A lot was said of improved circulation. Clydes have trouble with CPL and a contributing factor is poor circulation. Do you know if Belgians benefit from this trimming in that respect as they have the same condition ??
John

[jac]

Not so many nowadays Tim.. the traditional Ayrshire is all but gone.. the ones over here are huge. I take it that must be the Holstein blood. most of the big dairies still have a few Ayrshires just to improve the butterfat I suspect. I personaly think they are still the most efficient converters of grass to milk.. How about your side ? are they popular ?
John

[jac]

Hey Robernson sounds like you could end up with a mule team yet:) You guys are so lucky that you can create draft mules so easily. We have no mammoth jacks over here and I’d like to try a Clyde mule… By the way if you have a hard time choosing between horses or mules ?? flip a coin !!! Its not so flipant {forgive the pun} as it sounds.. If you flip a coin your heart will tell you which side you really want to come up heads before it hits the deck and you dont even have to check:D good luck with your search and dont forget the fotos…
John

[jac]

Thank all for your replies and i will consider all that you have said about breeds of sheep.I may just take up our neighbor Mats offer of 2 cross ewes hopefuly in lamb. Texel crosses. My main idea is meat and wool and will try prepairing a fleece. It sounds like fun.I plan to keep this flock oganic.
? i hve more quetsions about how you can do this with out using chemicals and as little grain as possible.
As soon as i get my sheep i will send you a photo of them and keep you all up to date on how we get on.
Thank you all again …….:)
Caitlyn

[jac]

Mitch its funny you should say that because after being involved in the “new pioneer equipment” discussion that thought seemed as plain as my nose… always the way with hindsight but I wasnt in DAP when I was welding it together:rolleyes:. That particular machine would take a bit of modifying but the lifting frame idea could be used with a lot of stuff, and its surprisingly easy to lift. A cultivator bar would be lighter than those rollers. With a cultivator for example a steering axle could go on the drawbar and eliminate the fore cart. I thought about doing that with this but if the knife hits a boulder I’d get bounced out the seat. The scenery is pretty cool. I’ll try and post some on the gallery. The sunsets are amazing as the sun heads your way over the top of the island of Arran.. That scene with the horses and seeder is looking south east.
John

[jac]

Hi guys . Been reading these “tapping ” posts with great intrest. I get the feeling that global climate change could impact really badly on this ?? Am I right to think you need frost to have the sap run ?. Is the east side of the USA the only place these trees can thrive ?? My pancakes need answers:D
John

[jac]

Hi.. Thank you all for your ansers. Erika i hadnt thot of romneys. All the farmers round here have cross breeds. My mum and dad think i should look for small easy lambers and good mothers. Oxnun im going to google the icelandic sheep, i like the sound of that. Sabine the blackface is to wild for me to handle.I hadent thought of milking,we have a friend that does spinning.
So she could use the wool.Is it hard to get the wool ready for spinning?
Thanks again
Caitlyn 🙂

[jac]

It pulls really easy. The two mares walked away with it no problem, even doing slight turns posed no problems.. Using 3 up would be an option. I might look into modifying it for next year to adjust the gangs. It only has 36 blades as opposed to the tractor normal of 72 but then the penetration isnt so good with 72 unless its ballasted up.
John

[jac]

They can go to a max of 7″. Do you think a small tank and a dribble bar would work on top in place of the seed box, if I collected the runoff from my manure heap that I let cook for 2 yrs. I know it would mean a few refills but when your not burning diesel who cares ? I got that idea from the web site you sent me about your work..
John

[jac]

Hi Tim.. Unfortunatly I didnt make it with the angle option. wish I had now.. Its just a grass seed box and Im not actually seeding in the fotos. The seeder just dribbles the seed out and it falls loose. Last year we went over the pasture 3 times during the season and did notice a big improvement regards surface water .Acouple of areas even had moss but because we let the air in I think it helped that too, no moss now at all. I convinced myself the grass grew better too but mabey that was wishfull thinking..

[jac]

Thanks for the reply Bob.. Im going to research this .. fotos would be great. do you think the tarmac could do the same job as the abrasive shale you mention. Our land is heavy clay type but we tend to try and keep the horses off in the wet season.
John

[jac]

The seeder was actualy built last year and I intened to use with hydraulics but because of the old financial constraints I couldnt afford the development… Anyway.. the frame is made of 2″x2″ box, all the brackets and angle cut plates you see are profile cut by my steel supplier. The black lifting frame is 1″and haf by 3″ with a 3″ round tube at the front. The idea behind the cranked drawbar was if I got into a tight corner I could jack knife the hitch round without the cart wheels hitting the drawbar. Seeder box on top is one half of an old grass seed box made in Aberdeen around 1930. The metering wheel for that is actually off at the moment because I used old binder wheel bearings and they dont keep the dirt out so well. Im changing them for sealed bearings. A v belt takes the drive up to a pulley on the end of the seeder. When I lift the seeder at the end it stops the seed.My lifting gear for the main machine is a rope and pulley system… and yes, its “new england” climbing rope.. the rope has lost its stretch and besides Im too old now to be climbing tree’s.. leave that to the young bucks:D.. Anyway..the foto you see is just a rough trial to see if it works. Any thoughts on how to improve would be appreciated..It is quite heavy and I can lift it not too bad.. just shows that a lot of machines could be used without hydraulics.. besides I dont see why the team cant stand for a couple of minuts at the end of each pass and let me do a bit of work for a change.. I used the machine last year behind my 1950s Fordson and had planned to have hydraulics on the fore cart this year..

[jac]

Bob, the barefoot conditioning intrests me greatly. We have Clydes that do a fair amount of wagon work on the tarmac and field work also.. How long is the transition period ?.. Is it a universally trained skill from a farriers point of view ?.. One thing our farriers do that troubles me is they rasp the outer wall of the hoof smooth to the point of seeing a hint of purple just below the surface!! All the old farriers said never to do that. I’ve said to them but get very vague answers.. think its done just to look good but not to my eye it doesnt..
John

[jac]

I personally believe in the pump effect ..However having said that it makes me wonder about the street horses that are on tarmac all day and stand in a stable at night.. not much of a chance for the frog to do its intended job there ?? I tend to run with “what grandpa would do” and he always said not to be too heavy with the knife on the frog…
John

[jac]

Liquid parafine is a handy substance to have in the medicine chest for the
1st sign of the colic.. Our two geldings roll as soon as they get turned out after been worked, as if to say ” ha.. he wont put the harness on now we’re dirty”.. The mares on the other hand just go and eat grass:).. dont think I’ve seen them roll since yearlings, though they probly do. Read your horses.. a colic roll is totally diffrent to a roll of exuberance. I certainly wouldnt worry every time your horse rolls. Enjoy…
John

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