[Ron]

Hi Lars
When my dad and Grandfather worked horses hard every day Sunday was well looked forward to. It was a day of rest for real not like today. Saturday night they would make a bran mash with some molasses for the horses and feed them. That was their cooling out feed. Sunday there was no grain just good hay and if possible lot time for exercise. They always felt that when a change in the rate of work happened in the horses life the change in diet had to reflect that. Sort of like a marathon runner eating high protein, high energy food every day even though the marathon is over and he is couch” potatoing” it. Monday morning the transition back to work was smoother not to mention healthier for the horses.
Ron

[Ron]

Logging on ice today and where each of us live makes a difference. I live in the Ottawa Valley where ice logging was a way of life not that many years ago. In our winters we get thirty below weather and the ice is three feet thick in most places. My good friend and nieghbour used to haul hundreds of tons of hay to logging camps from his farm a mile across the frozen Ottawa river on the ice. We still cross the ice with cars, trucks and snowmobiles on what is termed ice bridges. It is still dangerous and needs to be done with care. Carl is absolutely correct in what he says about going through the ice many people have died and many horses have. Having said that I have spent whole winters working on ice skidding logs with out a hitch. There is no simple answer to logging on ice. The only perfectly safe way to keep from going through ice is to stay on dry land.
Most of you on this forum are away south of me and I suspect your ice and our ice are different but we still have to use our own best judgement. Probably why the Inuit have fifty words for ice.
Cheers Ron
Ron

[Ron]

I read your post that ask for advice but I am not sure what you are concerned about? Iced over ponds are fraught with problems and dangers. Horses slip, ice gives way, horses get wet or worse, it is always tricky on ice. While ice thickness can be great in the center usually around the edges or currents there will be places that the ice is thin or where gas pockets are or springs that is also true with beaver if you have them and their swim paths. Horses can pass over them countless times and then when you put a load on down they go. If the pond has a good bottom and is shallow that is less of a concern then if it is deep and miry. That can be a death trap. Snow on the pond also helps skidding because you don’t need to sharp shoe but it is also a heat trap that makes gauging ice conditions even harder.
With out more information it is hard to help you on this one or at least more specifically on your concerns. As a general rule I am very cautious working horses on ice. In the past there was lots of it done but some real tragic accidents also, some will be more knowledgeable them me.
Cheers
Ron

[Ron]

Hi Joel
Thanks for the clarification. I can see that the oak would be helpful for setting your skids on. I have never connected the two bunks just used it with out.
Just as an aside it is always interesting the different terminology we use. In the Ottawa Valley the sleighs you call bob sleds are called sloop sleights and are use extensively in winter to haul logs hay or any heavy large loads but the term Bob sleight is usually refereed to as a light weight two runner sleight for carrying people or small loads. There is no set rules on naming but this is a great place to share and exchange terms and ideas. Thanks for your patients and sharing.
Cheers
Ron

[Ron]

Hi Joel
Why do you need the three by four oak rails between the bunks? Not sure I understand the purpose?
Ron

[Ron]

Thank you for the info. I did not know him but in the 70’s there was not to many smiths left shoeing and doing farm repairs. A pretty small fraternity. I did not realize he was left handed but that explains some of what I seen him do. Good shop and good man at an anvil. Thank you again, Carl and John Hammond.
Ron

[Ron]

that is a wonderful video thank you so much for sharing it. Does anyone recognize the smith in the film? Would that be one of the Kritz Brothers?
Ron McCoy

[Ron]

Thank you for telling me about the history of Feb, I had no idea my birthday was such an auspicious day of the year. To celebrate I think I will go and do the things I love best, pick up the eggs, feed the horses and cows and make breakfast for my granddaughter. In this dark time of the year she is a light in my life brighter then Saint Bridget’s.
Cheers
Ron

[Ron]

Hi Tyler
Maybe you have already been suggested this so excuse me if I am repeating things. In the Ottawa Valley the Para hitch was used a lot in logging they usually put a second pulley at the base of the tree. The cable went from the log to the top pulley on the tree to the bottom pulley on the tree base and out to the horses. This kept the pull very smooth and the draft point easier to handle for the horses. You have a nice set up and the horses work great very good work. Hope that is of some help.
ron

[Ron]

Thank you for sharing that is a Christmas treat to watch.
Cheers
Ron McCoy

[Ron]

All of the above are good suggestion but go careful. If you crimp the pipe you cut the overall tensile strength a good deal. A little bend over a long length is better then a lot
in one place. I have made shafts in different ways and you are right a pipe bender would be ideal but you can make your own by filling the pipe with sand and plugging the end. This keeps internal pressure on the pipe and helps prevent crimping. If you have torches or forge that makes this really easy and once the sand is in just heat the area lightly and bend. Forge or not as others have suggested put the shaft in something to immobilize it and use a pipe that fits over the end as a lever (keep the hammer to a minimum) gently bending the shaft out to the desired position.
Hope that helps, good bending.
Ron

[Ron]

are we talking wood, steel round tubing, pipe ,or square tubing?
ron

[Ron]

hi Rick
Good advice on log piling.
I am pretty sure I know what you mean but different areas use different terms sometimes a picture helps. Terms like a “cant dog” or a “ladder jack” might be confusing.
An example around here depending on where you come the term “peeve or cant hook” can be different or the same.It is just hard to know for certain.
cheers
Ron

[Ron]

Just one more point which you likely know but someone new reading this may not never oil the face of the collar or it will blister the shoulder.
cheers
Ron

[Ron]

on water proofing leather harness… any product that has petroleum base or drying agent in it will eat your stitching out and damage your leather. I have a set of harness I bought to prove it. You need to be careful even with NF as much of the new varieties contain drying agents and emulsifying agents which ain’t good for leather. I have used Lexon in the past on really dry leather which soaks in good to condition the leather first and get it flexible first before I apply a weather proofing but Lexon does not water proof it at all. Probably the best success I have had is a natural form of boiled linseed oil mixed with bees wax, no additives.. It will not sink in and soften the harness like lexon but it remains pretty much on the outer layer and sheds water really very well. It does remain slick and oily if that is a problem. I don’t have the kind of rain you have but will do harness about twice a year first with an oil that sinks in and softens and then with water proofing and sealing.
The NF will work though I have never used it myself again you need to get it without a petroleum base in it. It will sink in better then the linseed and beeswax but will likely need more applications to keep up the water proofing. Good oiling.
Ron McCoy

[Author]

Posts