[Jim Ostergard]

Aye it is for me too. Thanks for the good work Scott.
jimbojim

[Jim Ostergard]

I live in a small timber framed cape that was built around 1840. Still got bark on the half-sawed floor timbers. Lets of work added or replaced in that time for sure. Summer kitchen now our bedroom, old indoor-outhouse the closet but it still goes and the homes healing spirit is felt by most who visit.
That said the old blacksmith shop I use as a hovel is falling down and I will use concrete to get the stalls under ground 3/4 the way around and hopefully have funds for Jason Glick to to a timber frame on top with pine I harvested with Rusty.
I drive an old Ford to the jobs also. Use the ’62 Mack to stack wood. All this only for perspective.
Interesting thread and a great Thanksgiving for all this and more.
jimbojim

[Jim Ostergard]

# 1 Yea
# 2 No

[Jim Ostergard]

I think Carl’s statement sums it up for me: “To promote the use of draft animal powered timber harvesting methods that support positive impact forest management.” Its inclusive and we can later on define or add more as a goal?
Jim

[Jim Ostergard]

Thought I had participated here but think it was another thread. Anyway, I think, “appropriate,” should be left out. If we are reaching out to folks lets keep it as inclusive as possible. Folks with similar uses of animals and or equipment will find each other. The point is lets get everybody in and sharing.
For me, as stated earlier I need the loader in the yard. Just cannot stack the wood like I did before. And I need the time saved to get in to market and get my check.
I worked with John last week chopping and the combination of horse, mule and tractor power got a lot of wood down and out to a distant landing pretty efficiently.
So for now lets leave the word, “appropriate” out.
Jimbojim

[Jim Ostergard]

Scott, I got mine in a private sale and would also recommend Meaders Supply. I should be bringing a mate home for Rusty and will need another set and that is where I will go if I cannot find one locally. For me its become a weight issue at this stage. If I had to go back to leather (and no objection to that) I am going to break it into pieces for ease of hefting. Paul Birdsall wrote a piece in the SFJ (Fall, Vol 31, No.4) about doing it and he has a few years on me. Les Barden describes it in his video I think.
The lines are webbing with leather on the back end. They slide just fine through the hame ring and the rump rings I use to keep the lines up. I got them from an Amish harness maker in Smyrna, Maine a number of years ago.
Great idea about using the pressure wash, I just let them soak in the bath tub much to Linda’s disgust.
jim

[Jim Ostergard]

I’ve got both leather and nylon harness. The leather one is set up for ground twitching with no britchen. My britchen harness is all nylon and is a “D” ring harness. For my long (and team) lines I use nylon (not plastic coated) with leather on the driving end. So I’ve the feel of leather in my hands but 20′ of nylon ahead of that.
Jim

[Jim Ostergard]

I’m going to vote for:
”Share techniques and strategies.” I think what Carl has written above is pretty much in line with my thinking. For me its been the connection and then the sharing of experiences that has been most valuable. My experience with newsletters is that you have to grab the reader and then engage them. What better way than to have a personnel story lead each newsletter. From there tips, meetings or gatherings (world wide) might further engage folks.
I can’t stack wood like I used to and given that I have to sell for the most part (at this time) into the commodity market of pulp and big mill saw logs time at the landing is a factor. Looking forward to getting the 1962 Mack log truck to a landing soon. Then I can spend more time with the horse and saw in the woods. So I don’t think we need to get hung up on this as an issue. I’m more interested in knowing John is making some Swedish gear near me and hearing how the guys out west are solving problems.
Scott, old son, thanks for putting these organizational ideas together. I have this feeling of comfort know that all you guys are out there.
peace…..jimbojim

[Jim Ostergard]

Josh,
With Rusty I do all my logging with a single. He is getting old so I don’t work he as hard as I did even two years ago. He routinely will ground skid 24′ 18″ white pine on the ground. I mean back and forth all day with that. I tend to use the arch for larger stuff to get the butt up. The arch will enable him to triple his load. Hope this is helpful.
jim

[Jim Ostergard]

I’ve worked with John and I’m sure that is the one you saw. You can find his web site I think by doing a Google search for horse logging equipment or for John Plowden. He is really handy and made up that wagon which can also be converted to an arch.
Good luck.
jimbojim

