[near horse]

Hey Pirate,

Sorry I didn’t respond sooner but I hadn’t looked back at this forecart thing recently. I do have plans for the walking beam cart but they are kind of confusing at some points due to changes in the original design but the gist of it is there Also, as I mentioned before, Jason Rutledge has a real nice set of plans to look at (and print off) at his website (kudos to Jason and his crew);)

http://healingharvestforestfoundation.org/

If you have a fax, I’ll try and send you the walking beam stuff. All of this can be modified to reduce the weight etc – it is pretty heavy duty. Primarily for woods work.

What are you trying to do with your forecart? Farm stuff. Woods stuff. A bit of everything. I know you have a mule (one or more?).

Definitely head over to the SFJ auction in April and maybe see if you can make it to Wilson Creek Plow Day, Pomeroy or Colfax Plowing Bees. There are a few people with homemade carts there. H..ll, they’ll let you put your mule to work if you want to. Good folks. My biggest issue is that everything happens about the same time – SFJ, Colfax usually same weekend. Not to mention trying to get my spring work done …..:mad:

Keep in touch and let me know if want a fax (about 10 pages).

All the best.

[near horse]

Sorry, but I beg to differ. I have worked in livestock nutrition and disease for many years and have treated hundreds of calves (day olds to month olds) and the number one issue that will set you back is giving them milk when they are scouring. If you are really concerned about getting protein into them, you can add some nonfat milk to the electrolytes.

In fact, many if not most calves we see refuse to drink milk but if offered a bottle of this electrolyte solution, they will gladly drink it down. My wife calls them “calf cokes”:). When they seem to be doing better(mooing to eat), you can add some milk replacer to the electrolytes maybe a quarter of the normal amount and increase slowly over the next 3-4 days until you’re at full feed.

cause it’s not the milk that’s making them sick, but the bug in the gut.

Carl,
True the “bug” is making them sick but what kills the patient is very often the symptom of the disease or the body’s response to the “bug”. Think of a fever. That’s actually the body’s response to the invader but we all intervene when an animal or person spikes a fever. Because an elevated body temp wreaks havoc on the body’s own enzyme systems necessary for staying alive. We immediately treat the symptoms while looking for the causitive agent.

So in the case of diarrhea, we have : an attempt to flush out the gut (good) subsequent inability to absorb water and necessary nutrients (bad). If you continue to feed milk you likely: slow down the gut (good) but may provide needed protein to the “bugs” that are causing the probelm allowing them to proliferate (bad)

PLEASE NOTE – I am not saying to forgo colostrum. On the contrary, no colostrum is pretty much a death sentence. It might not be today or tomorrow but within a week or so they will be exposed to a pathogen that they can’t handle and they’re gone. AND I ‘m not saying to keep them on electrolytes indefinitely. Pull the milk. Replace w/ electrolytes and watch what happens. Slowly start them back onto milk. The whole process takes less than a week.

BTW- when your calf is acidodic, it will have a rapid heart rate and be hyperventilating (blowing off CO2) in response to the Ph imbalance in the blood. That imbalance eventually shuts down organ systems, including the heart and kills them. Also, if the gut irritation is too severe, even the bicarb in the electrolytes can’t be absorbed. Then the only treatment is IV bicarb -from the vet (In fact, call the vet because hitting a blood vessel in a sick animal w/ low blood pressure is pretty hard to do).

Just my experiences.;)

[near horse]

Thanks for the reply Neal and Richard,

Neal –
I do have the socket (bought it from Balster’s in Iowa) and the grass board is predrilled. My stick is beveled as well – I just thought that the 2 bolts that go through the holder also had to go through the stick as well 😮 Thanks for your help. We too have quite a bit of snow but nothing of “Maine proportions”!

Richard –
I have the manual for the #6 w/ parts list and on the list are ball bearings (in addition to the roller bearings for the wheels). And when I was tearing the mower down, inside the gear case 5 or 6 ball bearings (1/4″ to 1/2″ dia) dropped out from somewhere. It seems most logical that they came from some place where the shaft w/ the pinion gear on it passes through the mower body but there seems to be no obvious recess where they would sit nicely. Thanks for your input.

