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karl t pfister
ParticipantWe have a sleigh ride operation , near Bromley ,Stratton ski areas in southern Vt ,sleighing people since 1981 mostly with bad jokes
All rides by appointment . We leave from an inn, a 5 minute ride away from home. Do some weddings , travel some for special occassions with 3 different wheeled rigs . I was told once that insurance, is something a court sees as a business like way to operate.Glad I have never had to find out .
Pros and cons You got to like people !. If you can’t take talking to little kids or drunks or telling the same stories a zillion times it’s
tough. Or giving directions ( thank God for GPS), or telling people to wear all the clothes they own cause its cold at 10 degrees and blowing sitting for an hour in an open sleigh is cold . People canceling , not showing or people just being people when you’re cold and tried. Not to mention all the time on the phone .But on a beautiful day or a starry night when the people are just mesmerized by what they’re part of it’s great . With great horses,,
got to have the best, no kickers ,biters, balkers . Everything is amplified with more people . the ones getting off ,on, lost .I don’t
believe in being Hyper vigilant, just a relaxed alert ,I think the horses deal with me better then too. done bothMoving people with horses has a long history, different from logging and farming for sure,with different problems and satisfactions .
It has been an adventure for me …ParticipantWe’ve got a new idea spreader I think its a 10 ? but it needs parts so infrequently I don’t know the number for sure . It was new in 1972
and been used every year spring and fall some years , 20 plus loads other years 100s plus .great tool ! keep the oil on the chains and grease her and go . If the manure is heavy uncomposted set the bed chain speed on slow
,if the stuff is composted and dry or like the 30, 14 yd dump truck loads i got from a riding stable mostly shavings I set the bed chain speed on high and let the stuff fly.
I love spreading hate the rocks, I make the horses walk no trotting when the sh– hits the “fan” (beaters)We also have a new holland pto spreader that requires a motor fore-cart ,it does a good job too, probably spreads it more evenly but it’s a whole different world .Last week in the 70 degree heat the teams were over heating what with having to work with their winter clothes still not shed out . Happy sh– shooting ! !
ParticipantHay, have fun . A great thing that Ken Demers told me once, that has taken a long time to sink in entirely .” Treat them like they are the best horses in the world ” Ken went on to say” If I sold these horses to you they might no longer be the best in the world ,but that they were while I owned them” I think now what he was trying to say, was love them. Treat them fairly ,be consistent ,and try to be understanding of their misunderstandings.( they were trying to do what you probably asked them to do, rather than what you thought you were asking of them ). Be CLEAR of WHAT you want your horses to do.
Participantmr Foster , it may not be sustainable but it is a product or byproduct , what do your pallets weigh and what do you get paid for them? .It looks like whole sale
very impressive , I’ve sold stone before but it has been flat ones good for building ,have run out of them but got plenty of the cobbly typesParticipantI with you Jean ,the story is in the telling . I once had 2 geldings in a smallish paddock with a 2 yo fresh as can be filly . Well one of the geldings escaped the filly over a 4 ft high board gate nothing broken, horse or wood . I could see marks but after 2 times decided it
weren’t a good match .ParticipantYeah really big loads of logs moved on the best sledding days especially with two teams hooked together on the tough hills then just 2
horses on the flatter sections of road . at least that is what I was told happened down here in the Londonderry VT area .We also have a Swedish connection here dating into the 1880’s ? The state of Vermont did send emissaries there ,to encourage
men to come and work in the woods . sorry I can’t contribute to the origin discussion ,butThanks for the great research guys, especially for all the photos !! Karl
ParticipantI guess i would weigh in on the side of the compatibility of the animal’s temperament with mine . To me that is what makes this
somthing worth returning to day after day . The horses I’ve had that allow me to do what I want ,they seem to work as hand in glove ,those are the ones I remember ,they give you their heart . That is after 30 years of horsing around.And of course finding that personality within all the variations of color and size is not easy either , especially if one is new to horses, older horses are a great place to start 12 plus even 15 and on ,emphasis on all having a great time and less on the efficiencies .
