Can Connemara move roundbale?

[Pammy]

Hello,

I have a 14hh connemara gelding, he is broke to drive and ride, I know he has pulled a cutter, kids on tarps and they used him to move roundbales and other stuff around the acreage.

Can anyone tell me how exactly I can use him to move roundbales(I have no way of contacting them?

I have never driven before, I am aware obviously I will have to buy a pony harness but is there any special type I have to get or extras for pulling bales/trees etc.?

Do you just flip the bale onto a heavy duty tarp and have him drag it…..please excuse me if I am being silly!
Many thanks in advance, Pam

[Joshua Kingsley]

You will want a Collar and Hame style harness for heavy work. Look around and see if there is anyone around you that is doing what you want to get done with your horse and don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions.
As for dragging round bales you can use a chain and a single tree or some pipes that have a holder welded on to the ends and a chain that makes it into a giant roller, there are as many ways to move them as there are people moving them..

Joshua

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Pam, While there are no rules in this world (none that I made anyway), I sincerely believe you want to find some help from someone that has some driving experience. Farm work with draft animals is fun and rewarding work but there are risks for you and the animal in discovering how it all works. Good luck and don’t hesitate to ask more questions. Yes, a draft pony harness of the hames and collar type.

[Pammy]

Thanks!

My neighbour/customer drives for pleasure and keeps threatening to come and show me how to harness up and get me started but he is a bit of a all talk and no action type!

I will look for this type of harness in the meantime though.

I must admit I am a little worried I scare the heck out of the pony, there are a couple of driving courses over 3 days to introduce the basics of using animals on the farm but they are over the weekends and a 3hr drive and I run my business from home and no way can escape for that long especially at weekends…typical!….next time they advertise I think I will e-mail to see if they would do a home visit.

[Howling Farmer]

Could a single 14hh pony move a round bale (besides just down hill…)? I had a neighbor offer to round bale some of my hay for me, but I didn’t think my Haflinger could move them.
Leslie

[Joshua Kingsley]

What size round bale? How hard are they baled? My dad bales 4X4 bales that are like rocks, and my neighbor bales 5X5 bales that weigh less than dad’s. If they are dry and weigh about 800 or so pounds then they won’t be much of an issue. Where as if they are a ton each then I would say you are more likely to have problems.
It also depends on how you want to move them. On a sled or as a giant tire, or on a set of wheels, ect… There was a post a wihle back on Rural Heritage front porch with photos of a single Fjord mare pulling them up hill and all over.
Joshua

[LStone]

I am thinking that based upon several variables such as the total weight, horses conditioning, method used, and distance of the move, I can envision several scenarios where it could be done. I will defer to others with more experiance of the capabilities of the halflinger though.

[Pammy]

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Just wanted to put a picture of Indy up, this was taken last summer before I got him so he has filled out a bit, he was a bit skinny when he came here but he looks amazing now!

He has a bit of an upside down neck, not sure if this was due to the type of work they were using him for.

[Donn Hewes]

Up side down neck? I think that is a nice looking horse. I am sure he can pull a lot. my preference, based on some limited experience, would be to move round bales with a low, wide sled. Come up along side – roll the bale into the sled on it flat side and go.

My only concern about using the small single horse for this isn’t so much if he can do it. With the proper preparation, and situation, he probably can. Just realize that you have designed a task that is asking him to work near his weight limit. Imagine a weight lifter, they work and work below their max effort, and every once in a while they see how much they can lift. If we ask for a big effort too much or too often we can sour an animal. he looks like he could be a good worker and I am not suggesting he can’t do this work, just a word of caution about pushing the smaller horse to do everything the big fellas do.

I worked with a pair of Halflingers a few years ago. Nice drafty ponies, and good workers overall, but I all ways felt they had been a little soured from manure spreaders and mowers that should have been for bigger horses. We spent a lot of time asking them to go.

[Pammy]

@Donn Hewes 19998 wrote:

Up side down neck? I think that is a nice looking horse. I am sure he can pull a lot. my preference, based on some limited experience, would be to move round bales with a low, wide sled. Come up along side – roll the bale into the sled on it flat side and go.

My only concern about using the small single horse for this isn’t so much if he can do it. With the proper preparation, and situation, he probably can. Just realize that you have designed a task that is asking him to work near his weight limit. Imagine a weight lifter, they work and work below their max effort, and every once in a while they see how much they can lift. If we ask for a big effort too much or too often we can sour an animal. he looks like he could be a good worker and I am not suggesting he can’t do this work, just a word of caution about pushing the smaller horse to do everything the big fellas do.

I worked with a pair of Halflingers a few years ago. Nice drafty ponies, and good workers overall, but I all ways felt they had been a little soured from manure spreaders and mowers that should have been for bigger horses. We spent a lot of time asking them to go.

Thanks, this is very good advice, you are right, he wants to work and is a people horse, likes to please, this is what worries me and having never worked like this before I am scared I dont recognise when I ask too much, I am going to get a harness soon, I finally got a reply from someone who is going to sort me out then once I have worked out how it all goes on then I will get started, I will let everyone know my trials and tribulations soon:D

[Robernson]

@Howling Farmer 19976 wrote:

Could a single 14hh pony move a round bale (besides just down hill…)? I had a neighbor offer to round bale some of my hay for me, but I didn’t think my Haflinger could move them.
Leslie

I have moved 4×4 rounds with a single mule,not becuase I had to,but because I wanted to see if he could. But besides that,I would think a Haflinger could move a round bale. But I don’t have enough knowledge on this topic to really answer that question…:confused:

~~R

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