[OldKat]

@Andre’ 17401 wrote:

Nope. Big as a whale. Starting to think the first ultrasound was a fluke. Or is is way way overdue

Beautiful mare. Wish you were about 1,000 miles closer to me. I think I would be interested in her.

Just how overdue is she, anyway? Is it possibly time to get a second opinion? Best of luck to you with her and the foal.

[OldKat]

@PhilG 17403 wrote:

1 st go at a stone boat

Looks plenty stout. 🙂 I don’t see why that wouldn’t work for you.

Welcome to the forum.

[OldKat]

Still a valid question though, jac. Ivermectin WILL kill dung beetles, so I am looking for alternatives as well. Also, I am concerned because it seems like in our area the ONLY thing people are using is Ivermectin so I am concerned about resistance in the target parasites.

[OldKat]

Holy Smoke! Look at the bone in those horses! VERY nice stallions. How old is your horse, cousin jack?

[OldKat]

bivol; I read somewhere that the very first diesel engines were designed to run on vegetable oil rather than petroleum diesel. Interesting engine. I was wondering the same thing that jac asked; would it work on a baler?

[OldKat]

I got interested in working animals at a fairly early age. We lived in what was then a suburban setting on the edge of a large city, even though my dad was in the packing & cattle business. Every year that I can remember up until I was about 11 or 12 years old an old, gray haired black man would come through our neighborhood in a wagon drawn by a mule. He had a walking plow and would unhitch from his wagon, hitch to his plow and turn people’s gardens for them for just a few dollars. He did probably every garden in our neighborhood. I was fascinated with him and his mule. I would tag along as he worked the neighborhood and he even let me ride in his wagon from time to time!

When I was a little older and we were further away from the city I got my first saddle horse and then my first cattle, which were really just show steers. However, I couldn’t forget that old man and his mule. When I was in late junior high my oldest sister graduated from high school and a club she was in went to New York City to see the sights. On the way up there they stopped in Lancaster County, PA and she sent a post card to me that showed an Amish hitch of Percheron horses pulling a harrow. I still have that card somewhere. I was fascinated with the Amish, had never heard anything about them before that. I was fascinated with using draft animals to do farm work; in our area people only used tractors.

Mostly I was taken with those beautiful black and gray horses. It was not until I was in my mid to late 20’s and had bought my first Percheron mare did I learn that my maternal grandfather had farmed with them right until the time one accidently pawed him in the back, ultimately resulting in his death. I also found out that my mothers family had farmed with them in the Alsace region of France before coming to Texas in 1848.

While I don’t plan on repeating the getting killed by one my Percherons part of the deal; to farm with them would feel like honoring a family tradition (even if I never knew my grandfather who farmed with them).

Interesting question, thanks for giving me the opportunity to tell my story. I hope to hear other stories, as well.

[OldKat]

What a great thread!

My experience with mentors mostly mirrors that of miniclyde;

Same here. Saddle horses (showing, training etc) up until now. I’ve been reading and watching a lot of videos. I had an elderly neighbor come and assist me with the proper adjustments on my harness. I may ask him for some ideas and help from time to time. I feel pretty alone in my voyage. I’m green and my horse is green, but we’ll get there.

Except that my elderly neighbor is actually a lady that is younger than I am, but who had the good fortune of living through her teenage years right next to the man who is probably the most noted teamster in our entire state. She also lived in a draft horse rich area of upstate New York, with neighbors who worked their horses … a lot… until her late pre-teen years. She is a good resource, but seldom available.

I agree with Carl Russell in that some people consider Lynn Miller, Monty Roberts and such as mentors, even if they have never met them. For some reason Doc Hammill’s work resonates with me. Some people may not care for his approach; others may be completely opposed to it. For me it seems to be sound and easy to understand, so I have used it as a starting point.

What a super post by mitchmaine; that is one of the most, what is the correct word? … maybe succinct posts I have ever seen.

Enjoyed all of the posts in this thread though. Good job, Robernson!

[OldKat]

Good job, Maxwell. Best of luck to you and your team. Fortunately someone like you stepped in on their behalf. Please make sure you keep us posted on your progress.

