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ParticipantGeoff I’v been in Donns page .. Amazing fotos and a nice guy too.. I’ll do my best to get sumthin better Grey. I certainly wouldnt use them in the yoke and the first thing I did when I got the lines was take off the snaps supplied.. This I exactly how a site like this should work .. Thanks guys
JohnParticipantHey Geoff.. the cart is a blatant copy of the one in Lynn Millers book with the addition of hydraulic brakes and the adjustable seat.. I plan to put a donkey engine in there. The pole is 2″ box with 3/4″ round bar shaped on the anvil at the end. Eveners and neck yoke is 1& 3/4″ tubing with 1/2″ round bar..
JohnParticipantHi Joshua.. I made the whole lot myself.. I’ll need to mail to the states for the hooks as Britain has a severe shortage of heavy horse suppliers. Thanks for the advice
JohnParticipantHi Grey.. Thats fair comment but I dont do real heavy work yet…mostly wagon work and a small amount of mowing.. I got them from the climbing supplier and cant remember the breaking strain but seem to think it was pretty high..Those in the foto have been in regular use for 4 years now and I have to say iv never had a hook up. what do you use
JohnParticipantHi guys.. Found this old thread and thought Id post a few fotos of the steel pole and the way I attach the neck yoke.. Iv used it now for 5 years without a problem of lines getting caught up. I can also turn the yoke upside down and unhitch the team and ground drive them with neck yoke in place.. I havent used a steel pole in a mower yet but this system has been used in my wagon and some heavy loads. Backing up isnt a prob either.
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ParticipantHey Mitchmaine..Thats a good example of what I ment, years of sitting with the grandparents and others from that era rubs off without you knowing it…I think thats a great tradition with the ground hog.. how acurate is the wee fella ?? We have a saying round here “We only get two seasons in Ayrshire.. Winter and June:D
JohnParticipantI was born 2nd day in January 1960 on a small dairy farm in Lanarkshire, Scotland. The heavy horse was well and truly gone by then. I was raised by my grandparents. Grandpaw on my mothers side kept a mare and got a foal most years. I followed him around from an early age and listened to his every word, “absorbing” is how I’d call it. My gran on my dads side{he hated horses}had it hard during WW1 as all her brothers were at war and she had to do all the horse work, she recalled having to stand on a bucket to put the collars on and using a stick to hook the girth under one of the geldings that was prone to kick.. Her saddest day was when the army came and requisitioned her best horses for the war and she never saw them again. When my time came to buy my 1st gelding of my own.. 19yrs old.. I realised I knew more than I thought and my years of “absorbing” had paid off.. Then I started to learn every day since and will into the future and my daughter is looking like the next generation. She shows a real interest in all stuff to do with draft horses.. I feel privelaged to have known so many old horsemen through my grandparents. The living link with the past when horse was king is disapearing each year. Grab it while you can.
JohnParticipantHey LostFarmer.. Thats a great foto of your team.. You have no idea the stir your reply caused in this house.. My wife Andrea breeds Welsh mountain ponies and has been walking around with a smug look ever since:) but even so I think I’ll stick with the big guys a while yet… We dont have any pulling contests over here.. think the do gooder brigade would stop it as usual
JohnParticipantHey Donn. thanks for that.. makes a load of sense. sometimes too much info can be a bad thing..your right in the “if it aint broke dont fix it” line of thought..cheers
JohnParticipantBeen reading the posts on the dolly wheel.. Some of you may have noticed me askin about the D ring harness.. A question.. Am I better with D ring harness and no dolly wheel on my mower{just got a new pole}??? or will the new harness aleviate my concerns about sore shoulders or do I put a dolly wheel on and stick with my ordinary harness?? or both ?? I have Clydes so no prob with the 32″ optimum tongue height.. Just when I get things straight in my head I read something else and off I go again:D cheers
JohnParticipantHey Carl your in the best of company now. All the best
johnParticipantJeeeez.. thats a fair weight.. I know in their native island they were used for all sorts of work ..plowing included. It would be great to see a team with a small plow and cultivator. best of luck with them
JohnParticipantHey Scott that looks a real cool system there. I know if I could get the timber milled I could sell it ok, especialy the ash. thanks for that info
JohnParticipantHi guys.
Thanks for so many replies.. I do a bit with a saw, have my tickets for felling and climbing and a bit of tree surgery. We need all sorts of tickets over here to even pick a saw up.. Im well impressed you guys file up your own chains. The reason I asked was I got a small woodlot we can take firewood out of and take the odd mature ash.. I build my own wagons and stuff so thought I could get a mill kinda cheap !!. soon found out different though. This sounds like an option for a poor boy in Scotland. thanks again guys
JohnParticipantHi Joshua
We have Clydes and any time I start a new member of the team I try them in both sides and run them in the position they are settled in. My two geldings are in a set position when hitched, in the padock and even the truck.!! if I try loading them out of their driving position the sides of the truck get kicked.!Pair of prima donna’s:)..My mare and her 4yr old filly now thats a different thing … they dont give a rats butt how they get hitched.. Its interesting you mention one is blind on one side.. Is he perhaps more comfortable with his good eye on the outside or inside?. I hope never to have to buy in new team members again as we have the two mares and will breed all we need. That way we can condition the foals from birth. I put that conditioning down to the differance between the geldings and the mares..The mare was bought as a foal.. Geldings were both bought in. It has been said to me that I should swap them over regularly so they dont get hard in the mouth but I try and drive on a gentle line anyway so I dont think my horses will get that way..I think its great you using Shetlands for work. To many are used as ornaments and end up fat. I believe they are stronger than the drafters pound for pound of body weight.. or is that a myth put about by Shetland owners ? good luck anyway.
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