[Plowboy]

I think Joel was referring to the fact that young horses will stand more quietly without fidgeting if they get a little tired a couple times. Our stud colt stands well to be harnessed and hitched but when resting the first couple times he tries to play with the lines or nip at his team mate. After a few trips around the field he forgets that nonsense and stands still minding his own business. Young horses are juvenile like any other creature and have to go through a learning curve before they become “Perfect”. While teaching them to stand is part of initial training and should be upheld they have to learn somehow and I would doubt any green horse would stand perfectly still for any length of time without doing some work. Their age and collar time is against them unless they are too lazy to move. It takes a little while to train a good standing team but I will say they learn it quicker hitched with a good standing horse. They seem to realize it must be OK to just hang out for a few minutes and behave if the other horse is doing it.

[Plowboy]

If you have an Amish settlement nearby they will have them. I was surprised at the amount of McCormick corn binder parts on my last trip to our local settlement. Some parts I thought I might have to go hedgerow hunting for he had brand new. They have a large selection of mower, grain binder,plow,and manure spreader parts. The Amish are responsible for making alot of these reproduction parts because they use them. Without them draft equipment would be scarce. The new production companies are mostly Amish owned, Pioneer, White Horse, and I believe I&J as well as many other smaller companies. Macknair is also a good source and they know their parts and equipment well.

[Plowboy]

Our biggest local mill also does retail for hard and softwood finish lumber and flooring. The mill is down to 3 days a week. Three others have closed within 30 mile radius. Many loggers selling firewood and watching daytime TV around here. Landowners are holding onto their timber unless they are broke. A good friend that we help train horses cut some high grade veneer cherry last year for his neighbor and they got big money for a few trees now the price is half of last year! There is more but it will stand there for now I guess they grew up through the Hemlock real tall and straight and clear. The landowner told him if he wanted to build anything take all the hemlock he needed for free and all the firewood trees. The whole economy is that way but the small guys are really having a tough time. No bail out for the little guys.

[Plowboy]

Funny how these animals we work with and spend time with will give you all they’ve got and more sometimes just for the asking if they like you. One horselogger I spent time with as a kid chirped to start his horses but when they were on a heavy load he always said,”Come Here” or just “Here”. I don’t think it was the significance of the command but a word to let them know they should buckle down seems like a good idea. This way they know the difference between starting a big log or just a forecart. His horses never started up “Hot” unless he said “Here” and then things really moved. We use the same command when we put ours on a heavy load and it seems to work well. He had a small Belgian/Quarter cross about 1300# teamed with his older sister of equal size. He used him the fall he turned three at alot of local log skids as well as for himself working in the woods and on his farm. When he put them on a load old Annie knew what to do and the youngster was learning fast. One day the Colt really started to shine he put all 1300# in the collar. As I met him on the skid trail with a big maple young Dick was coming along with Annie. You saw front feet then nose as he was pushing into the collar he was giving his all for his master on his own. JR gave him some slack on the lines and let him really get after that log. He coaxed the little horse along saying “Skid er’ Dick”. From that day on that team was known by everyone in our group as Skidder Dick and Annie. I skidded alot of wood with that handy little red team. Gotta love a good mellow horse that will really get in the collar when you need them to.

[Plowboy]

By the looks of the picture they all seem to be keeping up with each other don’t you think? Those 4 teams all do alot of plowing so there aren’t any slouches there. Any of them will do alot of work if they are used to working. The smaller horses Haflingers and Fjords do more work pound for pound but there are alot of jobs I like draft size horses for but those small ones can do alot in a day. I like the Fjords temperment better over the Haflingers. I’m still parshall to our farm type Percherons and I also like Suffolks but don’t own any yet. We usuallly plow 20-25 acres per year mostly with horses. The field the pictures were taken in is 13 acres and we plowed it that weekend with a bunch of friends helping. We have good gravely topsoil with hardly any stones as you can see at my Dads place and mine is all river bottom silt/loam. It is good plowing in this valley maybe thats part of the reason for a good turnout!