[OldKat]

@jenjudkins 16420 wrote:

I finally built my tire harrow… I know some of you don’t like the idea of dragging rubber across my fields but it feels green to me. The tires were free and would have ended up in a dump somewhere…polluting someones else’s soils and water. The hardware cost me less than 20 bucks. Can’t beat that.

I am glad you brought this up, because I knew I had seen one of these somewhere … just couldn’t recall where I had seen it. I am about to build one, too.

Question: When you cut the tires down the tread, did you try to make it into two even halves or did you off set it a little so that one side was “thicker” than the other?

Like your dog. Had one that looked nearly identical when I was in college. Best dog I ever had.

[OldKat]

@jac 16127 wrote:

Would any of you guys be willing to price up what it would cost me to get a can of your best syrup shipped over to Scotland. My daughter and me have a real taste for maple syrup but I suspect we dont get the finest stuff in our stores:(.. and it only comes in 1/4 pint plastic bottles for “drizzling”.. dont want to drizzle.. want to GLUG the stuff over my pancakes:D Cheers…

John

GLUG! That’s a good word. I like GLUGGING syrup on my pancakes! I did exactly what you are suggesting, I found a guy in New York State and had him ship some to me. Probably easier to ship from upstate NY to Texas than to Scotland, but it probably can be done. Get someone to ship you some black strap molasses, too. Makes wonderful molasses cookies.:D

[OldKat]

@grey 16124 wrote:

Hmm, that’s an idea! I think my neighbor up the road has a router… maybe trade him some router work for some parsnips! He has some kind of worm in his soil that does a number on carrots and parsnips, so he can’t grow them.

Although, the thought of something permanently routered into the beam kind of alarms me. Paint is so much more… approachable. I could change it if I wanted to. I think I have a problem with commitment.

Know anybody with a plasma cutter? If so, have them cut out your name or your farm name or the plow’s name etc in a piece of mild steel, paint it in a contrasting color to the beam of the plow and attach with a couple of self tapping screws. If you get tired of it, chance it out for something different in a couple of years. If you make the sizes of the steel plate match you can reuse the screw holes.

[OldKat]

@near horse 16077 wrote:

A thought on helping keep parts/stuff organized when dismantling equipment – the stationary stores sell those magnet vinyl message boards (maybe 2ft x 3ft). Take one of these, add a little edge and use it as a flat surface to place small parts on. The magnetics hold most metal parts AND you can write what it is on the board next to the parts. When you’re finished, wipe it off and you’ve got a clean slate (so to speak).

A twist on what jac and nearhorse said is a process that I have used for years; when I disassemble anything I put the small parts, bolts, springs etc in small paper bags (like people use to use for lunch bags ) and I write where they go, how they are used, what part they attach to, etc directly on the bags. Sometimes I use clear plastic baggies instead and write the info on a small piece of yellow writing tablet and slip it in the baggy.

I have also recently started taking, or actually having my kid’s take, digital pictures of the equipment before it is taken apart and then print those (enlarged) pictures out and write notes directly on the drawings. Then when I get ready to reassemble, some XXX months later I DON’T HAVE TO RELY ON MY LESS THAN TRUSTWORTHY MEMORY!

Works for me. I think I’ll also adopt and adapt some of the ideas presented here. Good thread folks.

[OldKat]

Great job on the rebuild John. Really looks classy. Just curious on your statement about not being a fan of Roberts equipment, though. I was not familiar with Roberts until fairly recently and would like to know what makes you feel that way about them.

About a year ago or so there was a guy in our town who had a small business that sold (used) small tractors to the hobby farmers moving into our area. He went belly up late last year. Anyway, I went in there one day about a year and a half ago to price a trailer that he had on his lot and inside his shop was a new Roberts’s vis-à-vis carriage. His brother (a big shot automobile dealer in the big city off to the east of us) had bought it solely as an ornament for his sons wedding! They wanted to sell it, and it looked to be soundly built … though nothing special. I priced one like it on the internet and about all I would have saved would have been the shipping and maybe a couple of hundred dollars off the retail price. Since I didn’t have real use for it I passed on it. Just in case I ever run upon something else that is made by Roberts that I could use I’d like to know if there is anything I should know; if you know what I mean.