And a mentor at this point can be invaluable when going and trying horses …
The old saying The color of the horse being “green” and the color of the man being” green ” makes for “black and blue” is true in more ways than one ?
But a willingness to let a horse that doesn’t suit go and try another is plus too … there are a lot of horses out there!
good luckJanuary 8, 2012 at 2:00 pm in reply to: best precautions, humbling wreck, and the safest type of neck yoke. #71264ParticipantHay Kyle, You spoke in your description of hooking up after switching sides of putting a stick from the Gelding to he mare’s hame ring .
What is that supposed to do ? Does he bit her, and does that work to stop him ? Thanks KarlParticipantHay Mitch that’s a day and a half you had . I’d say that mare was a ” keeper ” and then some . What is the snappin’ turtle part refer to ?
take care KarlParticipantRod that’s a great idea , simple too, strong but able to angle for any directional pull . Not to traditional but back to reinventing the
wheel, well done . karlParticipantHay Kat , The wagonette pole is probably your quickest . show your welder the two halves of the puzzle and he will know what to do.
Except if you are putting a lot of weight on the boat even 250 # in moderate mud could show you were the weak link is . read break especially while turning !! so a better way to go is the hickory pole using the wagonette pole as a guide including diagonal braces ,but beefing up to 1/2 ” rod and pins ( bolts ) . What you don’t want is to create a weak link that when it lets go scares the your “young “
hosres and you. Another way is to hook stone to a cart get “all” used to the various changes that creates ,draft, noises only God know
all the variables. Are your horses accustomed to ground skidding logs ? a small change to us can be huge to the horse.I know this may sound like a wordy non-answer but sometimes reinventing the wheel is a bigger deal than 1/st appears. Good Luck
KarlParticipantHay I met a fellow in central Vt.who would hook the end of his sap sled to an immovable object and leave them in his barnyard . They couldn’t get the traction on his concrete yard to really yank it enough to break free , he said it worked great , Thats the only trick I
know . But I’m with Donn teaching them to stand when they are young is it .!
My trouble is that they didn’t learn standing when they were young and now if asked to stand in a place that makes them anxious
they want to rub on the yoke ,with potential of getting hooked on the bit equaling no control for ME! The hooks on my hold backs
to the yoke are open with the metal loop allowing one way access. This is my only complaint with D ring harness set up . There are
fancy closed loop hold back hooks with a pull string release ( the combined driving people use ) they are $60 EACH . Anybody got into this
quandary ? thanksDecember 2, 2011 at 12:11 pm in reply to: Help needed to put Hydraulic Brakes on Training Cart #70531ParticipantHay Tom, !/st thing brakes on a cart that light will at best lock up ,that will not guarantee stopping . The stopping comes from training , the brakes can be an aid to that end .
The easiest brakes to fabricate are I think a fiction type on the tire, sort like the old stage coaches with a lever , sounds like you are looking for something slicker , but those work if you build in an adjustment to tighten . I believe some of the Pioneer carts or wagons have this ,they might be able to supply parts ? good luck karl
ParticipantHay John isn’t that the great thing about pencil and paper ,sorta like the snow pooof came, poof the manure is a spring job.
We have been having great manure spreading weather 50s + days and high 20s at nite. We got the 50 ton spread and trying go on to the next ,but not sure when, poof, it will become a spring job. Looks like a couple rainy days coming ,I’m not so keen on working in the rain as I was 10 years ago . KarlParticipantEd, the ash comes from Resource Management inc Holderness NH. They said 3 ton to the acre and mix with manure ,easier to spread and easier on the equipment.
John, I use a double pole system with a triple yoke, found the yoke years age in wapole nh at Allen Smith’s Harness shop, works great everybody helps pull and hold back. Good luck stretching the grazing season out , our grass is still green green though we have had 10 or more hard frosts . Got a neighbor who just called they have 6 acres of beautiful 2/nd cutting they won’t get did I want it ?
Spread manure or make more hay ?- AuthorPosts