[Plowboy]

Andre,
We will be getting the plow out of the shed soon and I’ll take some photos. If you want PM me your email and I’ll send you the photos direct. I have limited success posting photos on here. I need to send Jen some mini photos so maybe I can do it all at once. Glad to help especially since you’ll be powering your plow with Percherons! We started plowing with our Pioneer last Monday. Off to give wagon rides at a history museum for their maple fest today.

[Plowboy]

Well I’ve figured out it is impossible to desensitize an animal to everything. While driving some horses last week we encountered a neighbors flock of emus turned out in their pasture and up the road we ran across some semi feral hogs rooting in the brush along the road. Somewhere between the two anxious moments our host shared a story about a well broke mare that had a problem being in the same area as a camel at the fair. I guess no matter what you do it pays to be on your toes in the case that something unusual happens!

[Plowboy]

There is a picture of our McCormick Little Genius rope trip under Plow Day Photos in the sustainable farming section. We use 6 on it with a rope and pulley hitch and it works slick and way cheaper than the new gang plows.

[Plowboy]

Forgot to mention that your pictures were great Grey. Thanks it’s always nice to see photos of working horses and mules in different regions.

[Plowboy]

Jen, We use Warnercrest Harness shop in Masonville New York. Vince Warner is a good family friend. I did not disclose him because I figured it would be too far for you. He advertises in Rural Heritage Magazine in the business card section. There are also several Amish shops within driving distance of our house but we have forged a solid relationship with Vince and Anne Warner. Our horses sport many used leather harnesses and one nylon but any replacement parts, new bridles, lines and one new team harness are all Warnercrest products. I’m not sure how practiced he is with D-Ring style harness but he makes all types in all materials Leather, Nylon and Bio. Many times if we need something we can talk through it over the phone and he will make it immediately and have it ready when we get there or he will bring it over to us if he wants to B.S. with Dad. If you are going to work horses it is important to have a good relationship with a harness shop and equipment dealer. We are fortunate to have both in place. Next time some one mumbles about there harness shop speak up and ask for an address and phone number and go check them out on a rainy Saturday and look at their products. Good Luck.

[Plowboy]

That blue roan has been in alot of pictures and magazines and I would bet no matter what his papers say if he has any that one of his parents was a Brabant Belgian. I’ve also studied that horse everytime I see a photo of it and still believe he’s not 100% Percheron. He is however a nice looking work horse all the same no matter who his Daddy was!

[Plowboy]

Jen, you may want to check around some more before you buy next time. 550 sounds like alot for a Beta breast collar harness. A significant cost of draft size harness is the hames and there are none with a breast collar. I know there are significant differences in costs from the source and retail outlets. However you have to also be sure that you are comparing similar quality products. Beta, Nylon,and Bio are all cheaper than Leather. I know that our local guy makes top quality harness and sells it for almost half what Meader Supply retails their harness for wether it be Leather, Bio, Nylon or Beta. While Meader does have everything in stock the consumer pays the middle man alot of cash for the convenience. Please don’t take this the wrong way I just wanted to let you know that there are severe price differences across the board. I remember when we first got started we dog eared a meader catalog and bought some small stuff but we did some more looking before we bought the major stuff and found out we could do much better right here locally.

[Plowboy]

Our coming 4yr old filly has been a little full of herself lately making quick starts, nothing terrible just not behaving like a good working horse should. My Dad and I hitched her with her mother this afternoon. Her mother is the most powerfull mare I’ve ever seen and would have made a sane man pee his pants when we first got her. I bought her for her conformation and she was bred with Dixie when we got her. We put them both on a 12ft pasture drag behind a forecart to scatter manure clumps in the hayfield by the barn. Dixie has her mothers power but with all that resistance they both settled in to work calmly together quickly. If someone was going to use that drag all day 3or 4 would be better but for quick results 2 can pull it. At 60 degrees they sweat some. With the weather report not freezing at night plowing should start early next week. 2or3 hrs at a time to begin with until they get hardened up. Jen glad your finding some real work for your youngster around your place. We had a friend with a herd of Belgians that used to invent jobs to do with his horses and invent equipment to use his horses for jobs that weren’t necessarily horse jobs.

