[Rivendell Farm]

You might see if a three eighths or half inch drive socket handle will fit. Bob

[Rivendell Farm]

I emailed SFJ to see if they might find a lost back issue somewhere, or possibly reprint the original article. Bob

[Rivendell Farm]

I don’t have a way to scan it, but I’ll look into the possibility of doing it at the library.

[Rivendell Farm]

In case people haven’t said enough about using a single horse for a small farm, I’ll add my two cents. Some time ago, when I was farming with tractors, 1990 actually, I came across an article written by Alan Slavick in the spring Small Farmers Journal. At the time I lacked the resources and certainty necessary to start using horses. After reading this article I began to see the single horse as a way to try out this new way of farming without a big investment. Alan was farming about 20 acres of vegetables, hay, oats, corn, plus logging in winter, and it was his sole income source. He explains in detail how he accomplished all this with just one 2000 pound Belgian. He plowed (8″ and 12″ walking plows), disked, drilled oats, planted corn, planted potatoes, cultivated, dug potatoes, mowed hay, raked hay, brought in and stacked loose hay, and designed a reaper to use behind his No. 7 mower.
I bought a well broke Belgian, harness, etc., and experimented with the one horse possibilities. I got a forecart with shafts to pull my manure spreader, hay rake, and some other jobs like moving wagons around. I built shafts for the hay wagon for hauling firewood and husking corn. He could pull a 3 foot section spring tooth drag. I, of course, knew one horse couldn’t do any significant part of the work on my 120 tillable acres, but I did find out I enjoyed working with the horse. This led to my eventual graduation to a team, then later to 5 working horses. Maybe this should be a warning to any wife who hears her husband say, “It’s just one horse…”
Alan wrote a follow up article in the Winter 1992 SFJ, which is still available in their back issues. It’s called Single Horse part Two. I don’t believe the original article in spring 1990 is available any longer, but I do have a copy and could possibly make a photocopy for someone who is seriously interested. I must point out that Alan and His wife were extremely hard working people with very clever, analytical minds. They lived a subsistence lifestyle with no phone, electricity, and the other things people consider necessities. As I recall they had only one solar powered light bulb in their house. Not everyone is that determined to live simply. Bob

[Rivendell Farm]

Hi Donn,
That works great. Is its purpose to make windrows for composting? If it is, are you working on a horsedrawn compost turner yet? Keep up the good work. Bob Kidwell

[Rivendell Farm]

Are you left handed? Just curious. Bob

[Rivendell Farm]

Hi,
I suspect you could try them together most any time now. I wouldn’t pull anything with them at first. Just ground drive them and see how it goes. You might consider fastening them together at the rear so they can’t swing apart until they get used to walking parallel to each other. Also make sure you have a good set of properly adjusted team lines. That said, I must admit my training skills are limited, though I have worked horses for many years. You may yet hear from others with ideas. Bob

[Rivendell Farm]

Thanks Carl. I’ll let you all know how things turn out. For some reason I never get emails when there is a response to my posts. Bob

[Rivendell Farm]

Sounds like you’re off to a great start on your farming adventure. Sometimes it’s best to rely on instinct, gut feelings, or whatever in situations where it’s nearly impossible to get all the facts you need for a “rational” decision. I’ve tried the logical approach, and the “it just feels right approach” over the years with equally mixed results both ways. Crowd funding a loan to buy a team isn’t something I, being of a certain age, wouldn’t have thought of. Best of luck in the future. Bob

[Rivendell Farm]

Thanks for the reply, Tom. They’re not all low grade trees. There are a lot of good red oaks, some walnut and cherry. Unfortunately, it’s too late for the ash. The woodlot hasn’t been touched for more than 35 years. Bob

[Rivendell Farm]

I found it was possible to pry out the oil seal without removing the shaft. An Amish neighbor who rebuilds a lot of mowers told me you can simply “pop it out”. Popping out took probably an hour with a lot of mutilation of the old seal, but it did work. I’ve put a 50 weight synthetic oil in and so far none has dripped out. Of course it is winter and the mower is just sitting. Bob

[Rivendell Farm]

I would replace that setup with an evener. On the other hand, with this type of steering, it might make it easier to turn sharply with a heavy load. Bob

[Rivendell Farm]

Thanks Jelmer. Now I see how it works. Bob

[Rivendell Farm]

Great pictures. Not so great the upside down German. I wouldn’t mind having a mower like that one. It would be interesting to see what’s inside the gearboxes. Is that a differential in the center of the axle? Bob

[Rivendell Farm]

I switched from a No. 9 mower with a dolly wheel to one with just a straight tongue. It seemed the mower was designed to not need the extra wheel, so I thought I’d give it a try. Lynn Miller in his hay mower book said tongue weight should be minimal if it’s set up properly. After mowing for 8 acres or so this summer one horse developed a sore on top of her neck. I considered going back to the dolly wheel setup, but then decided to try adding weight to the seat instead. I attached a 40 pound weight, which was actually a small flywheel from an old bale thrower that I’d been storing for years for some unknown reason, to the bottom of the seat. I had to extend the seat support to the rear to make room for it. Now when the horses are mowing, since the doubletree is below the tongue, the upward force takes almost all the weight off their necks. The tongue nearly floats in the neck-yoke ring. I weigh 145 pounds, so the mower must be designed for someone in the 185 pound range for it to work right. You need a weight to match the operator. I suppose if you’re heavier than 185 pounds, you could add weight to the tongue. Anyway, the weight is cheaper than a dolly wheel. One added benefit is that the mower is more pleasant to ride on this way. You avoid the sudden lurches caused by that little wheel falling into a hole or hitting a rock. I think I’ve attached a picture of the weight.

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