Disappointing day, plowing

[Theloggerswife]

I have no doubt in my mind that you will finish what you started. 😀

In my hectic schedule, I find I am my worst enemy! I set out to do this small project and have a time frame in mind and then it takes 2 or 3 times longer then expected. I get frustrated and things start to fall apart quickly. This can be witnessed most any night Derrick and I are mounting hay away together after working our 10 hour day jobs (it gets ugly FAST).:p

Take a tiny step back and then move forward. Make sure you post some pictures with your success, because I know your going to try it again tonight if it doesn’t rain…..

It just came to mind….was this the compacted soil you were talking about two weeks ago? Do you remember Ted saying “your compacted soild comment makes me nervous”….? Did he ever explain that to us? Maybe he thought it was too much for a single horse to plow deeply?

[Michael Colby]

Hey Jen. Your dilemma sounds all too familiar. And, unfortunately, so do your soil/rock conditions. Rocky soil plus sod plus one horse plus rookie-plow-person equals frustration, for sure. It would be Herculean to pull it off so quickly.

My solution was to “cheat.” I rented a tiller for my tractor, broke the sod up, and then used my single horse to harrow repeatedly before planting a cover crop. The next year, he/we broke the ground/cover crop up with much less effort and much more understanding of the task.

Sure, I had to take a year off my “petroleum-free” tally, but I didn’t have to buy a new horse, totally confuse and frustrate the horse I had, and/or abandon the project altogether.

And the best news — for me, at least — is that the colt I was waiting for to be the new teammate for my single horse is now ready to roll as a well-mannered three-year old. Oh boy, new adventures.

Hang in there.

[Tim Harrigan]

If he acts like he wants to jump the furrow try following Erika’s lead and just plow about 3 inches deep. A plow can be a challenge for a single.

[Robert MoonShadow]

Jen ~ Much more knowledgeable folks here than I for advice; I’m just letting you know I’m here, rooting you on.

[Ed Thayer]

Jen,

First of all, thanks for sharing your episode. Many times we like to keep our struggles to ourselves and are embarrassed to talk about it.

I for one feel your pain. As a new teamster, it is very frustrating to set out for a task and not have it go well. Been there done that.

I am not a terribly experienced horse guy, but I would question Reno’s physical ability to plow the kind of ground you have there as a single. You saw the ground I plowed with the farmall cub, and it struggled to do that. Lots of sod and heavy soil.

He may have simply been tired and frustrated with the task. I felt guilty about plowing with my old tractor. But I intend to cultivate the crops with the horse and will concentrate on the horse drawn plow later. I have come to terms with that.

I think land that has been turned a couple of times will plow easier than turning virgin sod and soil. Reno would have a much easier time with this as a single hitch next time.

Keep things in perspective and you will figure it out.

Ed

[jen judkins]

Thanks for the support and encouragement everyone. I’m feeling better about the next step now.

Donn, you hit the nail on the head….I’m plowing sod with lots of rocks using a crappy plow and asking a big effort from Reno, and at the same time insisting he walk in a 10 inch furrow, his feet barely fit into:eek: What am I thinking!?! In retrospect its no wonder he became confused and balky. I’m sure he was convinced that ‘step up’ or kiss-kiss had developed some new meaning and he felt safer standing still, lol!

I’m sure most of you know what a block head (reads pig-headed and stubborn) I am and thanks, Missy and OldKat for putting that so nicely;). So you can be sure I will try again with a new stradegy!

As luck would have it, Mark Cowdry PM’d me and offered to come help. We’re gonna try again tomorrow afternoon, weather permitting. The only goal will be to have a good experience…he made me promise:rolleyes:.

If it proves too much for Reno, I’ll revert to plan ‘B’ which will be to plow the plot this year with the tractor, harrow and cultivate with Reno and plow with Reno next year. Thanks for the plan, Michael! We’ll get there somehow, some day…

I’ll report back tomorrow…

[Joshua Kingsley]

Jen,
If it makes you feel better I tried to plow our garden wich is all sandy loam with a 12 inch plow behind my haflingers… The biggest problem was that my family had already tilled the ground with the tractor once. So the plow was diving through the loose soil and turning a 12 X 12 furrow. This was a massive load for the little guys and they didn’t appreciate it. With an inexperianced person on the plow and somone different on the lines made for a mess.
The horses are ok and we have gone on to other work that is less strenious. Now the plan is to plow next year with the Suffolks wich will handle the load better. I would rather have had the team stop then RUN witch was thier response to the load.

One great thing is that Reno didn’t freak and think that the plow was going to eat him and run, so you are much further ahead than if you had had a wreck. Keep up the good work and you will be a better teamster for it. You will also have a great learning experiance that will benefit your relationship with Reno.

Joshua

[near horse]

One more thing to add from my very limited experience, for me the first 15 minutes or so of plowing is a little “irregular” until we (horses and I) all get on the same page. Then it gets a lot better (you know – sweat under the collar).

the same time insisting he walk in a 10 inch furrow, his feet barely fit into

Having a nice furrow makes a lot of difference to the furrow horse.

Kind of gives one some real appreciation for those original sod busters – clearing land etc.

Jen, we know you’re going to turn that soil over and end up with some nice tomatoes or corn there.