Also, I don’t know whether a bar from a #6 would bolt up to a #7 but I would imagine so. If you have the part number for bars from your #7 (I assume that’s what you have), here are the numbers for #6 cutter bars
4 1/2 foot MC 1004
5 foot MC 1005
6 foot MC 1006**
7 foot MC 1007**

***It says that these 2 are for Big 6 mowers only but I don’t think it has to do with how they attach.

All the best.

[near horse]

Hi Erika,

True, sprouting barley (or any other grain for that matter) cracks the hull and certainly is cheaper than cooking. With sprouting some of the “energy” (starch/sugar) has been used to make “new plant growth” – in the beer industry this is halted when a tiny “radicle” starts to show emergence fromthe kernel – pretty small but visible w/ the naked eye. The sprout we (or chickens from a previous post) eat for greenery have used up more of that energy to make the renery and while still nutritious does not have the same nutrient profile as the original grain.

That said, feeding sprouted grain is a good way to utilize this feed.

[near horse]

I have a few thoughts regarding sprouting or soaking grains:

1) rinsing most likely removes the “free starch” loose in the grain bag. Sort of like washing rice before you cook it.

It is more palatable, easier to chew, and easier to digest in this more succulent form. Dry barley is very dense and hard, it takes a lot of moisture and digestive fluids to break it down in this form. Cooking/soaking gives digestion a head start, and it is chewed better to begin with, giving more surface area for digestive enzymes to do their job.

More palatable, maybe; easier to chew, sure; easier to digest, questionable; Certainly, barley is a hard grain and it’s small (smaller than corn) so unless you provide some assistance in breaking open the grain (roll, crimp, crack,…), large animals like horses are not going to get the full energy benefit associated with the grain.

Horses and ather animals have plenty of poisture and digestive fluids to handle the feed. Enzymes just need access to the inner part of the kernel.

Remember that cooking is very different than soaking. Cooking or applying heat to the grain causes changes in the starch granules and can actually cause them to swell and open the kernel – thta’s good because it does open the internal portions of the grain to digestive enzymes. Soaking without heat does not do the same thing.

Overall – there are two competing processes in the digestion of food. First is the rate of digestion (how fast something is broken down – can be increased by reducing particle size of feedstuff – EX. grinding or chopping hay ). Second is called rate of passage (how fast food passes through the gut). The balancing act is that reducing particle size will increase rate of digestion, AND increase food intake BUT will also increase passage rate. Whew.:eek:

[the vitamines in the oil helped with the absorbtion of proteins left undigested higher in the gut. This meant that the horse can profit from the feed without feeding larger amounts proteins (associated with overheating).
Further that essential fatty acids available in veg oil, increase energy, performance, stamina, cell development and repair, etc; etcQUOTE]

I don’t understand how vitamins can aid in protein absorption. Proteins are broken down to their respective amino acids in the stomach. Not much if any protein digestion in the lower tract. The other benefits from the oil would be mostly in terms of increased energy.

;
However, their work went in to the details re: the germinated barley, suggesting that the nutritional quality of the feed changed when the seeds germinated (optimally 0.5cm) with the result that it is necessary to feed only half the amount for more than twice the benefit. What do you think?

If it seems to good to be true, it’s probably not true. Hard to get something for nothing. That said, if they were comparing germinated whole barley vs plain unprocessed whole barley, then yes perhaps the “efficiency” of digestion was increased (look at your horse’s, cow’s poop. If there’s grain coming out the back end then it’s not being digested – no benefit). Whole dry barley will show up in horse/cow poop.:(

[near horse]

Hi Amanda,

I’m interested to hear how adding oil helps with protein digestion. I’m not clear on this.
All the best.

