[Kristin]

Bob has left for his new home, Sam is still available. Pls call if you are interested — 518-963-4613.
-Kristin

[Kristin]

Hi Erika –

We have sprouted grains for our stock in the past, but always run up against scale/infrastructure issues. In short, it’s a pain in the butt to find a place to soak — but not freeze — large quantities of grains for about six months of the year, and then there’s also the problem of transporting said soaked/sprouted grain (which is now very heavy) to the stock. Maybe someday we’ll get smart enough to figure out how to do it easily. We have not grown or fed barley but it sounds intriguing.

all best,
Kristin

[Kristin]

Hi Jason-

I am trying to reconstruct the coffee-addled state I was in when I wrote that. Sorry to be so long responding. I was basically thinking that it seems healthier to me, in the long run, to help consumers to pay the real cost of food than to keep the price of food artificially low through subsidies. I guess when it comes down to specifics I’m talking about expanding programs like WIC, etc., to include even middle class consumers, while ‘defining up’ what those programs pay for, as Michael Pollan says, to fresh and even local food, not chips and soda. That way, farmers and consumers both benefit from the same dollar. At the same time, gradually do away with commodity subsidies. Reduce all these props over time, as people make adjustments in priorities and spending. I know policy doesn’t really work this way but what if it did? Just a thought, and probably not a very good one.

all best to everyone on this chilly and rainy morning –
Kristin

[Kristin]

FWIW, there’s a reference in The Horse in the Furrow (that classic old book about Suffolks) to feeding huge quantities of carrots to working horses in the winter — I want to say a bushel a day per horse, but I’d have to check to be sure. I seem to remember it was touted as the main food source for horses in winter in the Suffolk area of England, but again I’d have to check. I know carrots have a pretty high sugar content too but not quite as high as beets. I’ve tried feeding our horses ground beets but have yet to have any takers. Carrots are another matter.

Just harvested our mangels — maybe two tons. Got a lot of hollow ones.

best to all –
Kristin

[Kristin]

Took Bob out for a trail ride last night. The other horses looked at us like, ‘What? You’re not going to do any *work*?’ If anyone here is interested in a riding horse, here’s some more info. He stood nicely while I mounted, and responds to gentle pressure on his mouth (he was wearing a broken snaffle), and he will move off your leg, which makes me think he might have had more riding experience than I thought. He goes at a nice, even walk, steady but not pokey. I trotted him for a minute, and it was fairly smooth. He responds to a ‘whoa’ voice command. Stands and backs. I took him past a place where we’re building some cabins, and there was a big flappy tarp there, and he passed that test, not spooky at all. He is fine with dogs, as you can see from the picture. He’d make a fine trail horse.

Did I mention he holds his feet up for trimming??

-Kristin

[Kristin]

Wow, Bivol, thanks for that. Fascinating to see horses from another part of the world. DAP has gone international! The picture of the Bosnian mountain pony was too big for my poor little dial-up connection, but I get the idea. Sounds like you have some good useful horses to choose from. I would think that the traditional breeds you’ve listed would offer you some good hardy genetics.
all best,
Kristin

[Kristin]

Hi Carl –

He’s not comfortable when working strenuously. His previous owner used him a little bit in the woods and said he never noticed a problem (and I believe him). He also took him in a parade, and used him a few times for wagon rides, and spread a few loads of manure with him. All no problem. I’ve had him hitched to a forecart, no problem. The distress showed up the first time I hitched him to the disc. If the work is hard enough that a normal horse would be starting to blow, it’s beyond Bob’s ability. Like you say, the better condition he’s in, the less problem the roaring will be.

I did consider keeping him for lighter farm work, like cultivating, hauling, raking, etc., but decided that we can’t afford to keep a horse that can’t do everything for us, and I don’t want to push him. I figure 90% of the people who keep drafts don’t need them to do heavy work, but they do need a steady, safe, sane horse, and we all know how rare that is, so I’m confident there’s a place for him where he’ll be comfortable and useful. I’ve had a couple of inquiries from people interested in a ‘husband-safe’ trail horse, and that might be a good situation for him. I’m going to ride him again this week so I can better evaluate him for a beginner rider.

all best,
Kristin

[Kristin]

One reason I asked is I heard at the field days oxen group that two oxen will pull more than twice the load that a single ox will. Something about working together I guess.

Interesting. I’ve heard the opposite, that adding a second horse will give you not quite twice the power, and adding a third will add a bit less than a third more power, etc. I never questioned why, though. Anyone have an answer?

-Kristin

[Kristin]

Hi Bivol —

In answer to your first question, yes, they can generally live on hay alone, and depending on the quality of your hay and pasture, and the genetics of the horse, they may never need grain. I know some others here are expert on rotational grazing of horses and may want to comment on how much work their horses do without grain. We do give our horses a little grain when they’re working very hard.

Colic is not a problem we have faced. My sense is that some horses are predisposed to it, and luckily we have not had one of those. Good parasite control helps prevent some types of colic.

