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simon lenihan
Participantscott,
The sjm forwarder/ our forwarder costs somewhere in the region of £16000 to £18000, VAT cancells itself out if both parties are rejistered for same.
simon lenihanParticipantjohn,
good thinking, yes that would work, well done.
simonParticipantJohn,
I have no doubt that square tubing is up to the job, its just that the scandinaviand have moved away from box section many years ago as have the other who build this equipment throughout europe. I still can not understand how you get 4 to 6 inches articulation on the joints [ sorry ]. One should be able to hold both shafts in their hands off the ground and level, push the right shaft back 4 to 6 inches the left shaft should not move at all. I say fair play if you achieved this with square tubing and would love to see a close up picture only to show where we went terribly wrong using square tubing all those years ago.
simon lenihanParticipantGreat work on those rigs john, glad that someone is making this equipment so as to make life easier on man and beast. However most of the arches made today are made from tubular steel which is easier against the horse and it is easier to set up articulation. Shafts also need to be adjustable so as to allow for different size horses, this is usually achieved by having tubular shafts fit through a larger tubular sleeve with some locking nuts in place. It also helps to run a chain from the arch to a point on the shafts to prevent sway and stress on the lower points of the arch [ see pic ].
simon lenihanParticipantmike,
Most modern hydraulic loaders have no outriggers as this slows down loading but most importantly they can get damaged should the horses move. The sjm forwarder like ours has hydraulic frame lock which locks up the front two wheels when loading. The forwarder will work in snow but not in deep snow. I have been told that it is possible to take off the wheels and fit runners but i have not seen this but i think it is very possible.
simon lenihanParticipantJac,
well spotted, check out below.
simonParticipantThe smaller 8 wheel wagons are designed for hand loading, mostly fencing material and small pulp wood. Most of these wagons come with a 2000lb hand winch which attach to the opposite bunk. However this system is slow and if working on a commercial basis not very rewarding financially. The slightly larger wagons can be fitted with a wire crane and winch run by battery. A system we have used in the past is to extract all the smaller produce first using hand loading and using a horsedrawn forwarder for saw logs. The wire crane forwarder is cheap to build and is very efficent and maximises your output. All extraction methods by horse have been tried and tested in sweden using a time and motion study, the shortwood method come out on top by a long way. The job we work at is hard but very rewarding but we also need to make it as rewarding financially as possible. The more sucessfull we are the better it is for the industry and the more young people will be encouraged to take up the trade
ParticipantHi john,
Douj joiner makes swedish type equipment but i have never used it, i have no doubt that it works well as he has been making them for a few years now. Charlie pinney [ rip ] what a loss to the draft horse world.
simon lenihanParticipantmore swedish wheeled equipment.
simon lenihanParticipantGeorge,
Approx $2200 for a size 5 [ 25 inch collar ] expensive i know but i have seen 35 year old varmlands harness in sweden used daily.
simon lenihanParticipantMitch,
The varmlands harness is very similar to the d-ring harness.The collar / hames / front tug and back band are one piece. The britchin clips on to the o ring as does the rear tug. The reason for this is that you can work the horse on a wagon using a shaft set up, remove the shafts and then just clip on the rear trace. The harness can be used with a pole or shaft
plus points.
very light and strong, easy to harness and unharness, in case of an emergency you can remove the harness quickly by slipping of the bottom hames strap and cutting the girth strap and belly band and lift the harness straight off. Very quick to convert from working in shafts back to ground skidding. Air circulates around collar and keeps horse cool. Can work in steep ground using shafts. Back pad flex with horses movements. The front tugs can be adjusted, there is up to 3 inches adjustment in the hames to get the correct tug point. I hope the pics come out all right.
simon lenihanParticipantjASON,
The varmlands harness is mostly used on geldings and mares being similar shape wise to american half sweeney collars. The finn harness which is similar to the varmlands in alot of ways except for the design of the hames which are curved more on top to allow for a heavly crested neck like you get on stallions. This finn harness is not made in sweden any more so we switched to the sugar valley full sweeney pulling collar, excellent collar. The design of the swedish harness has not changed in 200 years, the cloth material on the face of the collar wicks away sweat. The front of the collar is open to allow more air to circulate and the bottom hames strap can be easily opened during breaks and pushed back to expose the shoulder without unharnessing. The back pads are pivoted on a steel bar which allow for free movement and again leaves air circulate over the back and withers.
simon lenihanParticipantGeoff,
It is said that the new england d- ring harness was developed from the swedish design. The varmlands harness has been around for over two hundred years and has not changed in design up to the present day. This harness is light, durable, strong and has many advantages over other collars used today. regards, simon lenihanParticipantAnother good one from around that period is [ LUMBERJACK SKY PILOT ]. The footage was shot by reverend Frank reed during the 1930s while visiting adriondacks lumber camps. Simon lenihan. http://www.celtichorselogging.com
ParticipantjODIE LOGAN and DAVE SUTHERLAND used to log with horses a few years back, both are now gone from the business. There is a very good friend of mine and master horselogger PAT KILROY who lives in powasson near north bay but pat aint going to move from his area. I think you will struggle to find any one in ontario that logs on a commercial basis with horses.
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