[Scyther]

Thanks for the reply about those donkeys. So they are fairly good size. Do you know if they are standards or mammoths? I think you’ll like the Oliver. I used an Oliver #40 with a team of work horses for several years. 12″ molboard, it worked very well.

[Scyther]

Thanks for showing that. What size are the donkeys? They look like good size standards but I can’t really tell. How heavy are they? Also, did he train them from foals or get them ready to go? Other than as pack animals I hear little about donkeys and have never seen any used for farm work in areas I have lived.

[Scyther]

Thanks for pointing out this article. Well written.

[Scyther]

My Dad tells of when he was a kid in Pennsylvania his Uncle and Aunt sold a lot of hay from their farm. They had a stationary baler set up at the barn. The hay was brought in loose and baled at the mow door. I take it this was done to make it easier to handle for re-sale and to be able to get more into the mow. This would have been in the 1930’s and 40’s. I don’t know how efficient this would be if you don’t need to move the hay off the farm. The engine used was a stationary one that was also used for the threshing machine which was set up on the other side of the engine next to the baler. I mention this just to show that historically this was done. Good luck with what ever method you decide to use.

[Scyther]

When I lived in Pennsylvania I would see Standardbreds used for farm work sometimes. Usually at times of the year when larger multiple horse hitches were needed such as on springtooth harrows or manure spreaders in the spring. Also on places that didn’t do much farming but had large gardens I’d see the Standardbred buggy horse pulling the cultivator. You would need to get the horse used to walking. It would already be use to a harness and being hitched single. Some Standardbreds are fairly chunky and most that I have been around have good dispositions. Being lighter framed they would probably take the heat better than a heavier horse. I don’t know what the availability is in that area . Just a thought. Good luck.

[Scyther]

I know this is an old topic, but I just read it this AM. One factor that probably had some influence was the importation of actual draft horse breeds after the Civil War. I think the Percheron’s were brought in in fairly large numbers in that era. Before that most horses were smaller and lighter than oxen. I’m sure other reasons went along with the changes. A horse that was better suited to heavy farm work than the light breeds must have played a part though.

[Scyther]

As other have said, they are marked like a Jersey. Their build seems similar to them also, but about 1/2 -2/3 the weight. It is hard to predict what breeds will be popular when introduced to a new area. Sufficient genetic diversity and affordable priced breeding stock often become a limiting factor to a new breeds success. Look at how slow the growth of the Dexter breed has been in this country. Without traditional commercial acceptance it’s tough to build a large base population. I hope that interest in the breed in it’s native area and those areas close by will revive though. As a “homestead type breed” I would think it’s future success will be linked to the small farm/ homestead movement in that part of the world. If people return to the land to feed themselves on small holdings having a native breed in place should be a benefit. Good luck.

[Scyther]

Yes, the size of dairy cattle has increased. At least here in North America. You always have a range, big ones and small ones, but the average weight and height has increased over the past 40 years. Holsteins have always been a big breed though. Not on average as heavy boned as Brown Swiss, but a large cow. The only breed that I think might not have increased in size is the Milking Shorthorn. They seem more dairy/stream lined now than they had been. At least the few I see. I’ll leave the why of all this, or at least my opinion, for another time. I did A.I. work for many years in the Northeast U.S., so I’ve seen a lot of cattle to base my opinion on. Take care.

[Scyther]

I’m coming late to this party, but thought I’d put in my 2 cents. Dairying and dairy animals are dear to me. What it’s become is distressing to me. What was once was one of the most stable and dependable farming activities has over the past 30 years become a system that for me, in it’s current common commercial form, a disgrace to good farming and animal husbandry. Not all farms, some try to do things properly, but the system is setup to make it difficult to succeed. Selling milk as a commodity product has run it’s course and is now a poor economic choice. Making dairying a part of a farm enterprise, not the total one, is the key I think. Also selling retail. Bottle, make cheese and butter and market it yourself. These things will keep herd size small and marketing local. It will make opportunities for many to be in the dairy business. It would/could make these high quality dairy products less available in urban areas at this time. This would create a demand that in many places could not be met because of current regulations regarding dairying or because of a lack of land available for small farms to operate close to larger cities. This would cause people in those areas to support laws and regulations that would create an atmosphere where small farms with dairying as a part of the operation could operate. I think the idea should not be to just confront regulators, but to influence the populace to push from the other direction. If officials are elected by people who really want agriculture and food reform the regulators appointed will be those with that idea in mind. People will only take notice and vote in that direction when they can’t get what they want, and come to see that they need these good food products produced in the way that only the small system can provide. Well that is my take on it in a fairly short way. I’m not holding my breath over this happening. It will take bigger minds than what I have to figure out how to set such a thing in motion. It’s got to change from the bottom up though. Both on the farm and from the rest of the population. A kind of revolution. It’s an easy word to use but a difficult one to really live or make happen. Until then, keep your head down and your chin up[is that even possible?] and be good farmers and dairymen[ sorry, but dairyperson just sounds to strange]. Good luck and have a good winter.

