[near horse]

I just want to give you a heads up that the draft point (where the evener attaches) should be level with the hitch point (where the chains attach),

Hey Carl,

I must be about as dense as black locust but “the hitch point where the chains attach” refers to the log chain attaching to the cart. Right?

[near horse]

Hi Wolfgang,

In this area Pinzgauers are affectionately known as skunk cattle:p Guess why? No offense. He looks good. Did you fabricate that single yoke?

[near horse]

Here’s a link to the high end stuff that I think could be used to upgrade your cutter assembly and may be what Donn had originally referred to.

http://www.schumacherlc.com/Schumacher_LC/3/

[near horse]

Hi George,

The part number I have for a haybine guard is NH 219190B. My dealer doesn’t have them on hand so I couldn’t verify that the bolt holes line up w/o ordering one. I’ll see if I have anything on the thread about modernizing your cutter. Are you talking about those “roller type guards” (I think)?

[We spend a small fortune on hay each year /QUOTE] Buying or putting up hay?

Good luck,

Geoff

[near horse]

spread the last of my pasture seed.

WHAAAT!?? WHAAT? You can’t really be in NH unless you’re spreading de-icer in that picture. 🙂 How come everyone’s through w/ winter ‘cept me? Freakin’ snowed 5 ” on April 2-3. Dang and we still have mud season to go.

What did you over seed with? Grass/legumes?

[near horse]

How does a draft horse with a sore back behave? In other words, what does it look like?

Plowboy, what did you see that made you think your horse had a mild case of EPSM?

BTW – our old saddle horse likes to sneak over near the bird feeder and snarf down all the sunflower seeds. Hence his new name “Big Bird”

[near horse]

Sanehester is right about the weather issue. Silage or baleage is a common way of putting up a forage when the weather won’t cooperate enought o let one put up decent hay.

Mold and certain anaerobic bacteria like Clostridials (botulism) aren’t good for any species eating the baleage – it’ll (the botulism toxin) wreak havoc in cattle as well.

Another point to consider w/ silage and I assume baleage is similar in this regard, is that much of the carbohydrate is fermented to produce “volatile fatty acids” – like acetic acid, proprionic acid …. as well as lactic acid. These are able to utilized by ruminant animals for energy but I’m not so sure in monogastrics like horses. The production of these acids requires a no oxygen environment and drops the pH and that is what preserves the feed and keeps mold from developing etc.

I know baleage is put up at a lower moisture content (drier) than silage and that can also make it a little trickier to get the fermentation just right.

[near horse]

Hey George and Neal,

old freebie #9

Neal – That’s just not right! Seriously, I haven’t done any shimming either but just how sloppy is the mesh btwn gears? Just curious.

Some others on this site have mentioned that you can replace (and some Amish do this as well) the original single guards and their ledger plates with the double guards from a NH haybine – I don’t have the haybine model number but somewhere I have the part number. I too was going to refurbish my bar w/ these guards but they want about $22 a pop at my NH dealership- it ends up being about $220 to redo my cutter so I’m rethinking it. I’m just not that excited about trying to get the ledger plates off my original old guards and replacing them. They are riveted in and I can’t see an easy way to get them out (or in for that matter).

The haybines usually run a top-serrated knife sections as opposed to smooth. The smooth sections are meant to work with the ledger plates (they are sort of “serrated”).

So – if you’re a traditionalist and want everything original, then you need to go with the smooth sections (still available) and single guards and ledger plates. If you are more interested in functionality, then changing guards and going to serrated sections might be the way to go. Serrated sections are not usually resharpened like smooth ones althought you can knock off some burrs if they occur.

Just recently I picked up a nice #9 from the plowing bee I went to and the former owner said everything on the cutter bar can be replaced with parts from a IH Cub belly mount mower – I have to get the model # to double check but I’d never heard that before.

Also, the same guy has a real nice rubber tired #9 w/ a 5′ bar he’s selling. I would have bought both but I couldn’t swing that. Tires look brand new – Michelins. I try and post a pic in the gallery.

[near horse]

I just looked at the Yale site again and it appears that they cut 60 degrees out of the log and 30 degrees from the stump. Jason, why don’t they/you use a horizontal for one of these 2 cuts? Can you explain the advantage(s)?