[OldKat]

@Robert MoonShadow 16028 wrote:

Putting the bit on the halter seems to work much better for getting her to take the bit…I’m pretty sure it’s the “over-the-ears” thing and perhaps the blinders on the pony driving bridle. Actually, with these lg-standard donks, it’s more about getting them to lift their head up high enough to put it on, rather than lowering it – BTW: your horse sure looks good!
Took the last two days to work on “trailer-less trailer training”…starting with a sheet of plywood on the ground. Kinsey will load right up in a real trailer, but balked on this for about an hour. Jenny-Mae figured to leap over the plywood to get to me & the apple bit! Jenny-Mae takes an hour or better to load in a real trailer. Kinsey still hasn’t figured out how to go forward after being backed, but I can see her trying to figure it out. They’re not at all afraid of poles, chains, the plow or cultivator…:)

One of my mares didn’t initially like the bit being slipped into her mouth. I bought a nylon straight bar driving bit with large rings and coated it with molasses, which I let her lick off for several days before even putting it in her mouth. Then I slipped it into her mouth, but just held it there for a few minutes before allowing her to “give” (spit) it back to me. Then, after a few days of this, I snapped the rings on the bit (still coated with molasses) to the buckles on the side of the halter with a double sided snap. I would tie her to the barn (with her halter, not the bit) and let her fidget with this bit while I worked with the other. In fact I ultimately did this with both; even the mare that wasn’t having a problem accepting the bit. After a few weeks both of them would stand quitely with the bit snapped into their mouth. I then switched to the bridle and bit. Don’t know if this would be applicable to your situation.

One other thing. Robert, have you checked to make sure she doesn’t have any wolf teeth that the bit could be banging on? If so, have the vet pull them and she may be much more agreeable to taking the bit.

[OldKat]

@jac 15673 wrote:

It was an interesting article Jason.. A lot is written elsewhere about how the windmills will never “repay” the energy used to create them.. same with tractors.. But if the second generation windmills are created using electricity from wind does that make them more acceptable than the 1st ones made using coal fired power ? does that energy “debt” get less as time passes, providing wind is used as the source of power ?? Scotland uses a lot of hydro power stations..Ben Cruichan is actualy hidden inside a mountain!! Unfortunatly we have our share of the nuclear stuff too:( I have to agree that I dont think wind farms are the answer, or bio fuel for that matter.. The wind mills I asked about were the home made ones, the old aeroplane propeler bolted to a generator and put up on a pole sort of thing:) one thing I noticed is you guys talk of 120v ? we have 240v and 13 amps for household use. does this mean its easier to generate power in the US than the UK ?? I know zero bout electric other than its not to be played with so if Im being too simplistic I appologise in advance.
John

John,

I perused the article Jason posted, but not in depth. I was thinking that you were in mind of more of a household sized generator. I don’t know about homemade ones. I do know that about 25 or 30 years ago there was an outfit that was selling that sized unit around where I live. In a 30 or 40 mile radius of our town there were probably a half dozen or so that I know of installed. None of them are standing today. Although I consider our area to have fairly strong and consistent winds, I have heard that the problem was that the winds did not blow consistently above the minimum threshold. I was kind of disappointed in this outcome, because I wanted to install one as well.

BTW: You being a railroad guy you might be interested to know that the Burlington Northern / Sante Fe line that runs through our town was one of the main carriers for the parts that were used to build the massive wind energy farms in West Texas. For several years starting about 5 or 6 years ago trains would come through loaded with sections of the massive towers that holds the generator and blades assemblies. Then we started seeing whole trains that were nothing but flatcars that were probably 1&1/2 to 2 times the length of the normal cars. Each of these were loaded with a single blade. I’m just guessing these blades were 8 to 10 foot wide and 60 foot long or longer. In was really something to see a train that was 100 to 120 cars long go through loaded with nothing but wind turbine blades.

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