[OldKat]

@lancek 13334 wrote:

Many people with disability can do many things just in a different way! It is pretty small minded to think that a disabled person couldnt take on a task like this ! Your only limited by the limits that you set for yourself !Lancek

Wouldn’t it be a matter of exactly WHAT disability a person has? There are all kinds of reasons to be on “disability”; some physically limiting, others not so. Probably would also be impacted by what type of work a person normally does. Some jobs require physical excertion, others don’t.

However, if there is a workman’s comp claim involved it might not be a good idea to be doing too much public discussion of construction plans around the old community. That could easily result in an investigation to see if a continued claim is warranted; with understandable justification.

[OldKat]

@Carl Russell 13347 wrote:

Sorry I missed all this. I read the first couple of posts and agreed entirely with Dennis, and could see where he was going with this thread. Unbelievably, it took a turn into disarray.

I am banning Bumpus. I apologize for the distractions he has caused here. I try to give everyone the chance to participate constructively, but alas some just can’t seem to do that.

Carl

Too bad it had to come to that. Bumpus made some good points from time to time, and posted a lot of interesting videos.

Mostly though I read his posts and thought; WHAT???????????? Overall, I think we have a really good community of interest here. Thanks for policing it Carl

[OldKat]

I am having some headstalls made now w/o blinders, just for the reason Jen quoted. My Maggie gets antsy when there are noises behind her, but as soon as she can see what the source of the noise is she calms right down.

I got to thinking about this when I was ground driving them through a neighborhood near my property last Spring and some dogs, still in their yards and well hidden by shrubbery, started yapping. Both mares got to fidgeting and wanting to GO. Not 5 minutes after we got out of that area an older couple with a dog on a leash came walking the opposite direction. Their little yapper started raising all kinds of heck, but after giving him the once over neither mare even took further notice of him. Talking about an eye opener!

I am going to give the open bridles a try and just see if I can tell any difference in their behavior when noises are generated around them, especially from behind.

[OldKat]

@Jean 13245 wrote:

I have followed your progress with Smoke on Draft Resources. I am bgirl there. Stopped using that name when someone from Texas said that is what law enforcement called hookers that work the bars!

Anyway, you and Smoke are doing great things and it is very exciting to see you working a team now.

Jean

😀 That is too funny! 😀

[OldKat]

@Victoria Reck Barlow 13188 wrote:

Does anyone have experience with eye cancer in oxen?

Buck is an 11.5-year-old, 3000-pound, sweet-tempered, red and white Simmental who, along with his brother Ike, serve our town as ambassadors of open space protection. The team makes public appearances to promote land conservation, and every year has a starring role in a play. They are our town’s biggest rural characters, and are much loved.

On Friday the vet removed malignant tumors from Buck’s left eyelid, and his right eye socket.

We had first noticed inflamation during fly season of 2008; symptoms appeared to resolve during the winter, then resumed again this past summer, and failed to resolve after the weather turned.

The vet tells us that there is a high likelihood that the tumors will re-grow, and the cancer will spread. He says that white-faced breeds can be genetically predisposed, and UV may aggrivate the condition. Buck has always lived outdoors year-round, here in southern NH.

The big guy now seems thoroughly chipper, despite Friday’s ordeal — he was sedated, but remained standing (and humming) throughout the procedure. Now when we arrive at the pasture to apply the daily follow-up ointment, he comes running up to us. Even this soon after the surgery, we suspect he is much more comfortable. You wouldn’t have known, to look at him, that there was so much growth under and around his eyes.

To slow the cancer’s regrowth, the vet tells us we will have to devise ways to keep the flies out of Buck’s eyes. We’re looking for names/systems of foolproof insecticides, and ideas for ox-proof fly masks. Whatever we do will have to work in a 20-acre pasture of varied terrain/cover, where the team has free range.

I suspect we also will be looking for a mature big yoke-mate for Ike, before too long.