[near horse]

The way I see it the big difference is using a bore cut instead of a back cut on the side opposite the wedge. This bore cut allows the sawyer to leave “the latch” – a piece of wood still intact directly opposite the wedge cut. Plastic wedges are driven into the bore cut on each side of the latch. To fell the tree, the latch is cut out and the tree falls in the direction of the wedge cut.

My questions: how much latch do you leave? Is the bore cut completely horizontal – like a standard back cut – or does it also have a pitch to it?

This might be old information but – do you cut your wedge cut so that it comes off the stump rather than the log? Essentially, the angled cut is the bottom of the wedge not the top. When you see stumps from this type of felling they have an angle on them from the wedge.

I do like the safety factor of the 4 point cut.

[near horse]

Hi –

I heard this story last week at the Plow days I attended and while it may be nothing more than a story, it still is a good laugh about regulations and paperwork on your horses.

Soooo, Down in Walla Walla WA there’s a museum w/ horse drawn equipment in it and THE major piece is a horsedrawn (or mule) grounddriven combine that required somewhere around 25 head to pull. You may have seen old photos of this type of hitch with the teamster perched on what looks like a ladder extending forward out over the hitch. Anyway, Walla Walla has a full re-creation of the thing complete w/ 25 or 26 lifesize plastic or fiberglass horses (or mules I can’t remember). It appears that when they were hauling the plastic horses to Walla Walla they had to cross a scale and the official asked for paperwork on the animals. The driver cracked up because 1) they had THE LIGHTEST 25 animals in history (could be grounds for abuse) 2) some of the horse models were stacked in like cord wood – with stiff legs sticking up – 😮

Anyway, hope to lighten up the regulatory mood.

[near horse]

Hi OldKat,

I’ve often wondered about the toxicity of treated wood or RR ties to horses that chew on them. Ties have tar and creosote and seem less “palatable” while pressure treated lumber has copper, chromium and arsenic (CCA) in them. These can all be toxic but it’s hard to know just how much a horse is actually ingesting. You might take a look at copper toxicity symptoms and how those match up w/ what you’re seeing. Your vet can probably help ID that as well.

Did he start the chewing and the subsequent poor performance after being whalloped by your mare?

All the best.

[near horse]

Line management is an art of sorts but to me what matters is an awareness of where your lines are. To clarify, I do my best to keep the excess in my lines loosely coiled and held in one hand BUT sometimes things happen when working and the coil becomes a hinderance. I let it go, get myself straightened out and regather the lines. That’s why I didn’t have an issue with Blane’s lines and hands in the picture. Sure, as a snapshot in time it shows “form” that you don’t want to use all the time. But, pulling out of draw across a face with a heavy load – I’m apt to cut him some slack. Regather when you’re in better position to do it.

There’s the perfection we strive for and the reality that we have to deal with. No biggie.

[near horse]

I do appreciate your kind words, OldKat. And the feelings are mutual.

Also, I too am very discouraged by the current financial mess. But some things that could raise my spirits:

1) Bernie Madoff – loses everything (even the stuff he gave to his wife) and he goes to prison for the rest of his life.
2) we institute the death penalty for some white collar crimes AND whack a couple of CEO’s in the process – maybe a little time in the “stocks” after tar and feathering. How’s that for a bonus?
3) post the names, pictures and addresses of all the scum that profited from subprime mortgages and all the other crap that went on – In fact, put them on playing cards like we did with Saddam and friends. Then we could all let them directly know how we feel about their behavior.

I know this is a rant but history sure seems to show that serious change usually takes violence and bloodshed to move the status quo. We’re supposed to be a civil society but the “powers that be” only repackage the same crap and sell it back to us as change,

Sorry – I’ll stop now. My main point was “Thank you OldKat”.

[near horse]

Hi Jason,

Glad to hear that you had folks interested in “soft logging”. I have a question about one of the pictures – Did you just hook one team’s arch to the tongue of another team’s arch to make your 4 up (picture 3 out of 4)? I just wouldn’t have thought of that but it makes sense.

Nice job.

[Author]

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