[Scyther]

The advice about goats is a good one if space, animal size or milk volume is a concern. Having been in the commercial dairy business, both on the farm and in support businesses for many years I wouldn’t get to excited about the mini’s. My opinion is it’s more of a gimmic. Early on the prices for stock are high and then the market goes flat. Breeding could be a challenge. Milking a cow that has an udder that low will get old in a hurry too if your milking by hand. If a cow is what you want I’d look for a small Jersey. They are much easier to find and to get bred back at a reasonable price. Feed good forage and not much grain and you can keep the production volume at a more manageable level after the first couple months. Feed the extra to a pig or your chickens, or raise an extra calf for veal or beef. Unless you want to make cheese for awhile. The few mini’s I have encountered were nice little animals, mostly angus though, so milking wasn’t an issue. They were costly to get into though, and if you don’t sell some breeding stock at appropriately high prices you’ll loose out financially. The Dexters would be a better option in my opinion than a mini dairy cow if you don’t want a Jersey. Keep the idea of a couple good goats in mind though, that is what we have done and it’s working out good. In the end though, do what you think is best, or most interesting for you. Best of luck.

[Scyther]

The jockey stick set ups I saw were used with walking plows and spring tooth harrows. So only one horse walked the furrow, the jockey horse was always on ground. I don’t recall a tie back strap being used. Usually there was a strap from the center horses hame to the inside of the jockey horses bit. Most of the farms where I saw this setup didn’t use britchen harness anyway. The main style in that area was what localy was called a chain harness, more commonly called a plow harness I think. It has a tail croup off the back strap and no britching. Very plain, simple style of harness. This style was tough on the horses when on wagons and mowers. Breaking was done on their necks from the collar pushing down and forward as the toung raised up. Saw some horses get knocked in the chin from the neck yoke. Some people using these harnesses would use hip backers as a type of britching for stopping and backing purposes. Most didn’t though so there was nothing to tie back to accept the hames or maybe the belly strap, but I think it was the hames. Not saying it’s a good set up, just that it’s done in some areas.

[Scyther]

Very well spoken and informative. Quite the budding media star too. First the SFJ and now the internet and soon coming to TV. Will you now be wearing sunglasses indoors, and at night?:D

[Scyther]

Nice picture and good for you, using a bigger hitch I mean. I have never used larger than four. You are showing people that a good sized farm can be worked with horses. Just takes some experience, the horses and ambition. Again, good for you. Stay warm.

[Scyther]

When I used three the reins went to the outside horses, outside bit rings. The inside runs to both sides of the middle horse. Checks can run from center horses hame rings to inside bit ring of the outside horses, or I’ve also seen and tried running a strap from the middle horses bit to the inside bit ring on the outside horses. For this I just used rope with snaps on both ends. I never used a jockey stick set up but have seen that done a lot too for three abreast. Set up the team as normal and run a jockey stick from the team horse that becomes the middle horse. Usually hooks into the breast strap snap of the middle horse to the outside of the bit of the extra horse. Then a check strap is run off the inside of the bit of the extra horse to the middle team horse, either bit to bit, or bit to hame ring. I never tried this and never liked the looks of it. Seemed very hard on the jockey sticked horses mouth. A lot of jerking and no soft touch at all. I saw a lot of Amish and Mennonites use this set up when I lived in Pennsylvania. I was told it worked well for rowdy horses since the more they acted up the more they beat themselves up with all the jerking around. Again, I was not impressed with this set up, but that’s just my opinion, it seemed to work fine for getting work done. To help keep the middle horse from getting crowded in hot weather try using another neck yoke from the middle horse to the horse that isn’t on the pole. This will keep some space between them. Lastly, I’d probably put the haflinger on the outside off the pole. Keep the weight off the smaller animals neck. I saw the article about you folks in DGJ, nice article. I hope you can desifer my post and I hope it’s helpful.I’m sure others will have some good advice too.

[Scyther]

Interesting and informative discussion going on here. I read the SFJ article in the most recent issue and this discussion has thrown a little more light on it for me.
It is equally as interesting the entire concept of the purposed SFC. Mixing of people that are very individualistic and independent in nature with a very socialist idea. I’m not critical of that at all, one just seems contrary to the other but interesting at the same time. I have reservations about the SFC, both philosophical and practical but I think the idea, at least in part are worth looking into. I have some trust issues with organizations and movements from getting burned in the past. That’s just my own hang up but does make me causious.
We are a large country, very spread out. I think this type of effort would be most successful with a loose central organization acting more as a coordinator for smaller regional/ local groups that would have the real say so in how things work. Bottom up not top down.
Thanks to all that have given their ideas and insights.

[Author]

Posts