Hooves need trimming, which you can learn to do yourself. A horse with naturally good hooves is a lot easier to maintain than one prone to problems.

Hope this helps you get started. Let us know how it goes. What breeds or types are available in your area?

-Kristin

[Kristin]

Hi and thanks, Erika, for explaining this better than I could have! Surgery is beyond our means, unfortunately, and like Erika says Bob can have a good and useful life with someone else, as is. He’s just not a good fit for our farm.

There is some new research that says a permanent tracheostomy (basically a hole in the horse’s throat through which he’ll breathe) works for roarers, and is done on a sedated standing horse, so is cheaper than the other surgery. However it’s still too expensive for farmers, and moreover requires a lot of post-surgery care until the tracheostomy heals. I would like to have seen Bob blowing steam out of his neck while working on chilly mornings, though.

all best,
Kristin

[Kristin]

Very thoughtful responses here from the farmer side and the consumer side. I should say that I am highly optimistic about the viability of small farms. While I do earn some outside income that is dedicated to paying off the mortgage, we are profitable, in a small way, and I expect our bottom line to improve now that many of our startup costs are behind us. I think as the culture and the economy changes, small farms are going to be in a good position. Not that we’re all going to get rich, but we’re going to be OK, and we’re going to continue having a great time doing what we love to do.

One further thought, which is something Mark and I talk about a lot. We’ve always believed that our farm will be more stable (and more fun) if we have a diverse customer base — that is, we don’t want to serve *only* our high income neighbors. We offer a sliding scale, based on what people say they can pay, no proof of income or anything like that. We’ve never said no to anyone. That means that some people who make big incomes but have a big mortgage or debt or are paying for private tuition for their kids or whatever may not be paying full price. Is that fair? I don’t know. I feel like it isn’t fair to the people who really stretch to pay our full price, because they prioritize good food over other things. This year we’re talking about putting a bottom on the sliding scale, so we aren’t actually losing money on the sliding scale shares.

When I think about subsidies, I get itchy, because from my perspective (and I recognize that others have a different perspective) it seems they’ve done a lot more harm than good. In the article I originally quoted, Pollan suggests subsidizing agricultural practices like diversified, grass based farming, rather than paying farmers to grow big volumes of commodities. The more I think about that, the more nervous I get, because I think the market would find a way to pervert it, and that subsidy money would end up in the hands of a few big farmers, just like it does now, and I really believe our country and our food system would be healthier if we had more farms, and more farmers, instead of fewer, and bigger. What if instead we were to subsidize the *consumer* side, at least until the market adjusts to paying more for food? What do you all think?

One more question. I just heard on the radio that in the 1960s, the average family spent 1/3 of their income on food. Today, it’s 1/8. I’d love to hear what percentage of their incomes people who are not producing their own food feel willing to commit to food, assuming it’s great quality food.

all best,
Kristin

[Kristin]

Just mailed off my check. I think of it as a subscription to the best and most practical draft animal power publication out there — and it talks back!

best to everyone and thanks to Carl and Lisa for making it happen —
Kristin

[Kristin]

Hi Matt –

We have ringed some of our Jersey bulls. We have our vet do it when he’s here for something else. It’s effective when you need a few more months of breeding time and the bull is starting to get snotty, usually around 18 – 24 months. He goes to the freezer as soon as everyone is bred. You may find no need for it with your devon, especially if you raise him as Carl has described, but keep your eyes peeled, especially as he gets older. I tell people here to treat the jersey bull like the ocean: don’t turn your back on him and never underestimate his power. And a good dog to watch your back doesn’t hurt.

-Kristin

[Kristin]

I thought that on the older ones (we have a collection of them and use them all) the wheels *and* the shovels are steered with the foot pedals. I am mechanically challenged, though, so maybe I’m just totally mistaken.

As far as which we have found best, we’ve never had a newer one, and with the antiques it’s been more about their condition than their brand. Our first one had bad bearings that made it tippy and therefore difficult to steer precisely. We keep several ready in the barnyard with different sweeps/shovels/disks etc mounted on them so we can switch quickly.

On the subject, we just mounted a finger weeder onto a cultivator and it is the best thing that’s happened to weed control around here since the stirrup hoe. I’ll try and get a picture to post soon.

all best,
Kristin

[Kristin]

Tevis, keep us posted on how this goes. Will you thresh by hand? We also have a half acre of winter wheat to harvest this summer. We bought a grain binder last year but it needs more work than we have time between now and harvest. Are you anywhere near Springfield? I have to make a trip out there in July.

Since we’re talking grain, we *just* got our corn planted. Again. The first planting rotted — bad seed. But at least it was an opportunity to put some miles on our new two-row corn planter, which we picked up at the Green Mountain Draft Horse Association auction this spring. Don’t know if we’ll see much of a crop, having planted this late, but anything will be better than nothing. We just bought 20 tons of organic corn to get the hogs and chickens through the year and nearly wept at the cost of it.

all best,
Kristin

[Author]

Posts