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Joshua Kingsley
ParticipantMerry Christmas and Happy Holidays
May The season be blessed with good cheer and family and friends that are held near and dear to all.
God bless and may all of your dreams come true in the year to come
Joshua, Jessica, JonThomas, and Jasper Kingsley
ParticipantMy first draft animal was a donkey. His name was Danny and he was bout 10 hh, I got him to drag my pony cart around and had him for several years. I gave him to a nice girl when I was headed to college. It took a while before he was a good cart donk, but he was very forgiving and was willing to do about anything for me. I wish now that I had done some things different and had taken more time to see just what I could have done with the little guy. His favorite speed was a walk but would go for many miles with a heavy load of kids in the cart.
I would say that if you had acess to some donks give them a fair shake, they are a great animal and would be very nice if handled with love and attention. They are also thrifty so feed is much cheeper than some other drafts.
Joshua
ParticipantI was told by an old timer once that they were used to keep the collar area drier in the rain. I am not sure if that is true or not as I have seen many horses worked in all weather with out them.
JoshuaParticipantThat is a good tune for the season
JoshuaParticipantyou could grind them up with a chipper shredder and use them for bedding or mulch. If you have a chipper that has a screen for shreading leaves a hole the size of a quarter will give you a semi-fine grind on corn cobs when the flails get done pounding them through the holes. If it is coarser than you want you can run it through again SLOWLY as if you dump it in too fast you will plug the machine.
JoshuaParticipantMy first draft animal was a donkey… I have often thought of having mules and then I end up with a new pair of horses. Mules are one draft animal that I may have at some point but right now I have my drafts and other horses and am happy.
Now I think that any critter that is Broke is good enough for me to work. Heck I would even be happy if the critter has been started well enough to pair with a good animal. I have been considering a mule to pair with my drafts just can’t stand the ribbing I would get from my better half about finally getting the long eared critters. :rolleyes:
JoshuaDecember 17, 2009 at 3:12 am in reply to: Tragedy!!!Includes discussion of dramatic experiences, and blinders vs. open bridles #55736ParticipantScott, I would normally warm them in my hands as well, but I had also cleaned the bridle the night before. I also have had a bad habit of bringing harness into the entry way to the house much to my mothers dismay. My barn is very open and I had some nice bridles come up missing….. I would normally have had them locked in the tack area of my trailer. In the end it worked out for the best. Though if I remember right the warm house would have been a better option for the day as we got a bad winter ice storm and was called out that night and worked on the power system for the next 48 hours cutting down trees for my “real” boss. Joshua
December 16, 2009 at 4:35 pm in reply to: Tragedy!!!Includes discussion of dramatic experiences, and blinders vs. open bridles #55735ParticipantI was wondering while reading these posts about blinders and bridles ect. My old gelding who is aging gracefully I have worked with blinders and I was in a wood lot one day and some how forgot to toss the bridle into the truck from the house… I was winter and I like to keep the bridles warm so the bit is not frozen when I harness up. I had to get the logs out so I thought I would have to load back up and drive home… Then I got to thinking that I work him a bunch by voice only so would he work in just a halter? We made it through that day a couple years ago and I have worked him with blinders and in a halter only several times since then. Is it that he has the trust or the miles that makes it work or is it something else? Just poising the question of what would make it work. Joshua
ParticipantI have had teams in the past like my old gelding paired with a couple of teammates that would stand for a long time and never budge. I have felled trees and worked for a while on bucking wood and had the team stand the entire time, they were never hooked to a thing while this was going on. I have had them standing by the trailer for hours while I was working on things and never move. Park and reading how your horses are acting are two of the most important things that could ever be done with a team. If you are unable to read your team you need to spend more time with your horses working and actually using them in order to know how they will react.
JoshuaParticipantMark,
Disabled due to an injury at work, so I can not work right now not that I will be on disability forever. I am at about 75 to 80 % recovered right now and I should be able to get back to life as before in the next few months… I have a back injury I’m Not DEAD. I have a friend that is in a Wheel Chair and he is finishing a 3 story log home. I don’t see my injury as an end of my dreams but as a time to re-evaluate life and figure out what is really important and make plans for the future.I am in the planning stage of this project not planning on doing the building until I have healed the rest of the way. I find that disabled is in the mind and you can do anything with the right planning. I can figure out what needs to be done and set things up so that the frame is cut by a friend with a band mill or by my brother or what ever. Besides that I am working with my father on this as well as my brother so we are not totally with out able bodies.
Joshua
ParticipantFrank,
I don’t know about cotton but the Short Paper Fiber we used last year was not to great on the composting score. It wadded up and resulted in big clumps that haven’t broken down well yet. I would be interested in the cotton though. Where are you sourcing it from? We are also in VT just outside of rutland so if you have any questions on other bedding types drop me a note. Joshua.ParticipantPeople that do things that stuipd pi$$ me off…. I hope they have to live with this in thier back yard. I shure wouldn’t want to. How can people be that DUMB???? I know it is all about the money to them but get real.
Josh
Participantscott,
I milled out most of the lumber for my chicken coop with an alaskan mill so I understand what it takes work wise. Being unemployed / disabled I have more time than $$$ so I will likely try to do somthing I can afford. As for zoning I am able to build on this farm as long as it “can” be moved with out taxation and zoning…. Read This thing up to 16 X 24 will be built on skids and a pier foundation. I have a brother in law that can move a larger structure if required as he moves houses to build new foundations all the time. I was leaning twards a timber frame but was looking for some advise before jumping in with both feet.
Thanks JoshuaParticipantThose with back and or injury issues often will consider the lighter weight harnesses. I have a heavy set of Leather harnesses that I have had for several years. They have been in the family for a long time and will stick around for a while longer. Now that things have happened out of my control I am looking into Bio or nylon for every day use. The harnesses for my ponies is Bio and looks good but is a ton stiffer than my old leather draft sized harnesses. Now I need to get some thing to use on my big horses.
So the question is Nylon or Leather or Bio. I am considering Beta for the feel of leather but I will miss the scent.
JoshuaDecember 3, 2009 at 7:15 pm in reply to: Tragedy!!!Includes discussion of dramatic experiences, and blinders vs. open bridles #55733ParticipantThat’s great news. I love it when they are so willing to go right back to work. Best of luck and enjoy the great mare that can over come anything.
Joshua- AuthorPosts