chain length on stone boat

[Jean]

My husband just built me a little stone boat for my little mule. I will attach her traces to a single tree, which will be attached to the stone boat by a chain (unless you all have a better idea). How long should the chain be? Do I just need it long enough so the stone boat is flat on the ground when she pulls it, or should there be a certain distance from her back feet to the boat while driving her?

Thanks
Jean

[dehutch]

I claim no expertise but here are factors I considered for my training sled/stone boat.

Chain length: Probably depends on where you attach it. I attached mine about a foot back of the front of the runners because there is a brace there. I made the chain long enough so that the runners didn’t hit the single tree on even a sharp turn but short enough so that in a sharp turn the chain under tension on the outside runner wasn’t so long that it could slide under the inside runner. At that length I get a little lift when the horse is in draft.

A couple of other considrations… It is useful to have a little toe in of your runners to keep your sled/boat from “hunting” right and left. I learned this from making dogsleds. Also having a swivel between your grabhook and your singletree (I got one from a marine supply where they use them for mooring buoys) will tend to keep your traces from tangling in the animal’s legs if somehow your sled tips over. I think all the loggers use them as well.

So far this setup has worked for me. Critiques anyone?

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Jean, just out of curiosity, how big is the sled? For my first mule I made one that was too small and boy did that not work! I would worry about lifting the front or not, it might lift a little with nothing on it, and loaded it will be on the ground. I would make the chain long enough to put the single tree two feet in front of the runners. Use a little caution at first until you learn the tendencies of your own sled. They all want to slide a little down hill, but it will vary from sled to sled, loads and steepness too. A little slip or slide might be all right, but sliding into the heels of the animals is not a good idea.

[Jean]

Thanks for the reply’s. The sled is the size of a hay bale, so about 2 feet across and 4 feet long. It is made out of hard wood and is heavy, given the small size of it. The runners have the metal that seamless gutters are made out of. The gutter guys were here and I asked to see how they were made and they had an extra piece that they gave me. I have been using a snow mobile sled for her to move stuff, this will not slide as easy as that does. My mule is only 11 hands tall.

[Andy Carson]

I attach the singletree to my sled using two chains, one to each sled runner. I try to keep them as short as possible, so the singletree is probably about 1 foot in front of the chain attachment points (I attach the the last link on the heel chains to ensure the sled doesn’t hit my horses heels). I like as short of an attachment as possible so I have increased maneuverability and a little lift in the front. I am not sure how much you are going to use the sled, but you might wear through the metal in those runners pretty fast. In the first year I had my horse I worked her almost exclusively on the sled and wore through about 75 pounds of steel in runners (that’s 1 set of 1/8 inchx3 inchx6 foot runners+2 sets of 1/4 inchx3 inchx6 foot runners!) I came to the conclusion that steel less than 1/4 inch is not worth bothering with (I actually replaced my last set with 1/2 inch steel), but your use and experience might vary.

[Jean]

We used the stone boat this morning. Moved some small square bales of hay. Anna was very good, except I changed the routine. Last time I had her bring the hay through the gate right up to the hay room door. It is very tight and hard to turn around, so this time I just wanted her to get the hay to the gate and turn around without going through it. She did not understand the new rules, but after the third trip she had it down.

[Author]

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