[Plowboy]

Jean we just invite a bunch of draft animal friends that like to plow and provide good food. We have never had any problem getting people to show up but there is a strong draft community within a 50 mile radius of here. We usually have between 12 and 20 some teams. We haven’t broke the 30 mark but have came close. Maybe it’s the deep fried turkey or just folks like to come here. Our silo fill is a little more involved with barbequed beef rounds and pork loins. I’ve never competed in a plowing competition even though we have a team of mares that are sweet on the walking plow. I guess it would depend on the competitors. If they just do it for fun then a trophy might be sufficient.

[Plowboy]

Old Kat , Work them all you can whenever you can and you are going in the right direction. The folks I was referring to work conventional 8 hr 5day jobs close to home and leave there horses idle for months on end. If you are working with them as much as you can then thats all you can do. Good luck with them you sound like you are commited to it and thats the first step to becoming persistent and success should follow.

[Plowboy]

My Dad and I went to see some Amish friends on Monday. we were talking to the harness maker and somehow it came up that my Dad was expecting his 3rd and 4th grandchildren this spring. My Dad asked Jake how many he had. He is a few years older than my Dad. He stroked his beard for a moment and said 41 so far but my youngest has only been married a couple years so there is still time for more. Wow thats alot of grandkids I don’t think my Dad and Mom have to worry about that many.

[Plowboy]

I’ll keep my eyes and ears open and will be in contact with the Gang more as spring gets closer. If I can be of any assistance to him let me know. If I here of any long term opportunities I will let you know. There is some foundation land near here with good timber but may be a hard nut to crack. Getting his foot in may be difficult. With log prices so low many landowners around here are holding tight unless they are broke and need some cash. Alot of conventional mechanized outfits are out of work right now and the local mills are working 3 day weeks. It’s a sad state of affairs we’re in right now. I wish him the best and if I can find him some work or a disc I’ll let you know.

[Plowboy]

Donn, plow days are coming up the first weekend in May and Silo Fill third weekend in September. You are always welcome.

[Plowboy]

Robert, Some warmer plowing weather would be nice but I’m not sure I would want your triple digit temps in the summer.

[Plowboy]

Erika, That makes a whole lot of sense doesn’t it! It is difficult in these modern times to take time for yourself. I am guilty of having a fulltime job, a landscaping business and a farming habit. Daylight till dark but hopefully it won’t always be that way. We’re paying off debt and purchasing and building things to help us in the future. Hopefully we can enjoy the fruits of our labor soon because the little one will be here in two months! Hopefully I can adjust my schedule so I can spend more time with him as he gets older. Good message!

[Plowboy]

Rob, I can’t really blame your new farrier and you shouldn’t either. The farrier’s job is to put shoes on and or trim feet not train an unruly animal and risk being put out of work because the animal wasn’t ready to be shod or needed stocks. You are doing the right thing by trying to train him out of it but it sounds like he has some problems. I wouldn’t have taken being bitten as well as you because that is unacceptable behavior as far as I’m concerned. If he behaves well outside then work on him outside. One of my mares needs trimming more frequently than the rest so I usually trim her out in the pasture loose and sometimes she’s grazing at the same time. The other question I have is does he really need shoes? Are his feet bad or are you working on ice and pavement alot? You would still need to be able to trim him but not as much. Good luck I hope you get him over it or you might consider not having him around at a public place.

[Plowboy]

Grey, That’s a unique philosophy you have. I can’t say wether it’s entirely probable because I wonder if your trust/ communication improved by the actual amount of work you were doing with them instead of blinders or no blinders. It would be hard to measure either way there are too many variables, different horse personalities being the most difficult to assess. I can’t say for sure because we are still experimenting with open bridles. The one thing I will say is the trust/communication improves dramatically the more the animals get used and that I know for certain. We have some friends with horses that are always having problems and the real problem is that they won’t make the commitment to use their young animals several times a week. They want a miraculous transition without the effort. I commend you for being a doer and maybe I’ll give your theory a go sometime and see how they react to being put back in blinders.

[Plowboy]

No there not from this year but it won’t be long now hopefully. It’s snowing here too but not like you are getting it.

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