[Plowboy]

This ordeal was just the frosting on the cake. I found out that two local guys that had asked for advice last fall hadn’t done a damn thing with their horses since the weather got cold. The one had a Haflinger that got away from them. Turned out she was just herdbound and wanted to get back with the other horses. I told them to drive her several times a week on a light load and when the weather got better more often. She was well broke when they got her I know where she came from and have seen her work. They ground drove her twice this winter! big deal. Since the weather got better I asked if they had been working her ,”No but we’ve been thinking alot about it”. Whatever!!
The other guy bought a broke broke pair of crosses at the same sale. He drove them once before Christmas and not again until last weekend. They wanted to trot and he seems to feel now that they are too much for him. I could go get them and sharpen them up and slow them down but I know they will just get turned out again to go stale.
Makes a guy disgusted just thinking about it. I have enough irons in the fire I don’t need to go around helping others but I always do. Those two guys might be on there own now though.
Sometimes here I feel as though I could type until my fingers were sore not because I like typing but because I’m trying to explain and help someone. It seems more times than not my response is dismissed so it makes you wonder why you bothered. I’m not giving up completely I just might sit back and watch for a while before I add to any discussions.

[Plowboy]

Near Horse, I don’t think anyone mentioned running those horses at all. Working them yes which is what the goal is to do some meaningfull work. I have worked with a whole lot of horses with different quirks and have been around alot of folks that train and actually do work with their animals. I am experienced but do not consider myself an expert but have got alot of horses to work without rodeos. I guess I’m frustrated by folks in my area that won’t do anything but wait for a miracle and to some extent I see that happening here. My advice seems to be dismissed although it will and does work without any added stress on person or animal. I guess my time will be better spent working my animals than trying to help other folks try to understand that you can’t drive horses with a book in your hand. Good Luck WV Drafty you have a nice team and I hope they get worked out for you. I just feel like I’m wasting my time here.

[Plowboy]

Simple Living, thanks I forgot that one . We use a 36″ evener for the walking plow with full size horses. I’m not sure of the formula but close is the key especially when you go to 3 abreast.

[Plowboy]

I would suggest a combination of things that others have already mentioned. First a bit that will get there attention enough so that you are able to regain control without alot of effort from you. Lever bits seem to work well for this. You can always hook them back up in the ring at some point but you can’t hook them down further while trotting across the field. Put a lead rope from the faster horses halter to the billet strap behind the belly band on the slower horse and give her just enough rope to walk even with the slow horse. Hitch them back to the weighted sled and drive them. You may try bumping them a little as Donn suggests to get there attention. Work them until they are tired. Stop them frequently and offer them rest breaks if they accept let them stand quietly until just before it looks like they are wanting to go. Before they get the idea ask them to go and keep them going until the next rest break. If you have the time to do this everyday you may see results pretty quickly. I believe for beginners the quicker you get the upper hand in the situation the better the outcome and better feeling of achievement for the teamster. If you make the commitment to get them trained stick to it and you’ll soon have a great team. Good Luck

[Plowboy]

The only time it is possible for a slide on neck yoke to come off is if you are hooked too long. Those latches are a good safety net for beginners but require someone to go upfront and release it when unhooking. It seems like a bad habit for them to always have someone upfront when getting hitched and unhitched both horses and people. We saw one of the new one’s on display at the Amish repair shop and it was more of a joke to them and they work horses everyday. We do pin the neckyoke when working tandem hitches just in case you can’t take up enough line pressure to slow up your wheel team quick enough. If you worried about every little possibility you would never take them out of the barn.

[Plowboy]

The neck yoke and evener bar must be the same length so the horses are able to walk straight and comfortable. I think most of ours are 40” and the singletrees are 30”. Ours are average size drafts 1600-2000#. As long as the evener bar and the neck yoke are the same, wider singletrees are not a problem but too narrow may cause rubbing on the horses legs. We prefer a slide on yoke as opposed to a bolt on yoke for convenience and versatility. Hope this helps.

[Plowboy]

I am anxiouslly awaiting a chance to start plowing. We have about 25 acres to plow and my spare or should I say divertable time gets shorter as the spring goes on. We have some good horses but some haven’t seen much work this winter and need to be hardened up slowly. My Dad is going to drag some manure in the 5 acre field by the barn tomorrow with 3 of them. I have been splitting locust fence posts like mad on a tree removal job up the road from here. Wearing less layers is definately appealing and the warm sun gives you more ambition. Our winter jobs didn’t all get done but we can transfer them to rainy day jobs if we have to. Spring will be welcome here if it is truly here! I think we are due for an early spring or at least I hope so.

[Author]

Posts