[Jim Ostergard]

First off, Simon, really sorry to hear things are so slow and difficult. I really hope your son can take up Jason’s offer and come over. If I had enough work ahead I would make the same offer.
Not much new here, been a slow fall which has been ok as I’m way behind in getting stuff ready for winter. Rusty is really showing his age and I looked at a younger horse today who is a good prospect and not expensive. Will rotate them on jobs until Rusty lets me know he wants to stay home.
Jason’s comments are right on in a number of respects that I relate to. I have a hard time with the greens (even though I sit on some boards and committees therein) and it seems that when harvesting comes into the discussion is almost always a distant afterthought to harvest the way many of us feel it can be done. I have not been away from the machine operations long enough to really have any large list of landowners I can count on for work, although I sense it is growing. The best jobs of the last few years have all been when we have brought a mill in and made the most of the harvest for a very local use.
I wish I had a good hardwood lot right now. Even at the age of 68 I’ll fell, twitch, fit and load firewood. Not my favorite sort of work but you got to do what you got to do to feed us all. Shoot 20 years ago ripping and gutting a thousand pounds of codfish hitting the deck in the middle of winter wasn’t much fun either.
And lastly, Joel, perhaps your comments were not meant to offend but I found them a bit hard to read and to understand where you were coming from. Hope all is well with you and all the others who make up this community.
Jimbojim

[Jim Ostergard]

Well, I used to think I was one of the oldest guys around logging with horses at 68 but this summer I chopped for a guy who is 80 has one arm, a plate in his head and shrapnel is both legs. Chops and runs his small Pettibone skidder a good 4-5 hours a day. There is hope I guess if you work safe and steady.
Jim O.

[Jim Ostergard]

I use borium welds on my shoes and fairly agressive heal caulks and they work well.

[Jim Ostergard]

Good thread. On the firewood thing, just finished a conventional (cable skidder, Hardy 17′ extenda-boom trailer) job where part of it was to deliver to the land owner 16 cords of 8′ wood. We charged $80/cord. The pile was just off our landing so no extra distance travelled to suck up time. We arrived at this rate by backing out the trucking we would pay to send it somewhere else and stumpage that we were paying on the other wood. Interesting though we were doing about 3-4 cords a day but this was in addition to other wood produced.
I’m starting a job with Rusty (and perhaps a new younger horse!!) which is hopefully going to be a yearly thing of 6-12 cords of firewood for a local CSA farm. Its pretty next door to me and I did said I wood do it for $25/hr. Wanted to get in the door and the visibility should be high. Hoping for more work.
I too wish we could take on help as was done in the old days. I have folks call all the time. In a perfect world I would find a chopper who just loved to cut and I could run the horse all day. I do have a friend a wonderful horse trainer who can run a saw and run a horse. She has independent status and when we work together it is wonderful, but not the norm.
Generally most of the work I get is softwood, pulp and low grade logs not much hardwood for firewood.
Jim

[Jim Ostergard]

My votes for the future:
Name:

“Draft Powered Forestry International” -With Carl’s statement about use of word Draft rather than Animal in mind.

Mission statement.

“To facilitate the international connection between draft animal forestry practitioners, exchanging information, providing benefits of association (i.e. insurance, cooperative marketing, etc.), and advocating toward mutual goals.”

Goals. List five goals, in order of priority, for this effort.

My Votes:
1. ”To advance an ecological perspective of forest management, based on the use of draft animals, and other low impact/low input strategies.”

2. “To serve as an official body to support collaboration, research and demonstration with all interest groups on the issues of sustainable forestry including, governmental, non governmental organizations (NGO), academic institutions, municipalities, private landowners”

3. “To develop some sort of state or regional organization to help with training new and upcoming horse loggers Get more awareness to the general public find and promote new ways to use animal power to enhance our forest world wide!” (4 votes)

4. ”Work to establish a separate and reasonable Worker’s Comp category for animal loggers.”

5. “To serve as a networking, clearinghouse and contact information for individuals and organizations involved in animal powered forestry throughout the world.”

I think some of the ones I did not vote for this time around will get taken care of in the above. Its pretty inclusive.
Thanks…..Jimbojim

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