If you’ve dealt with any of this, I’d appreciate hearing your experience, as well as solutions for the flies . . .

We were prepared to face problems with feet, or legs, or hips, given Buck’s weight. Ironically, the vet said he is in great shape, in those departments. Never could I have predicted that his eyes would be his downfall.

I have never owned any cattle afflicted with this, but it was very common in our area at one time. The vets around here said the same thing that your vet is saying; white faced cattle can be more predisposed to this than solid faced animals are. Does not impact cattle with solid color faces or white faced cattle that have pigment around their eyes nearly so much, but it can happen. Most people in our area now select for animals with a ring of color around the eye or at least darkly pigmented skin, if they have white faced cattle.

Not sure if it would work or not on your oxen, but there is a good mask made specifically for this problem for horses called the Guardian UV Mask. Try googling “Guardian UV Masks” or type in http://www.horsemask.com in your browser and look at their site. The thing costs about $100.0 give or take a few, but if you had the dimensions of his head they could probably tell you if one of their models would fit his head or not. If it would fit him it would give you 95% UV protection, some mechanical protection from weeds and brusk poking him in the eye and it can be sprayed with fly spray to discourage flys and gnats bothering his eyes. Oh, and he would be able to see right through it so you could leave it on him while working … if you can make it fit.

I have two bulls in the lot with my horses, one weighs about 1,200 pounds and the other about 2,300 or so right now. On Thursday when I am home I will try my mask out and see if it would even come close to working on either one of them. If it would, it woud probably help your guys problem. Sure cheaper than salvaging him out and starting another steer.

I’ll let you know Friday what I come up with.

[OldKat]

From Jason’s post above:
My point is that the soil can be prepared to a seed bed without turning when worked with animals versus running over and over it with tractor tires. It simply stays less compacted when using animal powered tillage in our experience.

An Amish guy that I know farms some land that he owns and leases the rest out to a guy that farms with tractors. As he expands his operation he just cuts back on the land that he leases out. He told me that when he starts farming land that has been farmed with tractors it takes about four or five years to loosen up the soil. He said the first year that he farms it he can hardly get the soil turned it is so hard and tight.

I am sure other factors are at play here, too, such as the fact that he adds organic matter such as manure, compost, etc, etc. every time he can. Still it is a pretty strong statement in agreement with what Jason has observed.

[OldKat]

@briefelar 13001 wrote:

Wouldnt it be nice if we got a bit of “real” winter weather so that the children could experience it first hand I dont think were going to get any snow and ice this year are we?

Wouldn’t that kind of depend on whereabouts you live?

[OldKat]

@Howie 12962 wrote:

becorson
That is so true, and that is why an animal with horns is so much smarter than one without horns.;):)

I use to hear the oldtimers say about cattle with and without horns; “No horns, no brains”. Although I have heard this all my life, I went with a polled breed because they are more docile than the locally available alternatives and will generally stay inside the rotten old fences of the places I lease. Of course, I’m not trying to make oxen out of them.

[OldKat]

bivol, if I remember correctly you are studying agronomy at the university, correct?

If so, you might be interested in the work that is being done at one of the northwestern US schools, perhaps Washington State(?) in indentifying the various soil microbes that are found at different depths of the soil profile. I would have to look back in my notes, but the professor doing this work (female, can’t recall her name) made a really strong case for NOT turning the soil, but rather breaking it without flipping it so that the microbes remained in their appropriate zone. It made a whole lot of sense when I read it, but the only way that I knew of to accomplish what she was talking about is with a disc which often relies on more forward speed than can be typically generated with animal power to work “as designed”. This ard thing sounds real promising from the standpoint of breaking the top soil without fully inverting it.

Do you know anymore about them than what is posted here? I wonder if a similar “bottom” could be attached to a sulky plow? That would really suit my needs.