[near horse]

Hi All,

I worked in beef cattle nutrition for many years and some of what we worked with was utilizing barley (big crop in dryland farming in the west) in place of corn. The major issue we had was in processing tha barley (dry rolling) to increase digestibility. BTW – corn needs to processed as well (cracked, rolled or whatever) or else you get a lot of whole kernels passing through the gut intact. Some species (usually the smaller ruminants like sheep and goats) will chew whole fed grains more completely or regurg and rechew them. Larger animals tend to take bigger bites (duh) and swallow a lot of grain whole. That’s why people process grain. When barley is rolled dry it tends to shatter and create a lot of fine material (like flour) which is fermented too rapidly in the rumens of cattle, sheep etc and can increase the incidence of bloat. To remedy this problem, some folks tried “tempering” their barley which entailed soaking the next day’s grain in a small amount of water to soften it and then run it through roller mill – no shattering, just nice smooshed barley. Just a lot of daily work to treat the feed each day so kind of impractical.

With horses I think the concern w/ dry rolled barley would be that the fines could create blockage trouble.

I don’t know if there’s any “nutritional benefit” from a grain being sprouted vs not sprouted. Brewers do this all the time (usually w/ an enezyme additive but water will do the same thing). They “trick” the grain into “thinking” it’s time to grow and the kernel converts the stored starch into sugars ready to use for germination. The brewer then ferments those sugars into alcohol using yeast. The point is both the starch and the sugars are digestible by horses (and people) so I see no real gain by sprouting.

There are fermentation byproducts available (brewer’s grains and distiller’s dry grains) that are used as protein supplements because fermentation uses up the starch/sugars (carbs) but leaves the proteins behind.

[near horse]

I finally was able to post a photo (whoo hoo), the only one under “near horse”, so there is a picture of a walking beam arch/cart being used to pull a baler. In G. Caudell’s version the floating axle actually sits directly beneath the leg of the frame (thus can’t rotate completely in a circle as mentioned in Jim’s version).

Has anyone worked with “the yard hitch” system. Forecart w/ a separate 3 point that runs solely on battery power. Looks pretty nice albeit a bit pricey.

All the best,

Geoff

[near horse]

Rod had a great picture from this website for a removable tongue wheel. Certainly would help w/ equipment storage space. Here’s where the picture is. I can’t seem to copy and paste it. Duh.

http://www.draftanimalpower.com/showthread.php?t=375&highlight=dolly+wheel&page=2

[near horse]

Robert.First off, here’s a tip. To make your life easier, try using something other than a pitchfork to move goat poop.:)

If you have a different political bend, so be it. But there’s no denying that the last administration left us in one big mess. Primarily from being asleep at the wheel.

without undue interference

When is interference due and when is it undue? What exactly is the govt, particularly Obama (in his 1st 24 hrs inoffice) and Hillary (who isn’t even in office at present), doing to interfere in your farming operation? Did they drive fertilizer prices up 200% in 2 years? And fuel prices? H-ll no. I agree that there are some ag proposals that I absolutely oppose – like NAIS. But that doesn’t mean everything the govt does is bad.

I can no longer call myself organic, as I choose not to jump through the regulatory hoops. Now, they are trying to regulate the definition of the label “Natural”. That restricts how I am able to market & advertise my produce. I grow good food

Why are you so opposed to having some type of definition for what constitutes “natural” or “organic”? That way your clientele can decide if they want to spend money on your product or someone elses – honest straight forward free market. One reason that there has to be some kind of rule is that there are those (and I’m not saying that you are one of these) that will take advantage of the market (natural or organic or BST free) without actually doing what they claim. The GMO crop folks would love to call themselves natural – but you’d really be stretching it to call pulling genes from one plant and inserting them into another as natural. Lack of regulation and folks being less than truthful has been what’s gotten us into this debacle. So don’t blame more regulation, just work at directing it.
Are you aware of how hard Monsanto worked to keep dairy producers from being able to market their milk as “BST free” or “Growth hormone free”? Their argument was that BST or growth hormone occurs naturally in animals so giving them a shot of something that occurs naturally can’t be monitored or regulated. Why not let the consumer decide? Straight up.

