[near horse]

Erika – why is the KV bottom not so good on corn ground?

[near horse]

Wow – that is a strange one, Bill. I’ve heard that JD (and maybe other makers) made a retro-fit setup to convert walking plows to sulkies. I’ve never seen one nor do I know if it’s even fact but thought I’d throw that out there.

No number stamped on top of the beam towards the front?

[near horse]

It is amazing what horses/mules can pickup when we’re teaching/working them.

Example – whoa trumps all other cues. Absolutely.

As Carl mentioned – nuance. “step up” in one situation means start while on the end of a lead/halter it might mean step up through this gate opening and wait while I close it. So in my limited experience, they recognize not only the command/line tension etc but also what it means in the situation they’re in. Obviously inflection/tone is part of it too.

The final piece is individual differences btwn animals – some can be “weirdos” as Wes put it! Got one of those too.

[near horse]

I looked at one of these (just googled it) and am confused about how it differs from a skidder. Is it a regional name difference or how it’s used or am I missing something (most likely option)?

Could you take me on a walk-through of how the system would work?

Here’s what I envision:

1) Fell, limb and then skid with horses to collection point(s) where skid trails meet meet harvest/access road.
2) Haul these groups of logs to landing using forwarder
3) Load truck from landing (self-loader or what have you).

Thanks in advance for your patience.

BTW – the one that popped up on google was for sale in Colebrook, NH

[near horse]

Didn’t mean to redirect the thread.

Opportunity cost allows one to put down a number on a balance sheet – no matter how short-sighted – whereas the other values that are mentioned are more difficult to place a $$ amount on and use in a calculation. I agree with Carl and Andy regarding the broader definition of what “opportunity” is gained or lost by our decisions. Unfortunately, accountants and economists like tables and numbers in print — comparables

---

that base value of your “stuff” based on someone else’s assessment or value, not yours.

Just remember “economists know the cost of everything but the value of nothing.”

[near horse]

@Does’ Leap 39911 wrote:

Economists call the stumpage I would have been paid by another logger an “opportunity cost” which gets deducted from my log receipts along with my other expenses.

George

IMO – economists (not all of them) are responsible for convincing people not to do stuff under the guise of terms like “opportunity cost”. That just riles the poop out of me that I am supposed to deduct what I would have been paid by another logger etc to do a job I can and want to do. Then I could be doing something I don’t want to do and be making even more money ….. I have to wonder if economists charge themselves “opportunity costs” since they could just let another economist do their job as well.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t account for our costs of doing business but “OC” is a sham in my opinion.

Sorry if I’m on a rant but I’ll give you one more bogus economist example (not logging related). My former boss at the university, friend and colleague for 15 yrs etc, knew I was buying newborn dairy bull calves but was travelling >300 miles round trip to get them. As what he considered a favor and as department head, he offered to sell me calves from the university dairy for whatever I was paying PLUS the cost of my mileage. When I mentioned that his calves weren’t being transported 300+ miles he said it was what I was paying to get them from the other dairy anyway. After a hearty F U, we parted ways and haven’t spoken since . BTW – he had his original training in ag econ.

[near horse]

Time for the potato cannon! (or one of those throwing dummies the arborists use but dang the spud cannon is fun, effective and nutritious). And I’ll be danged if I can find a hard hat to fit my monkey!

So – Attach line to spud. Shoot over vine. Pull heavier line up and over. Then either yank that MFer down (method of your choice may or may not include horses). If really stout – pull a section of that wire saw material up there and work it from the ground.

Oh, Perhaps I’ve watched too much Axe Men!

[near horse]

Hey JS – not my team nor roller. I just picked it up and thought it was worth a share. Neat to see how he welded up the frame work – (and nicely done too).

[near horse]

How much blood are we talking about? A quarter-sized spot or a dinner plate?

No other issues? Temp? Runny stool? Any unusual amt of mucus in stool associated w/ blood?
Finally – what is he eating? Has that changed recently?

[near horse]

@Carl Russell 23554 wrote:

Here are the pix I was supposed to post a couple of weeks ago.

43″ evener

Offset holes are about 1/2″ on center

Single-trees 29″ steel tube makes clevises 30″ on center

What happened to the pics of the evener? I also tried to look in the Gallery of Old DAP photos but it won’t let me access those. Am I in trouble or something : (

My farrier feeds with his team and is really interested in this evener — H_E_L_P!

NOTE – I used my super sleuthing skills to track down said photos on Carl’s FB page. Thanks Carl for keeping that stuff available. Still can’t get into the old DAP photos though.

[near horse]

Hi Kevin,

Not sure if this is “kosher” but we throw a wire wheel on the grinder and clean/polish up the mouldboard so she’ll scour well. One time, I even used a buffing wheel with automotive rubbiing compound after the wire wheel. Are those original handles (stamped I see)? I’ve not seen that before.

[near horse]

@dominiquer60 39652 wrote:

Just an update.

After a grazing season on very well managed pastures with other well managed animals and no drugs/dewormers at all in 21012, my fall fecals were clean, no parasites to speak of. Their winter coats grew in very well and uniform, and yesterday they just started to let go of a few hairs when I brushed them, something that there was no sign of 2 days prior. I know that their guts will never be the same after the mess that they went thru that first year, but I an hopeful that they shed better now that their health has been consistently great for a while, giving the whole body time to adjust to the “new” and better normal.

Break out the shedding blades and curry combs, here comes 10+ hours of day length whether you are ready for it or not.

IMHO – while you might have been seeing the impact of a parasite load, the gut does pretty well in compensating for damages, although it might be a slow process. Also, I would have expected a concurrent loss in body condition since the damage to the villi would be affecting absorption on nutrients from the gut into the blood stream. Those nutrients are needed not only for new hair growth but other more vital maintenance as well.

BUT – that said, there is what’s known as “protein sparing” that occurs when protein intake is low when compared to the demands. The breakdown or turnover of tissue proteins is slowed and in some cases the “less important” demands (like new hair growth, antlers growth) are left while more immediate demands, like lactation (not in your steers :eek:), are met. We’ve seen this in some female deer that won’t shed their coats until later in the season because they are nursing fawns.

Kind of neat that bodies under nutritional stress kick into a preservation mode (without our permission).

[near horse]

@Livewater Farm 39788 wrote:

IF LOOKING FOR LEATHER HARNESS i AM HAPPY WITH WORK AND PRICES FROM SAMSON HARNESS
BILL

Ditto – I bought from him also. Didn’t get D-ring though. Super helpful guy who has had drafts for most of his life. Easy to work with and will make suggestions, noting they are his opinions, but doesn’t push anything. One of those family businesses we all want to see continue. Prices were comparable but leather harness ain’t cheap.

[near horse]

@Carl Russell 39772 wrote:

Like a Dodge truck???:p Cheap modern manufacturers…

Carl

Doh! — That’s my rig you’re picking on. But ….. a lot of it is not built very well but so far (195,000 miles w/ repairs) it still drags my trailer and horses around :o.

@grey – I think there are plenty of “freeway cowboys” who will never tow or haul a thing let alone get on an unpaved road/trail/path with their pickups. But they like the image it sends when they roll out of their rig. That’s who I believe the target audience to be.

[near horse]

I think perhaps a positive note from the ad is that those “values” assigned to farmers are something the public appreciates. And since those attributes they list are more associated with small diversified operations AND are marketable (obviously since someone shelled out six figures to show that in the super bowl time slot) – it behooves us to take advantage of that.

On a side note – if God made farmers, next time he needs to use some heavier gauge materials as this one is starting to wear out : )

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