[OldKat]

@Plowboy 12902 wrote:

We have a 14in Pioneer and it works well. I have used the white Horse and do like it a little better but not enough to go out and buy one when the Pioneer is paid for. The White Horse seemed to pull a little easier somehow although they are basically the same in design. The KV bottom is designed for sod with a long slow twist and works well in heavy soil but is pretty spendy. In our soil we don’t need it so we didn’t buy one. We have gravely loam and river bottom so even our sod rolls good. The older sulkies Oliver and Syracuse/John Deere were ok. The Mc Cormick was said to pull harder. But that was on the two ways which I don’t think plow incredibley well anyway. the older John Deere, Oliver and P&O/ International worked much like the new Pioneer and White Horse models just are harder to find parts for. John Deere is probably the easiest of the older plows to get parts for.

Most of the land that I have access to is what we call “gumbo”, a sticky (when wet) and very plastic, dark clay. In the days when all plowing was done with animals much of those soils went unplowed, because it took so much power to plow out these heavy soils that it just was not practical. If I worked to modify the soil I just wonder if this type of plow would work in my situation? Also, how spendy is spendy?

[OldKat]

@gwpoky 12952 wrote:

Looking for a McCormick #9 Mower preferably 6 ft bar in working order or at least fixable. I am in Beldenville, WI any input would be great.

Thank you
George.

You might try monitoring CraigsList. I don’t regularly do so, but I have noticed a few postings on this site from time to time that reference that site as having equipment for sale.

Just this week one of the really considerate and helpful regular posters on DAP sent an email to me about a #9 for sale “relatively” near me (it was only about 250 miles away, which is kind of right next door in my state), but alas it was already sold. The guy who owned it thought it was probably in working order, but he had bought it for yard art so didn’t know for sure. Point is, it was listed on CraigsList and that is how the other person found it and gave me a heads up.

[OldKat]

Mrs. OldKat says that I am MENTALLY about 18 years old; does that count? 🙂

[OldKat]

@Robert MoonShadow 12701 wrote:

Hey Old Kat – Whacha tryin’ to do? Move in on me moment of fame & glory?!?! 😡 Besides, you don’t just cruise on down to the local pirate shop & pick your choice in the eyepatch section; ya gotta have these leather jobs custom-made {’tis why I’ve got the a red, a turquoise & a white one}.

*sigh*
Whatever = go ahead and announce, ‘Kat…trying to watch two teams w/ only one eye is a bit of a strain…kinda like when I was dating one of a set of twins who loved to dance at the bars…let’s just say it’s a damn good thing they weren’t triplets – I’d have had whiplash so bad, me poor head would’ve spun clean off!! 😮

I’ll just show up & watch the pretty women teamsters kick all those he-man guys’ butts! 😎

Oh! Silly me; he had a SPECIFIC one-eyed announcer in mind! In that case I yield to the gentleman donkey-farmer from somewhere out west!

I can still come up there as a spectator, can’t I? Oh wait … OR, you could keep watch with your one good eye & I could think with my 1/2 a brain and we could do a joint, one-eyed, half brained presentation kind of like you see on NFL Football!
😉

[OldKat]

@Carl Russell 12697 wrote:

We’ve definitely had it on the table. Maybe next year is the year to do it. I think we’d need a one eyed announcer though!!:eek:

Carl

Carl,

How soon would you know if you were going to do this? I think I would make the investment and fly up for that; sounds like a blast. I might even announce for you, if need be! Oh, BTW: I have two eyes, but could cover one with a patch if a one eyed announcer is that important to you!

[OldKat]

@gwpoky 12696 wrote:

We are getting on board here, hoping to have the whole farm run by 100% horses by 2012. I love this site thank you.

P.S. anyone in western Wisconsin doing loose hay, I would love advice for this wetter climate. Thank you

George Walker

Welcome George. Can’t help you with the loose hay, but I agree this is a great site. Hope to hear more from you.

Stephen Rogers
aka OldKat

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