Overall – man, you guys are really starting to worry me. You’re not starting to see the UN “black helicopters” are you?:D

Rather than continuing to post, 🙁 I just need to go out and work in the shop because this is really starting to bother me.

All the best.:)

[near horse]

The major thing I have to say about Obama is that he is the first intelligent, thoughtful, peaceful, forthright, disciplined, and purposeful individual to take the oath of office for decades. He may not be able to stop the ship from sinking, but he may respond to it in ways that truly help us in the long run. The truth of the matter is that he has had to play the game to some extent to get to where he is.

Based on what you said about the man, why would you not have some hope?

I don’t need to feed the world. I just want to feed my neighbors. That’s plenty enough to accomplish, in my lifetime.

And how do you define where your neighbors begin and end? Within 5 miles of your place? 100 miles? That is feeding the world – each one of us doing a little bit.

It will take the collective “us” and “we” to get something changed. It’s hard if not impossible to be part of a society if you just want to be “left alone to do your thing”.

Lack of govt. oversight is what got the country into this mess and now we’re going to worry that Obama might step up and regulate something?

don’t put it past him to bring more than most people are prepared to deal with. For example, the self-congratulatory pomp and circumstance of Tuesday, with the multinational corporate government controlled media celebrating the fact that although it has been a long and painful journey, we have finally allowed ourselves to let a black man be our president, is absolutely ignorant and undignified, and I think we may be in for some real education about the true ills of this cultural structure

Carl – what are you trying to say? He will change things or he’ll be “same crap, different day”? Pomp and circumstance IS the hallmark of American govt. From 21 gun salutes, to the star spangled banner at every sporting event down thru grade school knowledge bowl tournaments. Nothing new.

[near horse]

People need to wake up and realize that all living things don’t need nor desire those things that humans need. How can wolves, coyotes and my dog walk around in the snow without getting their toes frostbitten? Because they’re not humans (and there’s a little physiology involved but you get the point;)). Look at those dogs in the Iditarod sled dog race. They sleep outside in the snow and often are buried completely in snow by morning then they pop up ready to go. Animals are not people and that’s what makes nature and life so wonderful. How about a frog that lives in a dry environment but to limit water loss through the skin, it coats itself with a wax that it secretes. When the temperature gets close to that which could kill the frog, the wax melts and the frog can be cooled by evaporation through the skin. That’s cool.:) And not human.
Going back to the PETA topic, I agree w/ 16Jonny that they didn’t used to be so fanatical. Now you have people that won’t eat bread because it has yeast in it and yeast are living organisms:eek: I think those folks will die off pretty quickly if they can’t eat anything that’s been alive.

[near horse]

Wow Richard and Legio3arty.

If I had that much hope I’d be jumping off a bridge right now. After 8 years of “the worst of the worst” and “dumbest of the dumb” leadership (I use the word loosely), why do you think it will remain status quo? There are a lot of us that have our “eggs in this Obama basket” and if he caves in and follows the same old path, this nation is done. But before I’m willing to pull the flush handle on the US, Obama needs the opportunity to try and change things and we need to help set the path. If he chooses not to listen, so be it. But you need to give him something to listen to. And remember ” if you’re not with us then you’re against us”. :rolleyes:

Kudos Bio Woodsman – I signed the petition and forwarded it to a local sustainable ag group.:)

[near horse]

Hi Jen,

I’ve never used side checks but over check reins, in my experience, are a nuisance when bridling (mine tend to always get caught under/over/around some part of the bridle). Maybe side checks are just as bad but I’d like to see. And it’s probably more of an “operator” (me) issue.

[near horse]

How about:

“Life is what happens while you’re waiting for something else.” I think that one was actually a John Lennon quote.

It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees. Emeliano Zapata

I know of no way of judging the future but by the past.
Patrick Henry

A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
Thomas Paine

Gambling promises the poor what property performs for the rich–something for nothing.
George Bernard Shaw

(I would replace the word “property” with “the investment portfolio”)

[Author]

Posts