[Jonathan Shively]

I have had a few QH/Haflinger crosses. That is a great cross in my opinion. Gets some horse brains into those ponies willingness. It is just a cross I like and have had a couple of teams of them. The more you work them, the more you will like them, the more you will find to do with them. Don’t fall into the trap of all teams are this good and sell them for a couple dollars profit, this type of team is priceless and I fell into that trap and spent about five years with a junk horse that tore up more than she helped.

[Jonathan Shively]

I don’t know if this is what you were looking for, or if it is if it is in the right price range. Saw it and knew someone on here was looking for something. http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,57840.0.html
Sorry if it is a waste of your time.
I went a little farther down the page and found this! http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,67471.0.html

[Jonathan Shively]

Bontrager is a pretty common Amish name, where are you located? Topeka/Shipshe, IN area?

[Jonathan Shively]

Donn, years back (20?) Western Horseman magazine had a guy that built a ground drive cart for his baler using a WD rear end.  Again, the handclutch is your friend as it would allow you to get your horses started walking and “ease” into the load.  Look forward to seeing the build.

[Jonathan Shively]

The WD-45 is twice the tractor the VAC is.  I have had both.  The greatest feature of the WD-45 is the hand clutch.  Even though the tractor does not have a full time pto, with putting the tractor in gear and turning on the pto then using the handclutch, the pto runs fulltime.  That clutch runs in an oil bath so can be “ridden” all day and not burn up.  Great for easing into heavy windrows when baling and such.  If you are experiencing bad rear rims, I used rear tires off of a IH combine if I remember correctly.  They were oversized tires and were great in the hayfields.

 

[Jonathan Shively]

The greatest thing about the WD45 rearend would be the hand clutch.  It actually runs in an oil bath so it can be “ridden” unlike most clutches.  So for ground drive, you can get up to speed and gradually add the pull by releasing the clutch slowly without damage to the clutch.

[Jonathan Shively]

Hour and a half run time, 10 hour recharge time. Economical???? Interesting. Another tractor my ponies could out farm.

[Jonathan Shively]

Well they aren’t immature animals whose bones aren’t hardened. Would think on a sled it would be no problem for them on one of them.

[Jonathan Shively]

How old is this team or haflinger you are planning to skid moose out with?

[Jonathan Shively]

She is a beaut, if I were closer, we would be playing with her and you would find out how much could be accomplished with her. Hope you find the right position for her.

[Jonathan Shively]

She can do a lot all by herself. She would look nice in my team of Fjords though!!
I am serious, do you have a harness for her? If so, will tell you how to build a cheap but very functional mudboat you can haul so much on that you will never know how you did without it.

[Jonathan Shively]

You surely have to clean barn/stalls. Haul yard waste somewhere. Clean up branches. A simple mudboat/stoneboat and you can put this pony to work and you can have a blast working him.

[Jonathan Shively]

Eli, share your concerns with him. Tell him you don’t know what to buy. If anything, offer to buy what he feeds. Your horse might not need grain at home, when he goes to work at the farm, he’ll need it for his muscles. Depending on the amount of work you give him, he might not need grain again at home.

[Jonathan Shively]

Well as I sit here looking at the mudboat I just finished redoing, I was thinking of what you were describing. I don’t know if I have it all straight in my head, but here is my idea. On each corner a pipe (vertical) attached to your sled. A smaller diameter pipe fits in this affixed pipe and on one end of the smaller pipe is a hub with a wheel. You can have two sockets and one jack or a jack on each side in the middle of the sled, jack up one side, pull a pin, let the pipe with the wheel hit the ground and put the pin back in. Do this on each corner of that side, raise the jack, go to the other side, jack that side up, pull pins, wheels down, line up appropriate holes, viola! sliding sled is now four wheels. Make the front crazy wheels then turning isn’t tough on your tongue. You can make the front’s crazy wheels by putting a washer and the pin below the large pipe allowing them to turn. Clear as mud??

[Jonathan Shively]

Kind of like it is being pulled? Striations between the two? Could have been from a fever, she might have experienced a slight case of founder. This is all speculation, this is an area that then is prone to picking up gravel. Have a vet or competent farrier check and decide correct course of action.

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