[Carl Russell]

highway;18094 wrote:

….. Many times we like to keep our struggles to ourselves and are embarrassed to talk about it.

I for one feel your pain. As a new teamster, it is very frustrating to set out for a task and not have it go well. Been there done that.

…..

I think this pretty much sums it up for me. This is why I encourage folks to keep trying. I have bumps and bruises, and curses scarred into my psyche from very very challenging days like Jenn has described.

After so many years, I don’t know anymore than most people, but I do know how to accept the situation when it doesn’t go as I planned. I think it is one of the constants of working with animals.

It really isn’t a set-back, but truly an experience that can be used to advance our understanding of how we work with our animals. This is how humility retains its freshness in our attempts to lead these beasts into situations they have no interest in, and maybe uncomfortable with.

I am not a plow man either. I have plowed with my horses about 1/2 acre/year for over 20 years. Not a lot of practice in the big scheme. I tried a wooden beam side-hill plow years ago,and found similar result as Jenn. I got an old sulky plow, and used it for years with horses and steers. Last summer I bought an goo Oliver walking plow, and after 3 hours of serious workout trying to align the factors, I finally found an incredibly peaceful way to turn soil.

My point is that setting up a situation, while it may have some bearing on the outcome, really does not guarantee that things will go as planned. There is a great deal of effort sometimes, not matter what the expectations.

Oh yeah, and knowing when and how to quit…. that is a great skill to learn….I am still working on that….. but being open to the success that does exist, so that there can be a gracious and constructive retreat, only to redouble the effort later.

Carl

[mitchmaine]

comes down to if your cup is half full or half empty? doesn’t matter if you get a smaller cup.

[Ed Thayer]

One question I had Jen,

Why was Reno in the furrow? I was talking to Sam Rich today and asked him to keep his eyes peeled for a single horse land plow for me. He suggested an 8″ plow for the single horse and said the horse should be on the landside of the furrow.

Let us know how you make out.

[jen judkins]

@highway 18108 wrote:

Why was Reno in the furrow? I was talking to Sam Rich today and asked him to keep his eyes peeled for a single horse land plow for me. He suggested an 8″ plow for the single horse and said the horse should be on the landside of the furrow.

Well, that’s interesting. I think it would depend on the plow and how it is set up….but I certainly wouldn’t argue with a plowing pro like Sam! We’ll just add that to the now lengthy list of obstacles to plowing with a single horse:D.

Well. Mark was over, bless his heart, and we gave it a whirl. We definately had more success with him handling the plow and me handling Reno, but it was rough and Reno wouldn’t settle into an effective way of pulling the plow. We both had to agree after working for an hour, that it was too hard for Reno, under these circumstances….questionable plow, turning sod, lots of rocks, on a hill. I remain certain that Reno can plow single…and I am reasonably sure he could handle the task today, if he had had more experience with easier ground such as we had in Vermont last month and perhaps a smoother running plow.

Whether the work was indeed too hard or his perception was that it was too hard….its hard to tell…but it makes no difference, as either way it is a bad experience for him. I just need to find a way to set him up next time to succeed.

This has been an interesting learning process for me. Having had such success over at Ted’s plowing with his plow, on his previously plowed land, I assumed the task would remain the same here at my place. Well, as you have all pointed out, there are alot of variables and they all weigh differently, so it takes alot of experience to know what to expect. Its alittle daunting, actually.

For now, I have to preserve the working relationship with Reno. So the plot with get plowed conventionally…this year. Reno can pull the cultivator this year and we’ll try again next year when the plot is nice and mellow.

I hate to give up…but its the right thing to do, for now.

[near horse]

Life is kind of humbling isn’t it? Especially when things go really well the first time around – it almost sets us up for a second round disappointment.

That said, success is built upon a series of failures. Good effort Jen and now move on to something you and Reno can have a more positive experience with – like cultivating. Plus, your “troubles” ended up with you working w/ Mark – that’s a positive thing “teamsters helping teamsters”.

[mitchmaine]

Hey jen, I think geoff is right, about experience. Learning how to do something may be more about knowing what not to do than what to do. If every time you plowed and it went great, would you ever really know how you did it? It’s might be like connecting dots or something every time you screw up. Sooner or later it clicks and you do know why it’s working, and can make small adjustments to get back to center. Do you ever stop learning about something? Besides, someday when things are going really good, it will really make a wicked good story .no one ever had a good tale to tell about how things went well. So, break a leg, or botch it up big, or good luck, mitch

[Carl Russell]

jenjudkins;18118 wrote:

…….Whether the work was indeed too hard or his perception was that it was too hard….its hard to tell…but it makes no difference, as either way it is a bad experience for him. I just need to find a way to set him up next time to succeed…….

This sounds similar to your experience with the big log this winter. I know you have a keen sensibility to your horses capability, but I have noticed many times over the years that as people learn the work they often have a hard time visualizing what the animal “should” be able to do.

Not being there, and knowing full well that both you and Mark can make a good determination, I still feel compelled to encourage you to push yourself and Reno past the smooth maneuver stage, and into the significant controlled effort stage of performing work.

I agree there were probably too many factors in this situation for you to comfortably control, but the one about Reno’s effort should be one that you don’t have to work on in the middle of a project like this. Yes it takes time, and I know you are working on it, but it will be a key to future success.

Carl

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